Tanegashima on a kozuka

[John C]

Supposedly a gift from John Yumoto.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/196519151172?

 

John C.

[Bugyotsuji]

Interesting kozuka.

 

One thing must be said though, that this is not a Tanegashima. It's probably a muzzle-loader, maybe even rifled, but a later percussion-cap gun, to be fired from the shoulder, possibly an imported gun with that decorative butt. Also the mechanism seems to be for a left-handed shooter, a rare object.

[Brian]

Agree, this looks like a British type flintlock converted to percussion. I wonder which artist saw one and decided to put it on a kozuka. Very unusual indeed.
The whole left handed thing may be that the artist wanted it facing the other way and just copied the right hand features onto the left side. I guess we'll never know, but it certainly is interesting. Maybe one of a kind.

[Matsunoki]

@Brian

@Bugyotsuji

I am thin ice and probably need my eyes tested but is that a left handed gun? The cheek rest is on the side for a normal right handed shooter as is the lock (only partially visible on the other side?) ….and is the geometry correct for a percussion lock? Is that a frizzen I see and the remains (?) of a cock with the top jaw missing but jaw screw intact

Possibly depicted with the lock facing away to avoid all the work in actually carving the complex lock….or maybe the now absent Kogai had it facing the other way with lock visible. I know I know stop being pedantic🙂🙂

OK…I’m waiting to be made a fool of! 🙂

Edited Wednesday at 09:06 AM by Matsunoki
Spelling

[Brian]

I think you're right (not left) in this case...lol. I think it's MY eyes, not yours. But then I have an excuse. The diabetes is playing havoc with my vision.

[Bugyotsuji]

I have no excuse. Just a quick look and that was it. :headbang:

 

Something like this but I cannot yet find an exact match.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

If you want to narrow it down. Some of the early western guns in the Bakumatsu.

 

[Matsunoki]

@Bugyotsuji Agreed Piers, almost certainly percussion lock as per one of the ones you show. Easier to see if you enlarge one of the images
Probably the rarest kozuka subject I’ve ever seen and with the backstory it’s probably worth the money. If I was buying and not selling……

Brian, sorry to hear of the eye trouble, hope something can be done to help.