'New Matchlock' Identification / Translation

[redhugster]

Hello!

 

I wonder if I could have your collective thoughts please?

 

A shooting friend, who is a very very good Teppo shooter,  has just purchased his 4th matchlock from a fellow Team GB shooter.  We were on the range today as he shot it for the first time (obviously as luck would have it shooting a 10 first shot... off hand at 50 m).

 

There are obviously a few issues with it such as the area aroung the pan guard and the front sight being rounded. Bit overall its a very pretty arm with lovely wood. Sadly however the highly decorated barrel has been cleaned (with wire wool?) taking off all but a trace of the decoration. There are mo Mon present so a hunting Teppo?

 

Could anyone comment on the style please (I realise now I didn't post a full length photo, which I will do tomorrow) - as to the school or prefecture it may have come from and the inscribed scrypt under tha barrel?

 

I'm at the range tomorrow shooting my Teppo, so I can get more photos as required.

 

Thank you in advance, Jon

[uwe]

I think it is “阿州藤川正ロ作” (Ashū Fujikawa Masa ? saku). Still looking for the second character of the name…

 

Maybe 守, but the only Masamori in the list of Ashū smiths signed with 森 

[Lareon]

Jon, where do you shoot? Bisley? 

[Bugyotsuji]

As Uwe says above. The Mei is quite faint and that one character is very hard to make out.(正市?)
A-Shū is Awa, Tokushima, on the east of

the Island of Shikoku.

One of the gunsmith families was the Fujikawa, and many of their individual smiths used the first character 正 Masa… They would have been making guns through the 1700s and 1800s.

The decoration resembles guns from Osaka but in a couple of details they are quite different. Sadly the photos do not show everything.

 

PS Why is the rounding of the front sight ‘an issue’?

[redhugster]

On 9/6/2025 at 3:51 PM, uwe said:

I think it is “阿州藤川正ロ作” (Ashū Fujikawa Masa ? saku). Still looking for the second character of the name…

 

Maybe 守, but the only Masamori in the list of Ashū smiths signed with 森 

Thank you for doing this. I have asked the owner of the Teppo to join so he can add more photos 

[redhugster]

On 9/7/2025 at 2:23 PM, Lareon said:

Jon, where do you shoot? Bisley? 

Hi Lareon, I shoot in Warwickshire on the MLAGB Wedgnock ranges. The owner of this Teppo shoots at Bisley with his wife, though mostly pistol and rifle I beleive. Best Jon

[redhugster]

22 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

As Uwe says above. The Mei is quite faint and that one character is very hard to make out.(正市?)
A-Shū is Awa, Tokushima, on the east of

the Island of Shikoku.

One of the gunsmith families was the Fujikawa, and many of their individual smiths used the first character 正 Masa… They would have been making guns through the 1700s and 1800s.

The decoration resembles guns from Osaka but in a couple of details they are quite different. Sadly the photos do not show everything.

 

PS Why is the rounding of the front sight ‘an issue’?

Hi Piers, Thank you. I have asked the owner of the Teppo to join so he can post more photos. The rounding of the site may be an issue under the MLAIC competition rules where I beleive the front site should be be triangular in profile.......

[Bugyotsuji]

Ah, thanks for that info Jon. Tanegashima had a variety of front sights, …only some of which were triangular.
(I have an old Tanegashima pistol with a rounded rear sight, which I am guessing is for ease of use with a holster.)

 

But surely it’s only rounded from sideways, and triangular when seen from the front and rear, no?

[redhugster]

3 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

Ah, thanks for that info Jon. Tanegashima had a variety of front sights, …only some of which were triangular.
(I have an old Tanegashima pistol with a rounded rear sight, which I am guessing is for ease of use with a holster.)

 

But surely it’s only rounded from sideways, and triangular when seen from the front and rear, no?

I'm not entirely sure of the rules as they are relativly new. The owner of this teppo is sure it does not qualify though..... hopefully he will join shortly and he might be able to explain more. The MALIC comittee have really tightened their rules recently though accross the board.