I don’t remember who I promised, but I do remember that I promised material about Japanese firearms of the Sengoku era. And since he promised something, then the promised should be fulfilled. Moreover, it should immediately be said (and this is unlikely to be an exaggeration) that this era just became a kind of reaction of Japanese society to a new weapon that fell into the land of the rising sun in 1543.
Then three Portuguese merchants were thrown by a storm onto the coast of the island of Tangegashima, and this seemingly insignificant event was truly a gift of fate for the whole of Japan. The Japanese were struck by the very appearance of the "long-nosed barbarians", their clothes and speech, and what they held in their hands - "something long, with a hole in the middle and an ingenious device closer to the tree, which they rested against the shoulder … then fire flew out of it., there was a deafening thunder and a lead ball at a distance of thirty paces was killing a bird!"
Daime of the island of Tanegashima Totikata, having paid a lot of money, bought two "teppos", as the Japanese called this strange weapon, and gave them to their blacksmith so that he could make an analogue no worse. Since the Portuguese fired from "this" without a stand, it should be assumed that the Japanese did not get a heavy musket, but a relatively light arquebus, the dimensions and weight of which allowed shooting from hand. However, at first it was not possible to make an analogue. The Japanese blacksmith was able to forge the barrel without much difficulty, but he could not afford to cut the internal thread in the back of the barrel and insert the "plug" there. However, a few months later, another Portuguese came to the island and here he is, as the legend tells, and showed the Japanese masters how to do it. All other details were easy to do. So very soon, the production of the first firearms in the history of Japan began on the island of Tanegashima. And from the very beginning, the production of "tanegashima" (as the Japanese began to call the new weapon), went at an accelerated pace. In six months, 600 arquebus were made on the island, which Totikata immediately sold off. As a result, he not only enriched himself, but also contributed to its widespread distribution.
Modern Japanese "musketeers" - participants in demonstration performances with shooting.
But these are already real "tanegashims" of the Edo era from the Tokaido Museum in Hakone.
Already in 1549 daimyo Shimazu Takahisa used tanegashima in battle, and then every year its popularity grew more and more. Takeda Shingen, for example, already in 1555, paying tribute to this weapon, bought at least 300 such arquebusses, and already Oda Nobunaga (this one generally loved everything European, from wine to furniture!) 20 years later, he had 3,000 shooters at his disposal at the Battle of Nagashino. Moreover, he used them in a very modern way, building in three lines so that they fired over each other's heads, and from the attacks of Katsueri's cavalry, they would be covered by a lattice fence.
Japanese teppos from the museum at Kumamoto Castle. In the foreground is the "hand cannon" of kakae-zutsu.
The same museum, the same arquebusses, but only a rear view. The device of their wick locks is clearly visible.
Moreover, it should be noted that, although for some reason it is considered differently, in fact, samurai in the Sengoku era did not at all disdain to use teppo and use it personally. That, they say, this is a "vile" and not befitting a samurai weapon. On the contrary, they very quickly appreciated its advantages and many of them, including the same Oda Nabunaga, turned into well-aimed shooters. Continuous wars of all against all just at this time caused a truly mass production of this type of weapon, but, of course, they did not like the fact that it began to fall into the hands of the peasants. And very soon the number of arquebusses in Japan exceeded their number in Europe, which, by the way, was one of the reasons why neither the Spaniards nor the Portuguese even tried to conquer it and turn it into their colony. Moreover, the Japanese have achieved real mastery in the manufacture of their teppos, as evidenced by the samples of these weapons that have come down to us, which are now kept in museums.
Tanegashima and pistoru. Museum of Asian Art, San Francisco.
Note that the word "teppo" in Japan denoted a whole class of weapons, but at first it was precisely the arquebus made according to the Portuguese model that was called that, although such a name as hinawa-ju or "match gun" is also known. But over time, Japanese craftsmen began to make their own gunpowder weapons, no longer similar to the original samples, that is, they developed their own style and traditions of its production.
Samurai Niiro Tdamoto with teppo in his hands. Uki-yo Utagawa Yoshiku.
So what are the differences between Japanese and European arquebusses? To begin with, they have a reverse serpentine (trigger) hibass for the hinawa wick. For Europeans, he was in front and leaned back "to himself." For the Japanese, it was attached to the breech of the barrel and leaned back "away from itself." In addition, it seemed to them, and not without reason, that the burning fuse, located at a close distance from the shelf with seed gunpowder, called the hizara, was not the best neighborhood, and they came up with a sliding hibut cover that securely closed this shelf. The lid moved and only after that it was necessary to press the trigger to make a shot. The barrel length of the Japanese arquebus was about 90 cm, but the calibers varied - from 13 to 20 mm. The stock was made of red oak wood, almost the entire length of the trunk, which was fixed in it with traditional bamboo pins, just like the blades of Japanese swords, attached to the handle in a similar way. By the way, the locks of Japanese guns were also attached to pins. The Japanese did not like screws, unlike the Europeans. The ramrod is a simple wooden (karuka) or bamboo (seseri) recessed into the stock. At the same time, a feature of the Japanese gun was … the absence of a stock as such! Instead, there was a daijiri pistol grip, which was pressed against the cheek before the shot! That is, the recoil was perceived on the barrel and then on the hand, went down and moved back, but the gun did not give back to the shoulder. That is why, by the way, the Japanese were so fond of faceted - six and octagonal barrels. They were both stronger and heavier and … better extinguished recoil due to their mass! In addition, their edges were easy to draw. Although, we also note this, the decoration of the barrels of the Japanese teppo did not differ in special delicacies. Usually they depicted monas - the emblems of the clan that ordered weapons were covered with gilding or varnish.
Badjo-zutsu is a rider's pistol, and richly decorated. Edo era. Anne and Gabrielle Barbier-Muller Museum, Texas.
Tanzutsu is an Edo-era short-barreled pistol. Anne and Gabrielle Barbier-Muller Museum, Texas.
The parts of the locks, including the springs, were made of brass. It did not corrode like iron (and this is very important in the Japanese climate!), But most importantly, it allowed all parts to be cast. That is, the production of locks was fast and efficient. Moreover, even brass springs turned out to be more profitable than European steel ones. How? Yes, those that were weaker !!! And it turned out that the Japanese serpentine with a wick approached the seed more slowly than the European one, and it happened to hit the shelf with such force that … extinguished at the moment of impact, without even having time to ignite the gunpowder, which caused a misfire!
For sniper shooting from castles, the Japanese made such long-barreled guns with barrels 1, 80 mm and even 2 m long. Nagoya Castle Museum.
Japanese arquebus without fail had sights saki-me-ate front sight and ato-me-ate rear sight, and … original, again varnished, boxes that covered the lock from rain and snow.
Niiro Tadamoto with cocoa-zutsu. Uki-yo Utagawa Yoshiku.
Hitting an explosive shell of a kakae-zutsu on the tate's shield. Uki-yo Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
As a result, Japanese arquebusses became more massive than European ones, although they were still lighter than muskets. In addition, the Japanese invented the so-called "hand cannons" or kakae-zutsu, somewhat similar to the European hand mortars for firing hand grenades, used since the 16th century. But although their similarity is undoubtedly, the Japanese design is very different from the European one, and is an independent invention. The European mortar always had a butt and a short barrel behind it, designed for throwing match grenades. Some Japanese dzutsu did not have a butt, but they fired from it with baked clay balls and lead cannonballs. The barrel was long enough, but the powder charge was small. Thanks to this, it was possible to shoot from the "hand cannon" really, holding it in hand. The return, of course, was great. The "cannon" could be snatched out of his hands, and if the shooter held it firmly, then he could not overturn the earth. And, nevertheless, it was possible to shoot in this way from it. Although another method was used: the shooter laid out a pyramid of three bundles of rice straw on the ground and laid a "cannon" on it, resting the handle on the ground or another bundle, knocked out from behind with two stakes. Having established the desired angle of inclination of the barrel, the shooter pulled the trigger and fired a shot. The bullet flew along a steep trajectory, which made it possible in this way to fire at the enemies hiding behind the walls of the castle. It happened that powder rockets were inserted into the barrel of the cocoa-dzutsu and thus greatly increased the firing range.
Shotguns from the arsenal of Himeji Castle.
The Japanese were also familiar with the pistols, which they called pistoru. Yes, they were wicks, but they were used by the samurai horsemen in the same way as by the European reiters. They were heading towards the enemy and, approaching him, fired a shot almost at point-blank range, after which they returned back, reloading their weapons on the move.
Ashigaru, hiding behind tate shields, fire at the enemy. Illustration from "Dzhohyo Monogatari". National Museum, Tokyo.
Another very important invention that increased the rate of fire of Japanese weapons was the invention of specially designed wooden cartridges. It is known that at first gunpowder was poured into the same arquebus from a powder flask, after which a bullet was pushed towards it with a ramrod. In Russia, archers kept pre-measured powder charges in wooden "cartridges" - "charges". Where they appeared earlier - here or in Europe, it is difficult to say, but they appeared and immediately load the squeaks and muskets became more convenient. But the bullet still had to be taken out of the bag. The solution to the problem was a paper cartridge, in which both a bullet and gunpowder are in one paper wrapper. Now the soldier bit the shell of such a cartridge with his teeth (hence the command "bite the cartridge!"), Poured a certain amount of gunpowder onto the seed shelf, and poured all the rest of the gunpowder together with a bullet into the barrel and tamped it there with a ramrod, using the paper itself as a wad cartridge.
The Japanese came up with a "charge" with two (!) Holes and a tapered channel inside. At the same time, one of them was closed with a spring-loaded cover, but the bullet itself served as a "plug" for the other hole!
"Lacquered boxes against the rain." Engraving by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.
Well, now let's imagine that we are "Japanese musketeers" and we have to fire at the enemy.
So, standing on one knee, at the command of the ko-gasir ("junior lieutenant"), we take our wooden cartridge out of the cartridge case, open it and pour all the powder into the barrel. And on the bullet protruding from it, you just need to press your finger, and it will instantly slide into the barrel. We remove the cartridge and tamp the gunpowder and bullet with a ramrod. We remove the ramrod and open the lid of the powder shelf. A smaller seed powder is poured onto the shelf from a separate powder flask. We close the lid of the shelf, and blow off the excess gunpowder from the shelf so that it does not flare up ahead of time. Now fan the flame at the tip of the wick wrapped around the left arm. The wick itself is made of cedar bark fibers, so it smolders well and does not go out. The wick is now inserted into the serpentine. Ko-gashiru commands the first aim. Then the shelf cover is opened. Now you can make final aiming and pull the trigger. The burning fuse will smoothly press against the powder on the shelf and a shot will be fired!
The armor of the ashigaru warrior is the work of the American reenactor Matt Poitras, already familiar to VO readers from his armor of the Trojan War soldiers, as well as the Greeks and Romans.
Interestingly, the Japanese also knew the bayonet-type bladed bayonet - juken and the juso-shaped bayonet, as well as guns and pistols with wheel and flint locks. They knew, but since they entered the era of the Edo world, they did not feel any need for them. But now, in peacetime, it was the sword that became the main weapon of the samurai, and the guns, with which the peasants could successfully fight, have receded into the background. However, it happened, we emphasize, it was already in the Edo era!
