Long time gun collector, new to this community. Looking for answers.

[Bachelderguns]

Hello everyone, thank you for your time and expertise in advance. 

After looking over your forum, it seems this is the place to find answers to my questions. 

I have acquired my first Tanegashima match lock rifle. 

Below are the photos of the gun dis-assembled. I will upload more photos of the whole rifle. 

The stock is free of decoration with the exception of one rabbit on the grip area. Basic brass round/ring type fittings are present on the hole/pin locations. 

I will also update the thread with the barrels bore size. 

Thank you again and I am very excited to be a part of this knowledgeable group.

-Parker Bachelder 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Congratulations on your new Kunitomo acquisition, Parker! There is plenty to say so please be patient until all the information has been extracted. It looks to be in good condition.  
 

(In the meantime I would avoid using the word ‘rifle’ as it is a smooth bore, and choose some other expression like ‘long gun’ etc.)

[Bachelderguns]

Thank you for the quick reply.

Doing my best to learn the new nomenclature, feels like I'm getting into the hobby again for the first time. 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Quite a bit of *information for you coming up.

Was there no other inscription under the barrel, e.g. on the facet to the right of the Mei?(…as the bisen breech screw faces you).
 

*The 善 mark on your lockwork probably indicates one of the known Kunitomo locksmiths, 岡善次郎 Oka Zenjirō. A date for him is not given but circumstantial evidence suggests the Bakumatsu.

[Bachelderguns]

These are the only inscriptions I can see on the steel. The stock is also absent of any inscription.

[Bugyotsuji]

Nicely cut Mei with a 花王 Kaō. 

The gunsmith is 

江州国友源之進珍英 

Gō-Shū Kunitomo Gen-no-Shin Chin-ei

There is a 4.5 Monmé example gun of his in the Nagahama History Museum on the eastern shore of Lake Biwa. Although the gun is not dated, he is listed as a descendant of a Kunitomo Gentaro who made a gun in Tempo, placing him towards the end of matchlock manufacturing in Kunitomo, i.e. the Bakumatsu or last years  of the Tokugawa Period.

[Bachelderguns]

 Thank you Piers, your expertise is truly impressive. 

I will put a few photos of the whole gun on tomorrow. 

Would this piece have been used for hunting or military type use?

 

[Bugyotsuji]

If the (brass? Silver?) Mon is original to the gun, it could have been for someone like the Makino family, for example, who used a triple oak leaf crest in a circle.

[Bachelderguns]

The Mon appears to be inlaid with great precision but after reading about the non-original Mon on these later rifles guns, I am skeptical of its originality.

[Bugyotsuji]

1 minute ago, Bachelderguns said:

 

Would this piece have been used for hunting or military type use?

 

It really depends on the bore size. If you can get a measurement in cm it will give you the answer. If above 1.5 cm, then almost definitely for the military. One of his guns (mentioned above) was just on the borderline, a little too large for shooting or hunting small game.

[Bugyotsuji]

1 minute ago, Bachelderguns said:

The Mon appears to be inlaid with great precision but after reading about the non-original Mon on these later rifles, I am skeptical of its originality.

Personally speaking, I like the look and feel of this particular Kamon even if it is a little large. It could well be original IMHO.

[Bachelderguns]

Sorry I missed your answer about the lock above.

 

"*The 善 mark on your lockwork probably indicates one of the known Kunitomo locksmiths, 岡善次郎 Oka Zenjirō. A date for him is not given but circumstantial evidence suggests the Bakumatsu."

 

Thank you again for the information, I'll post more photos / measurements.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

OK, great.

 

Oh, the 二 number 2 mark to the left of the Mei is probably the series number. You can imagine that he originally made a pair of these, at least. Does the same 二 appear anywhere else, such as on the bottom of the pan lid?

[Brian]

Nice looking gun. Resist the urge to overclean. You end up with that spotty rusted area look, but with the patina much lighter on the metal.

[Bachelderguns]

Here is the gun assembled. It seems I am missing the flash pan cover, all of the barrel retaining pins, and maybe a sling swivel that would be in front of the trigger guard? 

The barrel bore diameter 1.27cm

I'll be attempting to de breach the gun in the future after some soaking in penetrating oil.

The stock also has a hairline fracture where it meets the barrel. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Tons to say about that, so hoping that I don't forget something! 

 

First off, you have a Kunitomo gun that has been finished with the hallmarks of Kishu style, probably for an order from Wakayama (Kishu). These Kishu guns are rather rare, so this is a nice gun to have, being made in Kunitomo.

 

Second, do not worry about the crack. Most Tanegashima-style matchlocks develop a crack in the stock either at the top of the butt or at the muzzle end where the woodwork encloses the barrel. When wood shrinks onto steel, something has to give way. You will see many examples of these guns with a small brass plate behind the barrel, at the top, covering this area of weakness. During a blackpowder display one of my matchlocks pistols blew the top part of the woodwork right off and away into the river, so I had a total repair with a brass cover and sakura engraving. Think of it as proof of age!

 

Sourcing a flash pan cover/lid will be your main project. Mekugi pins are easy to make out of bamboo chopsticks for example, or better still smoked bamboo (susu-dake) if you can find some. Just check to make sure the holes line up with the barrel loops underneath, in other words the barrel is original to the stock. (Normally a barrel ring like that should not be necessary if you have mekugi holes.)

I have a gun which was missing the swivel loop in front of the trigger guard like that, and my friendly gunsmith made a new one for me. 

 

Your serpentine is bent. Please be very gentle if you try to hammer it back into the original shape, checking often all round, because old Shinchu (brass) can develop a fatal crack. The ramrod looks to be original! (Nice)

 

Photos supplied if necessary! Anyway, a very nice piece to have and worthy of any TLC you choose to spend on it.  

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

A good-looking quality gun indeed. I forgot to mention that maybe 70% of breech screws eventually relent and unscrew. Be prepared for the one that won't, and with too much force in a giant vice/vise, you may crack or bust the screw completely.

[Viper6924]

Late arrival to this post, but Piers has pretty much sorted out everything needed to be said about this matchlock.

Overall a very nice gun in good condition. Kunitomo-signed ”Kishu-style” matchlocks are indeed rather rare, as the majority of guns displaying such features (square-shaped fittings) were made in the Sakai/Osaka area.

I believe that the ramrod is the original one to this matchlock, which is always a big bonus in my book.

Beside sorting out the missing pancover and possibly trying to straightening out the serpentine, I would leave the gun as is. 
A very good start to your matchlock collection 👍🙂

 

Jan

[Bachelderguns]

Thank you for all of the helpful information. 

This gives me so much context, I'll be spending much time diving further into this gun's history.

I'll update the thread if I can replace the missing components.

Looking forward to posting the next one I find!

[Stephen]

Welcome to your new home away from home Parker fantastic gun very envious.