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Acquiring a Tanegashima (Japanese matchlock)


estcrh

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These 2 pictures show the various mekugi-ana that are used for pushing out the mekugi that hold the hammer and lock plate in place. The first picture shows the mekugi-ana underneath the stock used for pushing the hammer mekugi out, the next picture shows the 6 mekugi-ana on the side of the stock thats opposite the lock plate. From left to right: #1 the outer spring mekugi-ana for the T headed mekugi. #2 The mekugi-ana with a very large hole for the match cord. #3 The mekugi-ana for one of the round headed lock plate mekugi. #4 A small mekugi-ana that is used for pushing out the wood mekugi which holds the trigger in place. #5 The mekugi-ana that is used for pushing the lock plate assembly out of its cavity once all the mekugi and the stock ring are removed. #6 This mekugi-ana is used for the second round headed lock plate mekugi.

 

 

 

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About cleaning Teppo and Matchlock guns.

 

I have a question on the cleaning of the barrel. You wrote you need boiling water etc to clean out a barrel.

Now i have seen some of my friends using replica rifles, smooth bore blackpowder doing the same with their matchlock,

but using some form of cleaning agent together with the boiling water.

 

When you obtain an original, what would be the best way to clean out the old soot and probably rust from inside the barrel without damaging it too much ? That is, if you would like to fire it once more, which must be possible because i have seen people with original flintlock guns from about 1815 do the same.

 

KM

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The shooting of Antique Firearms is entirely dependant on the overall condition of the firearm in question. The possibility of damage to the firearm as well as yourself ( and others around you ) is something of a concern. My recommendation is that unless being handled by someone with a great deal of experience, ... that ALL antique firearms remain in the gun cabinet or displayed and NOT fired. There are too many variables to take into considertion, ... metal fatigue of all moving parts let alone the barrel, ... the intergrity of the wood is another. I simply cannot recommend the shooting antique firearms by anyone other than an expert in the firearms field. Now having said that, ... your friends shooting their replicas are using a simple detergent mixed into the water to help in cleaning the black powder residue from the barrel.

In the case of most antique firearms the inside of the barrel is too rusted and pitted and NO black powder residue remains .... Only a very few antique black powder firearms that were cleaned and cared for after they were last fired which may be 200 years ago will have an internal barrel condition that can be suffciently cleaned of the light surface rust caused by normal atmospheric conditions to ever be shootable again. The exercise here is to preserve the firearm inside and out, .... to make it look and be the best it can be for the enjoyment of its artistic, and historic merits, .... and to preserve it for future generations. Generally speaking leave the actual firing of black powder weapons to the use of REPLICAS and NOT antiques.

... Ron Watson

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Agreed on the warning over pitting in the barrel. We fire black powder with light wadding, without inserting a ball. The guns are all checked over by our resident expert. I would want my gun to be 100% further certified before ever adding the pressure of a projectile.

 

Morita san, thanks for the accurate reading. :clap: I thought it was Kagoya, but when I get back to Japan I will double check with the book.

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Ron, I will heading to the local gun shop to get the necessary barrel cleaning equipment. I will also try cleaning the outside of the barrel using your method and will post pictures of the ( hopefully ) fully restored finish. The only parts I did not remove are the trigger and the trigger guard. Here are a couple of pictures of the lock plate assembly. Ron has identified it as a "flat lock", one of several types and from what I have read is the most common type also.

 

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Dear Carlo,

I noticed it as well, ... and since there is nothing to screw to or conversley screw on at that point of the lock plate and since what appears to look like a screw is also brass ( in lieu of steel ) , ... I assume it may be some type of mark put there by the lock maker. Perhaps Eric will confirm.

... Ron Watson

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Two other possibilities present themselves. One that it is a fixed reference point for some kind of clamp and... actually I will go with that to start with. I was going to suggest a measurement/direction marker. Or... a seal of approval stamp in the production process.

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All, Definitely NOT a screw. The Japanese gunsmiths did all they could to eliminate as many screw threads as they could. Note how they have riveted the internal sear spring to the lockplate rather than fit it with a screw. I have seen these held by a key-hole slot fitting to a standing stud as well. It is probably just an ID mark of some kind - I was going to say it might be a kamon, but not I think so since the line across the circle is on the diagonal.

Ian Bottomley

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  • 3 months later...

Dear Piers,

On penalty of being thought of as " slow " or " lazy ", .... could you or someone share the information in English. All I can come up with is a " blacksmith ", ... and what I think is 1st year Gen ?? . Not all of us are multilingual, .... as Jean can vouch for with my lousy French ( I do get by but it takes constant practice on my part ... and patience for the other party).

... Ron Watson

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AAaarrrggghhhh.... I was expecting Eric to enjoy the challenge. Humblest apologies to

those who wanted a spoiler! (Eric, where are you in time of need?)

 

The writer describes this smith as 平鍛冶 

'Hira-kaji'

but I am not sure what

that means, without digging further. Perhaps

'common (gun)smith'

?

 

As to the date, which Eric should be enjoying banging his head against :bang:

 

享和元年Kyowa Gan-nen, First year of Kyowa, 1801

 

 

The pamphlet (which arrived yesterday) is "Nihon no Teppo Kaji" (Gunsmiths of Japan)

about which I will be writing a summary very soon. It is not easy to use, the way he

has classified things, and in many cases raises more questions than it answers.

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Dear Piers,

You owe me two hours ( at least ) of enjoyable leisure time :rant: Anyways, ... our local Pharmacist ( Chemist, Druggist, Apothecariest ) profited from your Kanji exercise, .......... I've got eye strain, a headache, my blood pressure is 210 over some bloody other number and I feel nauseous ! Now are we happy ?? :cry: but anyways :thanks: .

 

... Ron Watson

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Ron, I got up early this morning hoping to catch up on some work and this has mopped up all that time. Especially trying to find out how to read "Kyowa", the short four-year Era drove me up the wall. The J wife couldn't help me and ... but I won't go into detail as I am still up against the clock now!

 

PS Some time we should have a blood-pressure competition! :beer: :rotfl:

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Piers, I am still removing the under barrel rust , its a very slow job, but once it is done I will post pictures of the final product. I had wondered about how one would go about finding a date on a Tanegashima with only a signature. Many thanks for your efforts and like Ron, I also ran up against the online translators road block. I was going to ask for further clarification but you finished the job already. :bowdown:

 

What was the final verdict on the translation of the name, and as for the date mentioned 1801, how does that come about?

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Eric, perhaps you are referring to Morita san's doubt about whether to pronounce the second Kanji by the 'On' or 'Kun' reading, Kago-ya or Kago-tani? I said I would go away and check. Actually, everyone around here refers to the gunsmith line as Kagoya、So I never really had any doubt. I even owned a Sakai pistol signed like yours Kagoya. They are exactly the same, whichever pronunciation you choose, but if you ask for proof that it should be read one way and not the other, then...

 

The only 'proof' of the 'Kagoya' reading is that when the name is listed alphabetically, it is written with two alternative Kanji sandwiching each other. Thus you might get a teppo-kaji gunsmith list looking like this:

籠屋 (kagoya)

籠谷 (kagoya... a reading of -tani does not fit here)

籠谷 (Kagoya... -tani does not fit here)

籠屋 (Kagoya)

 

As you can see, the gunsmith family business name ends with either 屋(ya = shop) or 谷 (tani/ya = valley), and placed like that in the list suggests to me anyway that those two Kanji were both ways of expressing the same one and only "Ya" sound. That is to say, a reading of -tani' there would be odd and out of context.

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As always, though, if someone knows better, I am happy to listen.

 

As to the date. It was not the general practise to put dates on gun barrels, but just occasionally a smith would, especially after 1800, into the Bunka & Bunsei eras and onward. If you have a date, count yourself lucky, well, as a Westerner. (Japanese do not generally appear to mind not having a date.)

 

But if you have a date, this can help cross-reference other guns with the same Mei cut into the barrel. This will tell you the rough dotted-line working life of that smith (30 years either side of the date?).

 

In the latest list, quoted above, I discovered your smith's exact name, and a date in the information box, which is probably quoted from the barrel of a known gun that he once made, or from a written source investigated by the writer.

Your gun was made by a smith who also made another gun in 1801. To me the math(s) says it is likely that your gun was made sometime in the period from 1770 to 1830, sometime around the French Revolution and Napoleon's lifetime.

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Piers I was wondering how that was referenced, I had no idea that there were any records like that being kept. It also shows the firearms were still being produced quite late in the Edo period. Thanks!

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