New to me Teppo

[Jay Vining]

Hello,

I'm brand new to the forum and I am interested about learning more about my newest addition to my collection. Most of my collection are antique European fire arms. This is my first matchlock. 

It seems to be complete and functional however the bore is pretty bad at the moment.  The barrel is 106 cm long with a bore of about 11.9mm with a poppy muzzle. The stock is in decent shape with some cracks but stable. 

I got it all apart to clean up and to check to see if it is signed under the barrel. I'm also trying to get the bison out gently and address the rust under the stock.

A translation of the Mei would be much appreciated. So far I have the following pictures.

 

Thank you, Jay

[Bugyotsuji]

Jay, hi and welcome!

 

Congratulations on a fine-looking Tanegashima smoothbore matchlock!

The Mei reads Takakura Jinroku 高倉甚六　plus 作 (saku = made by). He was a smith from Sakai in Settsu province, today's Osaka.

 

There is a Kanei 10 (1634) dated bronze barrel pistol listed for Takakura Jinroku Shigemasa kept at Itsukushima Jinja, who could be the same person or a later offspring, but it helps suggest that your gun was made sometime in the early Edo period.

 

(Quick question. Do all the mekugi pins line up correctly with the barrel?)

 

PS A poppy muzzle is an indicator for Sakai manufacture.

Sadly, many of these old Japanese matchlocks were not thoroughly cleaned after use, so the bore is often in terrible condition. Only one of mine is still pristine!

[Jay Vining]

Thank you, Piers for the quick response. There is nothing left of the bamboo pins when removing the barrel but everything seemed to line up. I will know for sure when it all gets put together. Hopefully I will have collected some updated pictures too.

Thanks again, the info on the Mei is much appreciated. 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

That's good to know. The reason I asked is that the pan cover/lid is of an enclosed type which is usually associated with the Tazuke, Sakai and Tabuse schools of gunnery. There are no other Ryu-ha indications on your gun to these schools, so it seems likely that the cover has been changed at some point. This led me to wonder if the barrel and the stock might be a later match, but if everything lines up then possibly it's just a question of a replaced pan lid, i.e. no big deal!

(Sometimes old barrels were refurbished with new stocks, and your stock and butt look in very good condition for such an old barrel.)

[Jay Vining]

I've added some new pictures, there seem to be some characters on the bottom of the pan cover and noting that the pin is solid. Also a detailed shot of the poppy at the barrel muzzle.

This is all very interesting and great background for my new Teppo.

Thanks, Jay

[Bugyotsuji]

Yes, that is a very nice example of a Sakai muzzle surround with silver zogan inlay. See this photo of four examples from the region.

 

The pan lid has 38 beautifully incised on it,  suggesting that this may have been on a gun as part of a multiple order. The number is often repeated on other parts, so if you do not see it elsewhere this strengthens the possibility that it was drafted in as a replacement cover. The pin may also be a replacement as they were usually a hollow cylinder for insertion of a particular wire to support a small protective rain box.

三

八

(三八 Sanju hachi, thirty eight)

 

From the Sakai (Osaka) section of Sawada Taira’s ‘Nihon no Furujū’ (Old guns of Japan)

 

[Jay Vining]

Thanks again Piers,

It's a little like peeling back the layers of an onion. I want to add that the holes for the  mekugi pins seemed to line up pretty good. I made some tapered pins from brass rod to put it all together. 

I didn't have luck removing the bison, just didn't want to damage anything.

I'll add pictures as I move along.

Jay

[Bugyotsuji]

Usually a bisen will cause problems if it has not been touched for a century or two. No panic.

Removing one is a fine art, but some bisen will not budge whatever you do, and you may do serious damage in the process. 
(To be cont.)

[Bugyotsuji]

Jay, this page from Sugawa San’s book shows some muzzle and foresight styles.

 

[Jay Vining]

Thanks Piers,

From reading that page you have provided, I see that it is rare for the front of the barrel to have a wider diameter that the rest of the bore. I assume for easier loading. My example has that characteristic too. I have provided the assembled photo of my gun. 

From what you have seen, is it possible to tell if it could have been a military gun or for a private individual such as a sporting gun?

 

Thanks, Jay

[Bugyotsuji]

You've done a fine job there, Jay. Really something to be proud of, restoring a piece of history like that.

 

Small-bore Sakai guns from the mid-Tokugawa period onwards tend to be flashy, highly decorated for the rich merchants who would buy them, but yours is more understated, which may be because it is an older version.(?) According to Sawada Taira in his book Nihon no Furuju (and he is a proud resident of Osaka), guns of up to 3 Mon-me were sporting guns for hunting small game, or for target practice.

Military guns only start from 3.5 Monme (bore of 13.2 mm) and above, most often around 5 (14.95mm) or 6 Monme (15.78mm). 

 

When you talk about the wider diameter of the front of the barrel, do you mean the exterior diameter, or the bore? If the exterior, then I suppose a bulge at the end could stop your hand from slipping off the end of the barrel when loading in cold or wet weather. 

 

(Last year I came into possession of a long Sakai gun like yours, and then more recently a shorter, heavier 5 Mon-me military version with larger bore.)

For reference:

[Brian]

As far as I know, all the guns with a bulbuous muzzle still have a regular bore diameter at the end, none have a flared bore like a blunderbuss. So wouldn't help with the ramrod much. I think it is just aesthetic

[Bugyotsuji]

If the bore is flared internally, that usually indicates many years of heavy usage with a ramrod, or even heavy cleaning, which has gradually worn the muzzle end wider.

[Jay Vining]

Thank you Piers, some fine looking guns you have there too.

My bore is about 17mm at the muzzle tapering to about 12mm for the rest of the barrels length.

I'm happy to know it's an Sakai gun because my wife's mother is from Osaka. So it's not only something I would like to shoot, it's also a cultural as well as an art piece.

 

Jay