Questions On Tanzutsu And Bajozutsu

[komi]

Just had a few questions about the nomenclature and history of these firearms types. I've seen 'tanzutsu' and 'bajozutsu' both used in English writing to describe pistol-sized variants of the matchlock teppo guns. Could anyone clarify if there's a clearer distinction between the two in Japanese? The only difference I've noticed is references to bajozutsu being used on horseback, I haven't seen tanzutsu used in the same context.

 

Also does anyone know the approximate time frame for when these gun variants were produced in Japan? Did they start off pretty much concurrently with the introduction of full-sized teppo, or did it take a bit longer for them to catch on? I've also seen an example of a bajozutsu that was claimed to be converted from matchlock to percussion in the "early Meiji", so am I right to assume these variants were produced alongside full-sized teppo at least up to the end of the Edo period?

[Bugyotsuji]

In the absence of any name, please allow me to call you 'komi'.

 

You have a raft of questions there, so let's start with the easy ones first.

A tanzutsu 短筒 literally means a short pistol. If you are going to carry one by your side as you walk, then smaller and lighter will be better.

If you ride a horse, however, a long gun may not be easy to carry and reload in the saddle, so shorter cavalry guns were produced, and the name for these as you say was Bajo-zutsu 馬上筒, literally horse-back gun. They tend to be longer than the Tanzutsu above, would be awkward to carry as a secondary sidearm, and they have certain distinguishing features. You can stand them upright in your stirrup or saddle and reload them with little trouble. They will probably have a rectangular hole in the stock for a binding strap to prevent dropping.

Of course, nothing is absolute in the world of J matchlocks, so you will find examples that straddle the boundaries of both. Once you have the basic rules, you can begin to appreciate the exceptions.

 

Conversions to percussion systems happened with great frequency at the end of Edo with all types of matchlocks, but the beginnings of pistols are harder to spot.

Matchlock pistols were almost unknown around the world, although I believe some were once produced in India at one time. If you research the beginnings, perhaps you can add to the body of knowledge. Much of the early years of matchlocks in Japan was naturally shrouded in secrecy to prevent handing advantage to the enemy. Most of the tens of thousands of matchlocks from before 1600 seem to have been lost for one reason or another. There is a record of the Satsuma troops using Bajozutsu to break through the Tokugawa lines and excape from the battlefield at Sekigahara in 1600. I have an early pistol from around the sieges of Osaka in 1614-15, with a crossover shape suggesting lack of evolution. They continued to be produced throughout the Edo Period, but their numbers were way fewer than long guns, perhaps 1 in 100 as a very rough rule of thumb. It is my belief that pistols were in use as early as the 1560s, not too long after snapping matchlock long guns were first introduced to Tanegashima in 1543, but who, when, where and why?

[komi]

Thanks very much for your reply, that is helpful information and seems to be along the lines of what little I had read on this subject before. I guess the term "bajozutsu" could be somewhat equivalent to "carbine" when used in the cavalry sense rather than "pistol." Like you I noticed handguns were much rarer than long guns.

 

One thing I noticed is that all the examples of 'tanzutsu' and 'bajozutsu' I have seen are single-shot guns (much like the full sized muskets). Do you know if there were any matchlock handguns produced in Japan that experimented with multi-shot technology? I seem to remember once seeing an example of a multi-barreled Japanese pistol, but that was a percussion gun ca. mid 19th century.

[IanB]

Komi,  Adding to what Piers has said, it is worth noting that there were a few flirtations with other systems. At least a few wheel lock pistols were produced (one by an Ishikawa Yoshitsugu of Awa) as well as snaphaunces. I have handled a triple, revolving barrelled snaphaunce carbine with Tokugawa mon that appears to have been sent as a gift by Tokugawa Ieyasu or Hidetada to Mexico with the Keicho Mission to Europe. Following the arrival of the Americans quite a few pistols were made ignited by detonating pellets. Most of these seem to be little more than a barrel with a hinged lever on top that when squeezed crushed a pellet in the touch hole. One maker of cavalry carbines that used detonating pellets was Katai Kiyosuke. His guns have a pellet-magazine that when the end was pushed, dropped a pellet into a pan to be struck by the hammer. They also have a device on the lockplate that cocked the hammer when pressed by the thumb as well as captive ramrods working on a swivel at the muzzle. A sliding ring on the rear face of the stock shows they were intended to be carried on a sling. This period does not seem to have lasted long because as  soon as percussion caps became available, box lock pistols almost identical to those made in the West became quite common.

Ian Bottomley

[komi]

Thanks, that's interesting to read. I had also heard of the Japanese experimentation with wheellock pistols, but as I understood it these were more of a novelty than the matchlock 'bajozutsu' or tanzutsu', and it doesn't seem Japan went any further than matchlock for their standard ignition systems until after Perry's arrival.

 

Do you know what the pellets in those Japanese pellet-ignition guns were made of? I've seen examples of western-made 'pill lock' guns that used pellets of mercury fulminate.

[Bugyotsuji]

雷汞 (Raiko balls) = Raisan Suigin, ie fulminate of mercury

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%B7%E9%85%B8%E6%B0%B4%E9%8A%80(II)

 

Here is a Bizen Raika pill lock gun:

http://www.e-sword.jp/antiqueguns/1610-7045.htm

[komi]

Regarding multi-shot Japanese pistols I've found two images which claim to be such things, both matchlocks:

 

This one looks like it was posted on a forum of some sort, I couldn't find any info other than it was claimed to be Edo period:

https://i.warosu.org/data/tg/img/0293/40/1389097893112.jpg

 

This one appears to be an old auction listing:

https://www.collectorebooks.com/gregg01/Lot-97.htm

 

If anyone has seen examples like either of these before it would be interesting to know any details on who made them, what date, etc. Also I'm no expert, but the style of that second pistol looks a bit unusual for Japanese (e.g. grip and trigger), at least compared to tanzutsu/bajozutsu examples I've seen before...

[Bugyotsuji]

The first was experimental, probably a one-off, around the Bakumatsu. Sawada Taira mentions it I seem to recall. The second does not have a Japanese feeling to it at all.

[komi]

Glad to see I'm not the only one who was suspicious of that second gun. To me it looks more southern Asian...

 

Anyone know if these 'turret revolver' style guns were authentic to Japan? I've seen photos of the same online but no literature that talks about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoNUgQZ-wf8

[Bugyotsuji]

Many of these one-offs were either an experiment of a fake, and dealers today gamble on making big bucks with them. Are you wanting to spend a lot of money on a very rare gamble? The quick answer is no, but with all these things you have to see a slew of photos or take the item in your hands. I have seen much more compact versions of what this gun was trying to accomplish, but 'if' it is indeed genuine then it must have been an early attempt, (1840-50?) rejected as too heavy, unwieldy and cumbersome.

 

As with Japanese swords, they say that if you spend your life looking at the genuine article, you will instantly spot the fakes.

Spend your life looking at questionable examples though, and you will forever stay confused, I was told.

[komi]

I wouldn't have the bucks to shell out on that kind of thing anyway, at this point it's just about trying to learn a bit of the history behind these things and find decent literature on the subject. Thanks for the info so far.

[Bugyotsuji]

Ah, sorry, I didn't see the video clip. Having watched it now though, it does look like it has little age to it, and the lower grip at the front looks like many things, but not traditionally Japanese.

[Bazza]

No, it's an American invention.  I have more info unless someone else comes up with a name and a link.

 

BaZZa.

[IanB]

The so-called turret gun has so many non-Japanese features it is difficult to know where to begin. Let us start with the stock. All Japanese guns had stocks made from lacquered red oak not some dark stained wood of indeterminate nature. What is the large lump underneath the stock at the fore-end all about?  What has happened to the ramrod? As for the lock, the mechanism it is a copy of those used in most of European or India where the trigger is directly linked to the serpentine and move together, not a snapping matchlock as was used in Japan. The shape of the serpentine with its great blob of brass at the pivot point, parallel arm that is obviously just a piece of brass rod  and the jaws that hold the match pointing away from the pan rather than towards it are all wrong. The muzzel shape seems to owe more to a Scottish thistle than anything else and is definitely not Japanese. All in all - something knocked up in a shed by someone who once saw a picture of a real teppo and forget most of the details.

Ian Bottomley

[komi]

Cheers guys, good to have the experts in. Would be interesting to see a genuine example of a turret-style matchlock out of Japan if indeed this example was very loosely based on something Japanese that the maker once saw. Going to have to keep up the google hunting a bit...

[komi]

Does anyone know if the multi-barreled examples of Japanese pistols tended to have something fixing the barrels in place when not indexing to the next one, or did they freely rotate? Found a couple examples online (e.g. this) but not much technical info given.

[Bugyotsuji]

The woodwork looks new, designed to look old. If that is genuine then you must be a millionaire. You talk of 'multi-barrelled pistols' as if they are two a penny. There should be an internal click as you turn the barrels around, in a genuine example. How dangerous would it be if it didn't line up and lock in some way!

 

PS You are wanting a generalization from us, but the quickest way to get an answer regarding this gun would be to contact the dealer.

[IanB]

The three barreled job looks as if most if not all of it is genuine. Alignment is not really an issue as long as the match hits the pan, but if you look there is a brass leaf-spring underneath that engages with notches in the barrel cluster. Like many of the unusual Japanese guns, these things are definitely one-offs to tempt a buyer, although in this case it looks practical enough.

Ian Bottomley

[komi]

You talk of 'multi-barrelled pistols' as if they are two a penny.

 

Wasn't aware I was, I was just asking for any info on examples that people here know of. But sorry if I was too generic for you in this topic, I won't ask these kinds of things in future.

 

The three barreled job looks as if most if not all of it is genuine. Alignment is not really an issue as long as the match hits the pan, but if you look there is a brass leaf-spring underneath that engages with notches in the barrel cluster. Like many of the unusual Japanese guns, these things are definitely one-offs to tempt a buyer, although in this case it looks practical enough.

Ian Bottomley

 

I thought that might be what the thing underneath was, thanks for your take on it.

[Bugyotsuji]

komi, my apologies. Despite there being so many lovely examples of old Japanese matchlocks out there, you have been bringing along some examples from the outer fringe or beyond and asking us for comments. This I find puzzling. Are you collecting such guns, or are you just curious? Forgive me, but I find it hard to know where you are coming from, and that lack of self-introduction leaves me sort of 'blind'.