Help required

[Rope-Burner]

I recently bought a Japanese matchlock pistol and I would like to know what is written on the bottom of the barrel. Can anyone help?

[Bugyotsuji]

Congratulations on your purchase, Grahame!

大野善三郎作

Ōno Zenzaburō Saku (I think!)

(Possibly Zensaburō?)

 

I’m about to check this smith out. If I find anything I’ll post it here.

[Bugyotsuji]

Hmmm… could be a Tosa smith in Shikoku. The shape and construction of the butt should clarify this.

 

Family name Ono. There are five Tanegashima matchlock gunsmiths listed under this name, two of them working in Tosa, a large province in the southern part of Shikoku. (There were two in Hyūga in Kyūshū, and one Ono smith in Bizen.)

 

The style of your name is very similar to one of the listed Tosa smiths, so although unlisted I reckon yours should be a relative in the same Ono smith line.

 

Can you spot it?

 

[Rope-Burner]

Bugyotsuji san Thank you for your help. I've attched a photo. There is also some script on the left side of the stock but it's very indistinct.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/木更津県　

 

Well done on finding this gun. Many people are searching for a decent example but they are comparatively rare.

For those marks on the side of the butt, look for very early temporary Prefectural names like 'Kisarazu Ken' which start with a Ki 木.  National firearms roundups and registrations were held for all guns in Japan, starting with the big Jinshin roundup of 1872 in early Meiji. If it is a 'Jinshin Bango' you should be able to see some faint numbers there too. Registration stamps were placed either in the wood or sometimes on the upper part of the barrel.