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Matchlock picked up during occupation of Japan


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My husband’s family was in Japan right after 2WWII as part of occupation forces.  His dad was an officer so was able to ship a lot of items home.  This is the matchlock he bought.  Pics online show it is likely 19th century but curious to know more.  Not selling.  Thanks.

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From those photographs quite a lot of the story can be told, Christine.

 

Firstly, it's a good solid, quality Samurai gun, above the run-of-the-mill footsoldier's long gun. We cannot see the bore size in those shots, but it must be around 1.8 cm, making it a hefty 10 Monme, I would guess. Nicely-shaped matchcord serpentine too.

 

Secondly, it shows evidence of a particular gunnery school, the Ogino-Ryu which had that long elephant-trunk butt.

 

Sadly, it is missing the pan lid and pin, but those can be made without too much bother. The Mon is a little indistinct but it could be the crossed feathers of the Ako 47 retainers Asano family. The letters cut along the top of the barrel say that it was registered in the great weapons roundup of early Meiji (1872) in Okayama Prefecture. The gun was probably made in the mid 1800s period, correct.

 

You are not looking to sell, but at auction in Japan today that would fetch probably US 2,500 ~ 3,000.

 

Further shots would tell us more, but in the meantime, congratulations to you both. :)

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Thank you for so much information!   The cross does look like like feathers but I very worn.  The gun is also quite heavy.  I looked up some history on the Asano clan.  Nice to put a story to something that has survived so many years.  My husband corrected me though.  His dad didn’t buy It.  Like many other items he acquired, he paid with a carton of cigarettes.  Here are a few more photos and again, thank you!

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A carton of cigarettes!!! I guess they were pretty valuable back then, and each precious cigarette was probably sold on at a profit.

 

Heaviness is a drag, but they were indeed very heavy, and thus massively sturdy. I cannot see the internal diameter clearly from your measure, but it looks like just under 2 cm, which would make it a 'Shizutsu' 10-Monme Samurai gun 士筒 of superior quality. Nice design to the muzzle and front sight too. These guns were more powerful than the regular 5- or 6-Monme battlefield weapon and were capable of destroying light infrastructure. More expensive to make, they were soon a sort of status symbol. Anything above 10-Monme was described as an 'O-zutsu' 大筒. 15,20,30,50,100 Monme etc. were like hand cannons.

 

If you feel energetic, remove the barrel from the stock and see if there is a Mei signature underneath. If there is, take a vertical shot with the breech screw facing towards you. If you feel even more adventurous, see if you can turn and remove the big breech screw itself.

 

PS I will offer you a carton of any brand you care to name!!! :laughing:

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I would be afraid to even try to disassemble the gun but will suggest it to my husband.  Thanks again.  As far as cigarettes, you are right.  My husband says food was really scarce.  Japanese could sell them for a good price on the black market and afford to buy overpriced food products.  My husband also says the Japanese didn’t smoke cigarettes the way most do.  They would break them into smaller sections and put a piece in a long stemmed pipe to smoke as there would be little waste.  

 

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"So where do we go from here?" I can hear you asking.

 

Well, you could keep it as is, or find someone who can research and rebuild the missing parts. They were all handmade, so it's unlikely you will find a secondhand pan cover/lid will fit exactly. I would suggest printing out the information so far, on a small label for example, and attaching it to the underneath of the stand, etc. (For future generations, or for yourself when your memory fades!)

 

If your husband is interested, you could start collecting the small accoutrements that a samurai gunner would carry, such as a firestarter kit, a Doran accessories waist pouch/box, matchcord, ballbag, ball mold, etc., even some simple armor bits.

 

Live firing is an option in the US, but you'd need to get the bisen screw seal and overall barrel integrity checked first.

 

Oh, the angle on the tape measure now suggests that the bore is over 2 cm, i.e. an O-zutsu big gun.

2.1 cm is 15 Monme' and 2.2 is 20 Monme'. 15 Monme' would mean the weight of the lead ball is 56.25 g, and 20 Monme' 75 g.

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