Viper6924

Just discovered that Lulu offers a new discount on books. So please feel free to support the suffering writers of the world and make a good deal on the same time :) 20% off all print products. Exp Nov 2. Code: SAVETWENTY Jan

When writing a book, apart from the writing-process itself, the most important part is of course the research. Which for me meant a lot of sitting around waiting for my questions to be translated from English to Japanese and then wait some more for the answers to be translated from Japanese to English and finally forwarded to me. Not always the most exciting part of the job. But one thing that I will take with me and truly cherish from this project, was all the people I met along the way. Don´t want to spoil some of the things that I write about in the book, but this episode is not in it, so... As part of my research, I was invited by Yonezawa City Hall in order to further my understanding of this area and its history. I was provided with a translator and a photographer from the City Hall. These two lovely people went with me wherever I wanted to go. Only about 20 min in on our first day together, we ended up watching a group of men performing a matchlock-practise. This was of course a treat for me, to finally see and above all hear the roar of the mighty Yonezawa matchlock. After the group had finished and was about to start packing up their gear, the photographer was quiet excited and started pushing me in the back saying "go talk, go talk". Firstly, not many people in Yonezawa speaks English. Even a basic "hello" is an achievement amongst the locals. Secondly my Japanese might be good for ordering a Bic Mac in Tokyo, but def not up to the task at hand. With my translator strangely absent from the scene, I approached the group. My presence didn't exactly spark outbursts of joy among the group of Yonezawa's finest. Most of them did their best to avoid me by looking away or getting overly interested in cleaning their guns. (This picture speaks more than a hundred words) I would def file this as an "awkward moment", so it was time to break barriers. I approached one of the guys just about to pack his 30-monme matchlock in a bag. With my brain going 110% I uttered the words "nice 30 monme" in something resembling Japanese. You could have heard a pin drop. Suddenly all eyes was fixed on me. Encouraged that they seemed to have understood my initial comment I continued with something in the line of "late Edo period, right" finishing of with "a very nice gun". The guy holding the gun could't have looked more proud. (What a compliment can do to turn a frown upside down) Suddenly I was surrounded by smiling faces wanting to speak to the strange foreigner. I was allowed to hold their guns whilst me eyes desperately searched for the translator. The rest of the group was ordered back by their leader so I got get a picture together with them all. (One of the boys!) This was just one of many incredible meetings I encountered during my days up in Yonezawa. This specific one took just 2-3 minutes from start to finish. The harsh northern people turned out to be amongst the warmest and most welcoming I met during my many trips to Japan. Share an common interest and respect local traditions and the most unexpected door might open up. A lot of this I have my dear friend Piers to thank for. If ever in doubt, I always ask myself "what would Piers do in a similar situation" and so far it has worked like a Swiss clock Thanks again to all of you that already bought a copy of the book. It´s quite overwhelming, to be honest. Jan

Peter, a cold beer will def be offered at any venue where our paths crosses in the future. Really hope you all will like it and take from it a gained understanding of the matchlock and how it shaped the future for the samurai of Yonezawa. Looking forward to the first book-reports in about two weeks Jan

I will put together a PDF-version a bit later on, which will be avalible on Lulu. Just need to sort out some design-issues converting it from print to digital. I will let you know when it’s done. Jan

It’s really rewarding to see the book reaching the four corners of the world. The digital age def brings amazing possibilities for all the budding authors out there. Now I just hope the encouraging words continues after the book has been read Jan

Thanks for your encouraging words, gentlemen! The initial respons has been amazing. It’ quite apparent that a publication in English dealing with the Japanese matchlock was long overdue. I’m sure we can sort something out, Brian! Contact me via PM whenever You have the time. And ignore my last PM. At the time I was deep under the earth which played havoc with my cell-reception Jan

Dear Members! I´m very happy to be able to annonunce that my new book "The Yonezawa Matchlock - Mighty Gun of the Uesugi Samurai" is now out for sale. This project has been a true labor of love which I have been working on for several years. Being a student of Japanese history for as long as I can remember, my aim with this book has been to tell a story about the fascinating and often overlooked world of the Japanese matchlock. In order to be able to place the matchlock or Teppo into an historical context, I have opted to focus parts of this book on the history of the famous Uesugi-clan and to follow them from the beginning of the 15th century and all the way until the fall of the samurai. The number of books written in English about the Japanese matchlock is not impressive by any standards, so I´m hoping that this publication will bring some new and much needed insights into this specific field of study. The book has 243 pages with some added b/w pictures. The table of content is as follows: Foreword by Piers Dowding Author´s Note Introduction 1. The beginning 2. The rise of Kenshin 3. Introduction of the firearm 4. The fourth battle of Kawanakajima 5. Death of a dragon 6. Uesugi Kagekatsu 7. Sekigahara 8. Birth of the Yonezawa matchlock 9. The origin 10. Osaka 1614-15 11. From the brink of distaster 12. Gunnery schools in Yonezawa 13. Structures of gun manufacturing in Yonezawa 14. Western guns 15. The final battle 16. Keeping the tradition alive References Picture references A lot of the content in this book has never been published in English before and is the result of four years of research and several trips to Japan. Many people have helped me in my quest to finish this book. From this forum alone I have gotten invaluble help from Piers Dowding, Ian Bottomley and Markus Sesko. Further information about this book together with the possibility to order a copy can be found on the below link: http://www.lulu.com/shop/jan-pettersson/the-yonezawa-matchlock-mighty-gun-of-the-uesugi-samurai/hardcover/product-23384395.html I would be very happy and grateful if You would order this book directly from Lulu.com because as many of You already know, Amazon deducts almost 75% of the royalties per sold book I hope You allwill enjoy this book as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks! Jan

One thing I know is that these covers are rare. I have included a picture from an old exihibition catalouge. To my knowledge this is one of only a very few still extant. This one is made from metal but I know that I've seen another one which I belive was made from lacquered paper or leather. Jan

To someone like me, who truly knows how much time and effort you put into your work, this comes as no surprise. This "official" stamp of approval was long overdue. Jan

I guess I should have posted both sides. Judging by the overall condition plus the fact that this ladle was given as a present from one of the leading authorities of this field in Japan, I'm very comfortable to date this as a Bakumatsu-period piece. Jan

A veritabel buffé of lovely things on that table, Piers I think you might be on to something regarding the twisted handle absorbing some of the heat generated from the fire. Jan

Here's an example of a large ladle. The twisted handle gives it a more ornate look. Most of these ladles comes with wooden handles. Still in very good condition with a nice patina on it. A true utilitarian object. Jan

You are a wise man, Justin I agree with you. This is too small a caliber for hunting either animals or humans. More like a modern day BB-gun. Looking at the absence of a patina might suggest that this gun been subjected to a "polish" during its latter life. Jan

A really interesting matchlock. Can this be anything else than a Shateki-zutsu (practise gun)? This is without a doubt the smallest caliber matchlock I've ever seen before. So makibari points to very high quality and so does the familyname of the maker. A small nugget of gold!!! Jan

You are forgiven for going off topic One thing is for sure, the vikings are ready if any nasty critters are coming our way! Jan

Thanks for that detailed translation of the gunsmith, Piers. So this is actually a Choshu-zutsu. Normally this style of matchlock is associated with those mostly small caliber long guns featuring a muzzle that extends a good bit out from the stock. But military-grade matchlocks from in and around of Hagi was apparently made to match the specific school that it belonged to. Interestingly enough the 6-monme caliber is specifically mentioned in connection to Choshu gunsmiths. So congrats to a quite rare gun which we can trace back to Choshu. Being made during the final years of the shogunate and used by troops from Choshu, I think it is a good chance that this gun been fired under battle-conditions. Jan

If I'm not mistaken, this is the third matchlock inscribed with the "superior forging" engraved on to the barrel. All of them matchlocks originating from Sendai. The one in my collection displays a superb finish of the steel. It lacks the above mentioned engravings. Instead it comes with three stamped characters which to me reminds me of some sort of quality-control. Funny enough I encountered the same three characters on another matchlock on display at the museum in Sendai. Wonder if this is a Sendai tradition? Jan

Ok Eric, I'll try to keep it short. To study history is very complicated. Most of the time you have to rely on info that in some cases can be hundreds of years old and tainted by the views of the side who managed to win the battles and write history. No difference regarding Japanese history. Talking about the history of Japanese matchlocks is even more complicated. The info in English is best described as meager. So the way I have choosen is to have important texts translated to English. But above all, I have travelled a lot to Japan. I have spent at least 6 month over there in search of knowledge. Not only regarding matchlocks but in a quest to find some answers to many of my questions and in the process to understand the way in which Japanese people thinks and operated. The latter a very important part. I agree that the "Sensei-complex" in Japan sometimes can be frustrating. Especially for us fact-fixated forreigners. But if you start to question every little fact that they present to you I can promise you that you will run out of friends and contacts very quick, leaving you reading books like "Giving up the gun" in order to find some info I am very fortunate to be able to surround myself with very competent people with whom I can futher my knowledge. Of course I don't buy everything they say. But if it's about something trivial I let it pass. If it's about something that I find important I will reply with some suggestions based on my own research. Doing it the correct way and I have noticed that the Japanese are more than willing to engage. But again, demanding proof of everything they say, would be considered extremely bad manners and send you out in the cold. To wrap this up I can give you two example. My statement regarding that the Bushi was allowed to decorate their guns with the kamon of their choosing was told to me by a man who's father and grandfather done some amazing local research. Their ancestors was samurai and used to operate the guns that now collect dust in collections all over the world. Who am I to argue with that especially when the man showed my guns that confirmed this. Now returning to the gun in question in this thread. Was it just blind luck that made me predict that this gun probably was around 4 Monme? No, whilst on the way for a exclusive tour of the matchlock collection in Sendai musuem, I had a very interesting talk with one of the persons that was present at the excavation of Date Masamune's grave. He was the one that said that Masamune prefered to equip his rank and files with 4-Monme matchlocks. This was very interesting when I just discovered that the Uesugi-clan during the Edo-period opted to use the 10-Monme as a standard weapon. So now you know, Eric. Trying to communicate on forums like this is somewhat "constraining". If I demanded absolute proof of every fact presented by the posters, Brian would most likely have to upgrade his storage capacity every week. Absolute truth is hard when dealing with history. That I'm 100% sure of. Jan

From seing pictures of the whole gun, I can with some level of confidence say that this was a no-nonsense matchlock produced for the mass-ranks of Date-infantry. The standard caliber used by Date was 4-Monme (1.38cm). Would be interesting to know the caliber of this one. This would also make sense regarding the kamon. As I said in my earlier post, the rank and file was not allowed to use a personal kamon. They would be issued with an arsenal-gun. If decorated, it would be with the kamon of the main family. In this case the circle with the three bars, which was used by the Date. This is an interesting gun with all the features that you expect to find on a Sendai matchlock. Just take care of that rust. Jan

Looks like the old spelling for Sendai in the beginning, which is good. This style of gun where produced at many locations around the north of Japan. So it's kind of sweet to have a gun that we know was made in Sendai. The rest of the signature will be hard to read due to corrosion. But I'm sure the kanji experts on this forum might be able to translate a few more. Sendai produced a lot of guns and there are over 200 gunsmiths recorded from about 60 different families so there will be quite a few to choose from Jan

Judging by the wire-trigger, extended lockplate and the long "grip" for the matchcord it looks like another Sendai-style matchlock just popped up. Please show us the complete gun if possible. Judging by the slender stock it's a 3-4 monme. Finding more info about kamon is always a fun way to spend a day or two. Sorry to say it's more or less impossible to get it right. When we see a kamon we start looking in the books for a famous family to match it with (I've done it a lot) The problem is that many of these kamon (if orginal Edo-period) many time belonged to a retainer of the ruling family. I've done some extended research into the Uesugi-family. Whilst visiting the area I was fortunate enough to encounter round about 40 guns def confirmed to have belonged to this famous family. I was of course expecting to see the Uesugi-kamon on these guns. I was quite surprised when I discovered a whole bunch of different kamon. When I asked the local experts about why the answer was easy. Each Bushi (not Ashigaru) was allowed to decorated his specific gun with his personal kamon. The style of Kamon on the gun in question looks to fall under that catagory. Many Kamon was indeed meant for export and made during the Meiji-period, as you pointed out Brian. Sorry to say, a lot of them badly executed. Jan

I got exactly the same looking stand delivered with an armour from Japan. Complete crap to be honest. It was unstable with sharp corners. Went out a bought the traditional stand shown in the other picture. The crappy one was later used for target practise. Worked like a charm Jan

Whilst I was visiting Piers in Okayama this past May, we were told to head over to Okayama Pref Museum, to witness something quite amazing. On display was the famous Tachi attributed to the Fukuoka Ichimonji school from the 13th century. It´s also known as the Sanchoumou. It´s a National treasure and as such commands the utmost respect. Whilst Piers and I was closing in on the museum, we saw several buses parked outside which was catering for all the people wanting to catch a very rear glimps of this masterpiece. It´s belongs to an old woman in Okayama. Now I saw in a recent article, that she has desided to sell it. For the moderate sum of 320 million yen. Apparently it´s going home to Echigo (Niigata Pref) where it once was owned by Uesugi Kenshin. Here.s the link to the article: www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201608240063.html I have also included a scan from the paper we got in the museum. Truly happy that I was able to spend 30 min with this treasure. Jan

This is a very interesting question. To continue the answers posted prior to this, I think its fairy safe to say that the first metal screws in Japan were those in connection to the bisen-screw. This was apparently a new technology that proved hard to master for the local blacksmiths tasked with the job. There are very few types of Japanese matchlocks which uses screws. This is actually true for pretty much every matchlock coming out from South East Asia. The Yonezawa-matchlock mentioned by Piers is the one that stands out. It has a large steel screw securing the trigger-guard to the stock.The same screw continues up and attaches to the bisen, like Ian described. But this type of matchlock also got an iron ramrod, which on it´s tip got a screw-on cap under which a "worm" is to be found. This worm was used to remove duds. A third place you will find threads is found on the hibasami. I have included a picture from my Yonezawa. The threads are clearly visible along with an hand forged nut. This is very rare to find on matchlocks. This feature is found on the Yonezawa, Seki and so called Kishu-guns. That the Seki gun is more or less a straight copy from the Yonezawa is not strange. The first Seki-gun was made by an student in Yonezawa that later opened up his own shop near Edo. So that construction is highly influenced by the original Yonezawa-gun which was manufactured 1604, about 15-20 years earlier than the Seki. There are also nuts securing the hibasami on guns made near Negoro/Wakayama in Kii. Unfortunately these are all from the 18th and 19th century. The original Negoro-guns were amongst the earliest matchlocks made after Tanegashima. So it would be fantastic to find an old Negoro-teppo to see if there were any screws fitted on these. The earliest matchlock I know of with a very similar construction to that of the Yonezawa, with a screw fastened into the bisen, is pre-Sekigahara matchlocks from the Satsuma area. These guns are quite different from the traditional Tanegashima-gun. The origin of these large caliber Satsuma guns are very interesting indeed. So to wrap this up, I think the first screws seen in Japan were connected to the first guns from Tanehashima and was used to secure the bisen to the barrel. Judging from the few extant matchlocks made prior to 1600, I would guess that screws located on other places on the matchlock might have been introduced during the 1570-90s. Which in the end inspired the makers of the Yonezawa-gun to produce their style in 1604. Jan

When I look at these inscriptions I get a feel that they fall under the shortened/casual cat. Perhaps contacting an expert is the best way to find out what these invocations really means. That is if Malcolm can't "terminate" this riddle once and for all... Jan