@@genghisgalahad8465 To my knowledge yes, Ashigaru were usually the ones who were more equiped with firearms. But as Gun Samurai points out, some of the heavier and more unique weapons were reserved only to be used by samurai.
@Avocado Panda Look, there are always like a few people who just dislike everything, even if it was *AMAZING* content or video, something like this " There is something here, dislike. Another video here, dislike. An amazing video by a popular and amazing channel........dislike."
Haha do you get paid from the Japanese for making these videos? Samurais were bunch of jokes before they acquire guns from Europe. In korean history records samurias were Short weak and useless and their main focus was always on the northern tribes like jurchens and Mongolians.
There's nothing cooler than the look of Samurai and Knights dressed in full armor shooting guns. That mix of old and new excites my inner history and gun nerd.
@@penguasakucing8136 Although most of those dudes aren't knights, they are German Mercenaries by the name of Black Riders, cuz they are dressed in black carbon armour cuz budget.
I remember reading in Samuel Hawley's book "The Imjin War" that for a time Japanese firearms were actually more advanced in a combat setting than their European counterparts for one simple reason. The Gun factories of Europe had wildly varying calibers of firearms that they produced so troops had to be sure to have the tools on hand to smelt their own ammunition. Where as Japanese firearms were produced by "Schools" of gunsmiths all to a standard caliber. Though it was impossible to are a entire army with a standardized caliber you could arm a unit of men with the same caliber just by buying the guns from the same "School" meaning that if someone ran out of ammunition they could borrow from their fellows or retrieve pre-made ammunition from the baggage train.
After the rise of European nation-state in ~16th century, many European states have a ministry/office dedicated to procuring and storing military equipment and supplies (e.g. England's Board of Ordnance, establish in 1470s). Each nations generally design their military equipment and firearms and produce them in batches using standardized system (e.g. "pattern" system, as in 1722 "Land pattern musket" also known as "Brown Bess" musket) and store them in state armory/arsenal. While you can find variations between different regiments within the army, soldiers within single regiment were (usually) equipped with same standard issue weapon and equipment. It's common sense practice, and it's still how modern day military operates. So, IMO Japanese "advantage" in standardized equipment exist because their gun industry only just matured a couple decade before the Imjin war. Basically they only produced several "patterns" by then, compared to, let's say, Spanish or Portuguese armory which have been producing and storing various patterns of firearms for centuries.
What I am surprised is the japanese capacity to reverse engineer so many western technology, even during the Bakufu they managed to translate many of the last advancements in the western science thanks to the books they got in the island of Dejima from the dutch. No wonder the Modernization during the Meiji Restoration was so successful
So true. That perfectionist culture that they have is ideal for adopting anything from guns to organization to industrial techniques. I admire them for that.
@@TheLoyalOfficer yeah, even with the help of William Adams they manage to build western-style sailing ships to comerce aroud Asia, even though they end up destroying this ships during the Isolationist period (Sakoku)
Vietnamese in early 19th able reverse engineering stream boat and build their own stream boats but then their Nguyen Dynasty declined and all knowledge lost since colonial era by French.
@@pirotess2 in the last days of the Shogunate the japanese were also able to built stream boats, but if the Vietnamese weren't in the midle of India and China the french would probably leave them alone to develop, perhaps to a similar degree to the japanese
@@HistoriaenCeluloide I think the main reason that Emperor Minh Mang of Dai Nam (Vietnam name at that time) threw too much treasury into war against Siam in Cambodia instead improving the economy after hundreds years of civil war and later emperors only care building palaces, thus in the reign of Emperor Tu Duc, Dai Nam almost bankrupt, the ratio of firearms went down from 40% to 15% and outdated with weapons since Napoleonic era. Even the French surprised that Dai Nam collapsed easily, opposite when they during in Tay Son uprising.
The Samurai were amongst the most literate people in Japan at that time. When they were eventually dissolved during the Meiji Restoration, many former samurai would become foreign exchange students. Others would take on professional roles, such as writers and journalists. Lastly, some would become successful businessmen
I also believe that initially the reason why most of it's users were Ashigaru has nothing to do with not being an honorable weapon but because of practicality. It would be a waste not use your highly trained archers and cavalry when you can easily swell the ranks of your matchlock units with conscripts in short amount of time. As guns becomes more and more part of Samurai training, more and more matchlocks are in the hands of the Samurais.
Most soldiers throughout history are learners by nature, particularly during wartime. Stubbornly holding on to the old ways is all well and good until the next big thing is kicking you in the teeth.
Teppos should be added to the conversation when referring Samurai vs anything. I'd also love to see a video about Magoichi and the Saika renegades in the future
@@BountyFlamor Knights were primarily a heavily armored mounted unit and did not utilize firearms at the same capacity as the Samurai. All firearm functioning units in renaissance Europe were common soldiers; commoners.
@@luelee6168 Actually, mounted knights adopted firearms such as pistols and carbines from such weapons' inception, as can be seen from period engravings, manuals, and descriptions. And, while it's true that most arquebusier or musket units were predominantly recruited from the common folk, period writers such as Sir John Smythe, Edward Davies, and others make it abundantly clear that there often gentleman volunteers serving as "shotte" in the ranks. And the officers commanding the shotte were seldom ever below the rank of gentlemen, and often knights or even nobles. The period sources demonstrate a much more complex situation regarding status/weapons/tactics than we usually see depicted in general historical works or in popular media.
@@WhatDillionYT My understanding is that their association with the sword was an Edo era invention that comes from them desperately wanting people to take a bunch of pencil pushers because they totally came from warrior clans that did warrior stuff in the past so please take them seriously also give me money because the shogun took all of mine.
I always awed by how fast the japanese blacksmiths are able to replicate and reproduce the arquebus since most of them are creating swords and not something close to a firearm
I'm Portuguese, and I read from an original source (the book published in the XVIth century of the guy who was there on their 1st time in Japan) that the Japanese couldn't produce it at first because they couldn't make one of the parts in the firing mechanism if I recall correctly, and no one who was there knew either. So he promised to bring them a blacksmith who knows how to do it, to teach them (and so he did).
It was how to plug the breech too. Japanese smiths immediately know by just seeing the gun, that the barrel are made by turning a sheet of wrought iron into a tube by hammering it over a mandrel. But thats just an open pipe, they didn't understand how to create the breech plug.
@@penguasakucing8136 what is the difference between these different Japanese words for a gun (I assume an arquebus in engineered different to teppo for example) and similar, what is the difference between the western counterparts, which sound like the evolution is much slower
@@alcibiades4716 Western Arquebuses had a shoulder stock, meaning that gun recoil is absorbed by the shoulder and that the gun is supported against the shoulder which ensures a more stable grip. They're also longer and heavier on average. European Arquebuses also had a different version called the matchlock musket, which is vastly longer and requires the support of tripods to fire accurately. These were much more common by the 1500s and 1600s but were not ideal for anything else but battlefield use. Japanese teppos, especially from Sakai, did not have stocks. Meaning, the entire recoil of the gun is held and absorbed entirely by the hand or the cheek. Japanese teppos were also short on average and sometimes were short enough to be used as pistols. Certain Teppos also had large barrel bores and carried heavier rounds, though these were rare.
There were two interesting gun mercenary armies "Negoro-shu(根来衆)" and "Saika-shu(雑賀衆)" at the era. Negoro-shu was a group of warrior monks belonged to Negoro-ji temple in now Wakayama prefecture. Saika-shu was consisted with five groups led by locally influential warriors and they were also in Wakayama pref. Especially Saika-shu repelled Nobunaga Oda forces few times by firepower. On 26th August 1570, Battle of Noda & Fukushima castles both in now Osaka city, Osaka Pref (so-called first Ishiyama war campaign) broke out between Nobunaga Oda and allied forces of Miyoshi clan with Ishiyama-Honganji temple warriors. Saika and Negoro-shu participated in Oda forces and a part of Saika-shu belonged to Miyoshi forces. On 12th September 1570, the battle escalated into large-scale gun fight. By chronicle of Oda clan, there were 3,000 gunners of Saika and Negoro-shu in their forces at that day(also Oda forces had their own firearm units). That battle preceded by five years of famous battle of Nagashino that Nobunaga won by his firepower against Takeda clan.
Some guys, including the last Samurai: Firearms are dishonorable, we prefer traditional weapons Oda Nobunaga: Allow me to introduce myself *Battle of Nagashino flashbacks*
Right? plus historically those Satsuma based rebels used modern weaponry up until they literally ran out of ammunition, that was when they did a last ditch "banzai" charge.
@@andrewle7429 Yeah you are correct, so the idea of "These weapons are dishonorable" is just really dumb, even the Satsuma rebels used firearms extensively, until they ran out of ammunition, so their only option was this final charge at Shiroyama. Ever since firearms reached Japan, all Daimyo and leaders tried to get their hands on this weapon.
The Ikko Ikki Resistance, which fought against the invasion of the Oda army in Kii (present-day Wakayama Prefecture), was also famous for its gun corps. Just as Russian forces are now plagued by Ukrainian hand-held missiles, Nobunaga's forces were plagued by their stubborn resistance and were unable to conquer Kii. The other day, there was an incident in which Prime Minister Kishida was attacked by a man. But it wasn't the guards who caught the culprit, but the local fishermen. When I learned that the location was Saika Fishing Port, one of the bases at the time, I was reminded of their high combat capabilities.
@@FistsofGodfrey I don’t understand why you think the dou part of the gusoku isn’t heat treated, but to your point about wheel lock, is it really that much more impressive though? I think anything leading up to percussion cap is mere distraction in advancement of firearms
@@yn5568 heat treating iron does nothing. European plates are regarded superior armor by contemporary Japanese warriors. Wheel lock is superior because you can keep multiple loaded weapon on you while not having to hold on to an ignited fuse. That made is possible for cavalry to use pistols and carbines on horseback and elite infantry to carry loaded pistols for melee. That is why the katana remained an important part of the samurai class to carry for self defence while Europeans moved on to more duelling focused sword. Katana needed to be quick to deploy, while the rapier does not have to as the pistol and dagger served that purpose
@@yn5568 and there is also the more popular and cheaper flintlock, dominated European battlefield until the mid 19th century. Are you suggesting that the muskets and rifles used in the battle of Waterloo are no better than the ones used at Sekigahara?
@@FistsofGodfrey uchigatana remaining common has nothing to do with types of firearms. I could make the same argument for European sabers if that was the case. Also I think as modern day humans, we’re underestimating how common live fire is, as well as handling in non-optimal conditions. Also if wheellock and flintlock was so superior in manufacturability, why would it take until Japan intentionally put heavy restrictions on firearms, for all of Europe combined to have more firearms than Japan alone?
@@yn5568 sabre are not carried for civilian for self defence, and the small sword was ceremonially worn only and fell out of fashion with more advanced firearms
Wow my image of samurai is all about katana, but if you think about it, the time period for samurais using guns were longer than the samurais (at least from a period from when they were called Bushi or samurai) using only katana
When samurai use only katana? Katana is their sidearm, primary weapons of samurai is bow and naginata before Sengoku era, then they replaced naginata by spear yari, in late Sengoku era samurai phased out bow in favor of matchlock. Only since Edo era which is peace time and no war, they carry only katana in normal days.
bouncing off of what PirotessTheChaos said, early Samurai (like Genpei War era, so ~12th century) were characterized as being mounted archers, in fact they were associated with "The Way of the Bow" rather than "The Way of the Sword". Swordsmanship wasn't really focused upon until ironically the introduction of firearms on the battlefield, as the gunners had to also be proficient in another weapon when melee was inevitable, and as mentioned by Pirotess, the katana was their sidearm, so on top of training with the usage and accuracy of their firearm (which the Japanese independently added iron sights onto their matchlocks) they practiced swordsmanship. I would also imagine the way they used the swords was most probably with knowing their opponent was armored in mind, so they would be aiming for weak points etc. as they couldn't just do cool looking slashes and just have their katana bounce off the Dou, especially when samurai armor later on started to take on Western characteristics to be more resistant to firearms (an example is a set of armor Oda Nobunaga wore). Even talented samurai who were extremely proficient with using the katana, began to adopt firearms at the breakout of civil war between the Shogunate and Pro-Imperial forces during the Boshin War. An example being the Shinsengumi, while the founding members essentially came from a kenjutsu dojo, they also trained in marksmanship and used the latest firearms despite fighting for the Shogunate.
This is an extremely through explanation both verbally and visually of how firearms were used in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai. I though I understood the subject before viewing this video, but now realize my knowledge at best general in nature.
Amazing! I have just been to Matsumoto for the second time in my life and wish I could've seen a demonstration. The collection inside the castle is very impressive and the pieces are in impeccable condition. I especially like all the explanatory sheets. Thank you for doing this!
At that time guns were already one of the most used weapon in Japan after spears. Guns do not require long training and can shock enemy soldiers and horses with gun sound without hitting. On the contrary, there were very few chances to use katanas in battlefield. Katana became the main weapon at the end of the Edo period, when many urban warfare between political opponents took place in the city of Kyoto.
Yeap firearms The most important weapon for the Samurai during the height of the Sengoku-jidai and even briefly after during the Siege of Osaka and The Shimabara rebellion during the very early Edo period The Teppo What a game changer it was honestly It was highly coveted Samurai warfare is beautifully brutal
Seeing the Way of the Samurai 3 in the intro makes me want Way of the Samurai 5 set in the Sengoku Jidai. It's been along time since the last one. Great vid by the way.
Fun fact: Teppo-tai would sometimes fire from special bamboo structured emplacements covered in hanging mats of wet straw, which acted as effective bullet-resistant barriers
I remember hearing they put those there because the mobile walls they used to block arrows were too fragile to stop bullets on their own and needed mats of wet straw to slow down the bullets enough for their standing shields to work.
Matsumoto castle had an extensive display of Japanese matchlocks. Great castle to visit, as one of the few remaining original castles that also has some decent displays. Most of the original 12 castles have next to no displays or exhibits. Just empty rooms.
I went to Matsumoto jo years ago all they had was a samurai who would pop his fan to scare people. Didnt know they had this. Also if you go to Matsumoto city they have baum kuchen that are really delicious near the castle.
@@BountyFlamor literally almost none. The famous example would be Otomo asking Portugues's artillery for help to against Shimazu, and Tokugawa only using couple of canons in Siege of Osaka, but only for scaring Hideyoshi's family member in castle. Most of Sengoku's castles are in fact building on mountain or river, not those famous castles you see in the modern era cuz they are reimagined. Other than using fire, flood or digging. There are not many ways to siege except overwhelming the opponent or let them starve
Very interesting. Were wheellock or snaphaunce/flintlock pistols ever brought in by Dutch traders? I know that the Dutch sometimes had Japanese craftsmen do decorative metalwork on flintlocks brought in for the purpose, but these were then brought back for sale in Europe or other places.
So despite the Teppu changed the Samurai warfare but they still need the Bow and also Ashigaru or Cavalry for the real outcome of a battle. Although from the Imjin war, Hideyoshi army gained alot of advantage due to their more improved rifle and tactics against Koreans, but the Ming also use Arquebuise as well or namely flamethrowers. I remember in every Akira Kurosawa period movies, he always portray the Teppu in a negative light, as the rifle symbolize "Invention used for war" in his movies like Ran and also in the beginning of Kagemusha where the rifleman who shot Shingen. A bit off topic Mr Shogunate, will you ever do a video about "Tenka Fubu" by Oda Nobunaga? I noticed there aren't any English information about Tenka Fubu and it true meaning.
@@TheShogunate great! The Tenka Fubu only heard on KOEI games as part of a political system where the Daimyo you play as will call upon the rest of the allies you haven't annexed into arms
Even at the time of Napoleon were still using cavalry with sabres. Not surpising for the Samurai to still rely on their more traditional weapons, since their musket warfare was still in it's infancy. Also since they only go to war with each other their their style of fighting doesn't change that much so they only modify their tactics and weaponry just enough to beat their local rivals. Europe on the other hand requires a nation to adapt much more quickly and rapidly since a country can be at war with different nations of different military at any time
Question: Did the Japanese also used flintlock firearms, or did they stick with just matchlock firearms until the introduction of more modern firearms?
Flintlock guns were soon manufactured in Japan. Japan is a treasure trove of flint. However, the Japanese hated that type of gun and preferred the matchlock style. The reason was that the Flintlock gun had a one second time lag between pulling the trigger and firing. This time lag was very frustrating for the samurai.
No, the time that Europeans using flintlock are in Edo Bakufu, a peace period, which they even restrict Yari, Yumi and Teppo. No reason and need to adopt or even produce flintlock at that point
Not Samurai, but in the Asuka and Nara period when Japan was modelling itself on everything Tang Chinese, they also tried Chinese-style centralized Imperial Army, complete with Crossbow-armed infantry. However, it doesn't last as in the Heian era it was replaced with the Feudal Samurai army.
@@winmoeaung86and to add more context. The centralized imperial army would always lose in each engagement they fought which lead the generals to rely more and more on their mercenaries, the bushi which would later turn into the samurai class as they're the effective soldiers when fighting the Ainu than the conscripts.
Have you ever come across the samurai archives Japanese history podcast? Some really interesting stuff there. They have a bunch of episodes on nagashino and dispel some of the myths surrounding it. You might also find the episode on horse/cavalry and the ones about the takeda clan/shingen particularly interesting
How the heck are you supposed to afford that much ammo? Some arquebusier units are barely even capable of carrying 30rounds due to corruption or lack of funds. Heck even the Prussian units of Frederick the Great boasted of their ability to be issued 60 rounds each. You've got to be a rich samurai to afford that loadout.
Speaking of firearms in Early Modern Japan. Dammit Hideyoshi I really bloody hate sword hunts or other such weapons control measures. Either from government pencil pushers or your local warlord regardless of era.
Actually fire arm's where generally much more available in japan after the end of the sengoku jidai them swords. Mostly becouse many considered it a dishonorable weapon, instead of having sword's many pesants had fire arms for self defense, matchlocks where also popularly used for hunting. Japan probably was the most well armed country in the world in the late 1700s since fire arms where so widely available, although they certainly where of lower quality them european guns by the time such as flintlock muskets.
Before I started to learn about the samurai, I always thought that they only used katanas and they always lived by honor. But after I started to really dig into the topic (your channel was and is a really great source of information, nearly everything I know is from your channel) I came to the conclusion, that the image of a samurai in pop culture, is really lame. I think that the real image of a sengoku samurai, using guns and different kinds of weapon, and using anything in order to achieve victory, is way more awesome, than that 1dimension samurai, waving a katana and shouting ,,HONOR!!"
The samurai of the Warring States period changed jobs to a high-paying lord. That was common sense at the time. "Honor" or "loyalty" is a concept that a bureaucratized samurai learned in a textbook in a peaceful time in Japan.
Honor in the world of the Samurai means serving you lord with loyalty and devotion, it has nothing to do with our modern notion of Honor. That doesn't mean though that there were no Samurais who lived an honorable life in the modern sense of the word.
@@takaakiyamada5451 Depends on the period, in the Sengoku period, honor to ones feudal lord is already strictly followed. Though there seems to be much more leeway when it comes to daimyo to daimyo loyalty.
The tanegashima seems to have been based on snap matchlocks that were produced in Portuguese Malacca, at the armory of Malacca, a colony of Portugal since 1511, called an istinggar in Malay
The name tanegashima came from the Japanese island (Tanegashima) where a Chinese junk with Portuguese adventurers on board was driven to anchor by a storm in 1543. The lord of the Japanese island, Tanegashima Tokitaka (1528-1579), purchased two matchlock muskets from the Portuguese and put a swordsmith to work copying the matchlock barrel and firing mechanism
The smith, Yaita, did not have much of a problem with most of the gun but "drilling the barrel helically so that the screw (bisen bolt) could be tightly inserted" was a major problem as this "technique did not apparently exist in Japan until this time."
The Portuguese fixed their ship and left the island and only in the next year when a Portuguese blacksmith was brought back to Japan was the problem solved
the foreigns from the west have names and nationalities, their names are Diogo Zaimoto and Cristóvão Borralho and they where portuguese, and all started with hunting ducks.
There's an accurate depiction in the movie called "Heaven and Earth", I didn't even see if they use bows and arrows at all, The ranged combat done mainly by firearms.
About old and the new, so armor sword + guns its the same as in late XV and XVI century Europe, but in europe even more with early XVI with full plate armor, horses in plate, much more different weapons types etc
My favorite weapon in anime used to be the katana but now I favor the New Nambu Model 60, a .38 Special snub-nosed revolver issued to the Japanese police.
oh my gosh my family makes knives in Idaho and my uncle is a master smith, the only one ever in Idaho. he has been to japan a few times to teach knif makers how to make steal from types of dirt like a lost art. anyway he makes barrels the old way for types of flintlocks i think he would love to talk with you.
Japan during the Sengoku Jidai: Late at night, a band of raiders quietly approach a seemingly defenseless military outpost, they think they have the edge when suddenly: BOOM! CRACK! FSSS! Bright red flames swiftly stab the darkness, the attackers begin to panic and become disorganized as most of them strike the ground lifeless, soon, more flames erupt in the night and the leader of the raiders can't comprehend what just happened or what those flames were from, the face of warfare is changed forever from there.
Its really weird to me that their firearms don't have full length stocks. They end off in what we'd call today "Sawn off grips" like the kind you'd see on cut down shotguns. European Firearms had pretty much from the beginning had the user pulling the butt of the weapon into the shoulder, whereas the Japanese Firearms seems to be intended to be braced against the cheek. The fact that the match gets thrown away from the musket after the powder is lit is also interesting.
I wonder if the gunpowder charge and damage between the European and Japanese matchlocks were different as I see the Teppo do not have gunstocks or butts to rest against the shoulder.
Depends on the calibre. Guns in Japan came in many sizes, and so does in Europe. The lighter 16th cent Arquebus and Caliver had the same shoulder stock-less curved grip model similar to the Japanese Hinawajuu (some even have exaggerated hockey stick shape) - the Japanese gun was a copy of the Portuguese Goa-pattern Snap Arquebus after all. If compared to 16th cent Spanish Heavy Musket, with thick shoulder stock and propped on a stand, it shoots 8-12 gauge shot so 18-21mm calibre. The common 16th cent European Arquebus could be anywhere from 20 to 30 gauge, so 13 to 15.6mm. Not sure about Japanese guns, but from a quick googling, Japanese pistols were 3-4 monme (12.7-13.7mm), hunting piece 4-5 (13.7-14.4mm), and common battle firearms at 6-7 (15.2-15.75mm). Ozutsu were 50-80 Monme. The Zamazutsu in 8:08 are said to be 14.5mm, so its a 5 monme plus piece. Dunno about the powder load though.
The Teppo/Tanegashima was a near one-to-one copy of a specific type of Portuguese arquebus/musket. It's heavier than it looks, and accuracy over long distances wasn't as valued as it was in later guns. It was probably very close to other contemporary muskets in damage, since new styles of Japanese armor emerged specifically to deflect bullets, similar to what occurred to European armor.
My understanding is that these arquebuses were largely European designs either traded for or copied. Were any designs that were developed in China used during the Sengoku era (or before)?
Yes, the Ming who pushed out the Mongolians used firearms en masse with peasant levies. This was to nullify the vast training the Yuan had. Quantity over quality. These weren't matchlocks, arquebuses, or anything similar. They were very crude and often broke after use. Also why they stopped using them.
My personal theory, in the East firearms evolves from the hand cannon into the swivel gun that will be mounted on a sailing ship is enough to cause damage to their opponent for a self defense beside being use for the ship singeling.There are similarity in shape between the South East Asia Swivel gun and the hand cannon that can be found in the Korea and Mongol invasion of Vietnam in the past other than that the Mungal expansion into the Bengal and Burma probably could be the source of the matchlock introduction by the Mughal into the South East Asia other than the Safavid Empire influence. It seems Swivel gun is much more popular in those days while matchlock is being use for the royal military guard in some Kingdom unless there is a long term war and the matchlock manufacturer is being made plenty with a simple like iron design than decline afterward during its peaceful period in the past.
The pipe gun invented by the Chinese was introduced to Japan and Europe. Europeans actively used China's first new weapon. However, the Japanese did not consider this weapon effective and did not use it much. The reason is that the pipe gun couldn't control the bullet. For that reason, the Japanese regarded it as "this is a weapon only to threaten the enemy" and rarely used it on the battlefield.
Both sides used both bolt acting rifles as well as mini guns, but the Imperial army as well as the samurai in their side used more artillery than their shogunate counterpart allowing them to pound the well dug in shogunate forces before charging in.
Very interesting vid. The rotating fire technique was also used in Europe, for much the same reason. It was pioneered by the Spanish, and used in conjunction with pikeman. I am curious as to how the Japanese used handguns in concert with infantry?
Ive read somewhere that at the height of the Sengoku jidai, Japan arguably had the highest concentration of firearms in the world. Also, blacksmiths would at least have heard of 'hand guns' so arquebuses would not be so exotic.
is there some decent research done on the following topics: - how exactly was the technology transfer done? was it stolen or licensed or what? - how did the firearms evolve once manufactured by the "schools" as someone mention in the comments - how did Japanese handguns compare at subsequent stages to the Western equivalents
Did the Japanese use artillery? The Ottomans captured Constantinople and defeated the Hungarians at Mohacs with artillery. The Japanese didn’t seem to use them although the Chinese did in the Imjin War.
they did situationally you have to remember Japan is a very mountainous country which. made it very difficult to transport heavy siege guns, while relatively light guns were used but they were more common used as defensive units and and sieges and not used regularly in field battles
The Japanese did have cannons but it wasn't regularly used like Robert mentioned. Don't forget that the Koreans also used cannons to great effect during the Imjin War, and even had their own classifications of cannons (especially during naval battles, as all their ships were armed with cannons, same can't be said of Japanese ships)
The Mongols introduced Japan to explosive weapons before that, through rocket arrows and fragmentation grenades (YES!)... wonder why Japan never bothered to reverse engineer and use those.
This part of two man crew heavier gun seems weird, it have only 14mm caliber? its the same as ordinary European arquebus and muskets were in 18-22mm range.
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Wasn’t it more the Ashigaru who used the tanegashima, as arquebusiers especially during Sengoku Jidai?
@@genghisgalahad8465 To my knowledge yes, Ashigaru were usually the ones who were more equiped with firearms. But as Gun Samurai points out, some of the heavier and more unique weapons were reserved only to be used by samurai.
Thank you so much for sharing the Matsumoto Castle Gun Corps content 🙇♂️
@Avocado Panda Look, there are always like a few people who just dislike everything, even if it was *AMAZING* content or video, something like this " There is something here, dislike. Another video here, dislike. An amazing video by a popular and amazing channel........dislike."
Haha do you get paid from the Japanese for making these videos? Samurais were bunch of jokes before they acquire guns from Europe. In korean history records samurias were
Short weak and useless and their main focus was always on the northern tribes like jurchens and Mongolians.
There's nothing cooler than the look of Samurai and Knights dressed in full armor shooting guns. That mix of old and new excites my inner history and gun nerd.
Yeah, I enjoy these stuff very much as well
100%
Best thing ever
Mmmm, yes, knightly cuirassiers with big wheelock pistol in each hand
@@penguasakucing8136 Although most of those dudes aren't knights, they are German Mercenaries by the name of Black Riders, cuz they are dressed in black carbon armour cuz budget.
I remember reading in Samuel Hawley's book "The Imjin War" that for a time Japanese firearms were actually more advanced in a combat setting than their European counterparts for one simple reason. The Gun factories of Europe had wildly varying calibers of firearms that they produced so troops had to be sure to have the tools on hand to smelt their own ammunition. Where as Japanese firearms were produced by "Schools" of gunsmiths all to a standard caliber. Though it was impossible to are a entire army with a standardized caliber you could arm a unit of men with the same caliber just by buying the guns from the same "School" meaning that if someone ran out of ammunition they could borrow from their fellows or retrieve pre-made ammunition from the baggage train.
Been reading that book as well, gives a lot of insight into the state of all combatants involved as well.
After the rise of European nation-state in ~16th century, many European states have a ministry/office dedicated to procuring and storing military equipment and supplies (e.g. England's Board of Ordnance, establish in 1470s). Each nations generally design their military equipment and firearms and produce them in batches using standardized system (e.g. "pattern" system, as in 1722 "Land pattern musket" also known as "Brown Bess" musket) and store them in state armory/arsenal.
While you can find variations between different regiments within the army, soldiers within single regiment were (usually) equipped with same standard issue weapon and equipment. It's common sense practice, and it's still how modern day military operates.
So, IMO Japanese "advantage" in standardized equipment exist because their gun industry only just matured a couple decade before the Imjin war. Basically they only produced several "patterns" by then, compared to, let's say, Spanish or Portuguese armory which have been producing and storing various patterns of firearms for centuries.
What I am surprised is the japanese capacity to reverse engineer so many western technology, even during the Bakufu they managed to translate many of the last advancements in the western science thanks to the books they got in the island of Dejima from the dutch. No wonder the Modernization during the Meiji Restoration was so successful
So true. That perfectionist culture that they have is ideal for adopting anything from guns to organization to industrial techniques. I admire them for that.
@@TheLoyalOfficer yeah, even with the help of William Adams they manage to build western-style sailing ships to comerce aroud Asia, even though they end up destroying this ships during the Isolationist period (Sakoku)
Vietnamese in early 19th able reverse engineering stream boat and build their own stream boats but then their Nguyen Dynasty declined and all knowledge lost since colonial era by French.
@@pirotess2 in the last days of the Shogunate the japanese were also able to built stream boats, but if the Vietnamese weren't in the midle of India and China the french would probably leave them alone to develop, perhaps to a similar degree to the japanese
@@HistoriaenCeluloide I think the main reason that Emperor Minh Mang of Dai Nam (Vietnam name at that time) threw too much treasury into war against Siam in Cambodia instead improving the economy after hundreds years of civil war and later emperors only care building palaces, thus in the reign of Emperor Tu Duc, Dai Nam almost bankrupt, the ratio of firearms went down from 40% to 15% and outdated with weapons since Napoleonic era. Even the French surprised that Dai Nam collapsed easily, opposite when they during in Tay Son uprising.
Basically Samurais were willing to learn any weapons and martial arts to protect their master, including firearms
Samurais were eternal learners
The Samurai were amongst the most literate people in Japan at that time. When they were eventually dissolved during the Meiji Restoration, many former samurai would become foreign exchange students. Others would take on professional roles, such as writers and journalists. Lastly, some would become successful businessmen
Ofcourse wht u think its an anime or video game
I also believe that initially the reason why most of it's users were Ashigaru has nothing to do with not being an honorable weapon but because of practicality. It would be a waste not use your highly trained archers and cavalry when you can easily swell the ranks of your matchlock units with conscripts in short amount of time. As guns becomes more and more part of Samurai training, more and more matchlocks are in the hands of the Samurais.
Most soldiers throughout history are learners by nature, particularly during wartime. Stubbornly holding on to the old ways is all well and good until the next big thing is kicking you in the teeth.
Teppos should be added to the conversation when referring Samurai vs anything. I'd also love to see a video about Magoichi and the Saika renegades in the future
KNIGHT VS SAMURAI WHO WOULD WIN?!
Knights didn't have guns, did they?
@@BountyFlamor Knights were primarily a heavily armored mounted unit and did not utilize firearms at the same capacity as the Samurai. All firearm functioning units in renaissance Europe were common soldiers; commoners.
@@luelee6168 Actually, mounted knights adopted firearms such as pistols and carbines from such weapons' inception, as can be seen from period engravings, manuals, and descriptions. And, while it's true that most arquebusier or musket units were predominantly recruited from the common folk, period writers such as Sir John Smythe, Edward Davies, and others make it abundantly clear that there often gentleman volunteers serving as "shotte" in the ranks. And the officers commanding the shotte were seldom ever below the rank of gentlemen, and often knights or even nobles. The period sources demonstrate a much more complex situation regarding status/weapons/tactics than we usually see depicted in general historical works or in popular media.
@@terrybond4496 Technically yes when you consider the definition of the word 'knight' as horsemen.
@@BountyFlamor knights used petronels
Portugal: I bless you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Chri-
Japan: ok, now gimmie guns...(looks at the Dutch)...and your books
Samurais in Hollywood: we only use honourable swords, never guns
Samurais in real life: haha explodey stick to brrr
they also did
haha spear go pokey poke
haha archery go swoosh
*snorts gunpowder like cocaine
@@WhatDillionYT My understanding is that their association with the sword was an Edo era invention that comes from them desperately wanting people to take a bunch of pencil pushers because they totally came from warrior clans that did warrior stuff in the past so please take them seriously also give me money because the shogun took all of mine.
@@blackknightjack3850 Oki
@@blackknightjack3850 Some US army folks think Colt 45 represents what they stand for. It became sort of a symbol.
I always awed by how fast the japanese blacksmiths are able to replicate and reproduce the arquebus since most of them are creating swords and not something close to a firearm
I'm Portuguese, and I read from an original source (the book published in the XVIth century of the guy who was there on their 1st time in Japan) that the Japanese couldn't produce it at first because they couldn't make one of the parts in the firing mechanism if I recall correctly, and no one who was there knew either. So he promised to bring them a blacksmith who knows how to do it, to teach them (and so he did).
It was how to plug the breech too. Japanese smiths immediately know by just seeing the gun, that the barrel are made by turning a sheet of wrought iron into a tube by hammering it over a mandrel. But thats just an open pipe, they didn't understand how to create the breech plug.
@@penguasakucing8136 what is the difference between these different Japanese words for a gun (I assume an arquebus in engineered different to teppo for example) and similar, what is the difference between the western counterparts, which sound like the evolution is much slower
@@alcibiades4716
Western Arquebuses had a shoulder stock, meaning that gun recoil is absorbed by the shoulder and that the gun is supported against the shoulder which ensures a more stable grip. They're also longer and heavier on average.
European Arquebuses also had a different version called the matchlock musket, which is vastly longer and requires the support of tripods to fire accurately. These were much more common by the 1500s and 1600s but were not ideal for anything else but battlefield use.
Japanese teppos, especially from Sakai, did not have stocks. Meaning, the entire recoil of the gun is held and absorbed entirely by the hand or the cheek. Japanese teppos were also short on average and sometimes were short enough to be used as pistols. Certain Teppos also had large barrel bores and carried heavier rounds, though these were rare.
There were two interesting gun mercenary armies "Negoro-shu(根来衆)" and "Saika-shu(雑賀衆)" at the era. Negoro-shu was a group of warrior monks belonged to Negoro-ji temple in now Wakayama prefecture. Saika-shu was consisted with five groups led by locally influential warriors and they were also in Wakayama pref. Especially Saika-shu repelled Nobunaga Oda forces few times by firepower. On 26th August 1570, Battle of Noda & Fukushima castles both in now Osaka city, Osaka Pref (so-called first Ishiyama war campaign) broke out between Nobunaga Oda and allied forces of Miyoshi clan with Ishiyama-Honganji temple warriors. Saika and Negoro-shu participated in Oda forces and a part of Saika-shu belonged to Miyoshi forces. On 12th September 1570, the battle escalated into large-scale gun fight. By chronicle of Oda clan, there were 3,000 gunners of Saika and Negoro-shu in their forces at that day(also Oda forces had their own firearm units). That battle preceded by five years of famous battle of Nagashino that Nobunaga won by his firepower against Takeda clan.
Some guys, including the last Samurai: Firearms are dishonorable, we prefer traditional weapons
Oda Nobunaga: Allow me to introduce myself *Battle of Nagashino flashbacks*
Right?
plus historically those Satsuma based rebels used modern weaponry up until they literally ran out of ammunition, that was when they did a last ditch "banzai" charge.
@@andrewle7429 Yeah you are correct, so the idea of "These weapons are dishonorable" is just really dumb, even the Satsuma rebels used firearms extensively, until they ran out of ammunition, so their only option was this final charge at Shiroyama. Ever since firearms reached Japan, all Daimyo and leaders tried to get their hands on this weapon.
yes Including breech loading rifles
@@micahcampa yes
"Guns are pretty cool."
- Musashi Miyamoto
I'm sure reloading is a lot easier and faster when the Takeda cavalry are charging at you.
😂😂 Yeah sure it is
Motivation is important
Its a do or die 😁
That's why Oda is smart enough to place palisades and point them the perfect location to fire their arms to counter other charges
On the subject of Japanese firearms, if you're into manga you should look up a series called "Issak", which centers around a samurai sniper.
Thanks for the rec
Issak is pretty interesting.
ohhh, thank you for the recommendation!!!!
When arquebus is more accurate than modern assault rifles:
You aren't going to hit shit beyond like 20-25 metres. It's accuracy is horrible
The Ikko Ikki Resistance, which fought against the invasion of the Oda army in Kii (present-day Wakayama Prefecture), was also famous for its gun corps. Just as Russian forces are now plagued by Ukrainian hand-held missiles, Nobunaga's forces were plagued by their stubborn resistance and were unable to conquer Kii.
The other day, there was an incident in which Prime Minister Kishida was attacked by a man. But it wasn't the guards who caught the culprit, but the local fishermen. When I learned that the location was Saika Fishing Port, one of the bases at the time, I was reminded of their high combat capabilities.
That looks like an extremely formidable warrior.
@@FistsofGodfrey I don’t understand why you think the dou part of the gusoku isn’t heat treated, but to your point about wheel lock, is it really that much more impressive though? I think anything leading up to percussion cap is mere distraction in advancement of firearms
@@yn5568 heat treating iron does nothing. European plates are regarded superior armor by contemporary Japanese warriors. Wheel lock is superior because you can keep multiple loaded weapon on you while not having to hold on to an ignited fuse. That made is possible for cavalry to use pistols and carbines on horseback and elite infantry to carry loaded pistols for melee. That is why the katana remained an important part of the samurai class to carry for self defence while Europeans moved on to more duelling focused sword. Katana needed to be quick to deploy, while the rapier does not have to as the pistol and dagger served that purpose
@@yn5568 and there is also the more popular and cheaper flintlock, dominated European battlefield until the mid 19th century. Are you suggesting that the muskets and rifles used in the battle of Waterloo are no better than the ones used at Sekigahara?
@@FistsofGodfrey uchigatana remaining common has nothing to do with types of firearms. I could make the same argument for European sabers if that was the case. Also I think as modern day humans, we’re underestimating how common live fire is, as well as handling in non-optimal conditions. Also if wheellock and flintlock was so superior in manufacturability, why would it take until Japan intentionally put heavy restrictions on firearms, for all of Europe combined to have more firearms than Japan alone?
@@yn5568 sabre are not carried for civilian for self defence, and the small sword was ceremonially worn only and fell out of fashion with more advanced firearms
i love this side of samurai because we most know samurai for katanas and stuff but is so cool just seeing a fully armoured samurai firing a matchlock
This was an awesome crossover. Those shooting clubs in Japan look like a blast (pun intended)
Teppo long barrel-like sniper and Teppo bazooka-like is interesting one.
Wow my image of samurai is all about katana, but if you think about it, the time period for samurais using guns were longer than the samurais (at least from a period from when they were called Bushi or samurai) using only katana
When samurai use only katana? Katana is their sidearm, primary weapons of samurai is bow and naginata before Sengoku era, then they replaced naginata by spear yari, in late Sengoku era samurai phased out bow in favor of matchlock. Only since Edo era which is peace time and no war, they carry only katana in normal days.
bouncing off of what PirotessTheChaos said, early Samurai (like Genpei War era, so ~12th century) were characterized as being mounted archers, in fact they were associated with "The Way of the Bow" rather than "The Way of the Sword". Swordsmanship wasn't really focused upon until ironically the introduction of firearms on the battlefield, as the gunners had to also be proficient in another weapon when melee was inevitable, and as mentioned by Pirotess, the katana was their sidearm, so on top of training with the usage and accuracy of their firearm (which the Japanese independently added iron sights onto their matchlocks) they practiced swordsmanship. I would also imagine the way they used the swords was most probably with knowing their opponent was armored in mind, so they would be aiming for weak points etc. as they couldn't just do cool looking slashes and just have their katana bounce off the Dou, especially when samurai armor later on started to take on Western characteristics to be more resistant to firearms (an example is a set of armor Oda Nobunaga wore).
Even talented samurai who were extremely proficient with using the katana, began to adopt firearms at the breakout of civil war between the Shogunate and Pro-Imperial forces during the Boshin War. An example being the Shinsengumi, while the founding members essentially came from a kenjutsu dojo, they also trained in marksmanship and used the latest firearms despite fighting for the Shogunate.
This is an extremely through explanation both verbally and visually of how firearms were used in Japan during the Sengoku Jidai. I though I understood the subject before viewing this video, but now realize my knowledge at best general in nature.
Amazing!
I have just been to Matsumoto for the second time in my life and wish I could've seen a demonstration. The collection inside the castle is very impressive and the pieces are in impeccable condition. I especially like all the explanatory sheets. Thank you for doing this!
Everyone’s a gangster until the ronin pulls out the glock
("Sword" Saint Isshin nods solemnly in thw distance)
@@davidhong1934 truly a Glock saint
Glock Saint Isshin.
With the switch
To be honest, I think it'd be a 357 mag or 45...
Very cool, I think the first time I had become aware of the use of guns by Samurai was in Miyamoto Musashi's book, the five rings.
Fascinating liminal period between traditional and western tactics and technology. Looking forward to exploring this further.
At that time guns were already one of the most used weapon in Japan after spears.
Guns do not require long training and can shock enemy soldiers and horses with gun sound without hitting.
On the contrary, there were very few chances to use katanas in battlefield.
Katana became the main weapon at the end of the Edo period, when many urban warfare between political opponents took place in the city of Kyoto.
Yeap firearms
The most important weapon for the Samurai during the height of the Sengoku-jidai and even briefly after during the Siege of Osaka and The Shimabara rebellion during the very early Edo period
The Teppo
What a game changer it was honestly
It was highly coveted
Samurai warfare is beautifully brutal
Seeing the Way of the Samurai 3 in the intro makes me want Way of the Samurai 5 set in the Sengoku Jidai. It's been along time since the last one. Great vid by the way.
Same. I hope Acquire made enough money from Katanakami to make WOTS5. They’re honestly my favourite game devs
I love the history of firearms in Japan
Fun fact: Teppo-tai would sometimes fire from special bamboo structured emplacements covered in hanging mats of wet straw, which acted as effective bullet-resistant barriers
I remember hearing they put those there because the mobile walls they used to block arrows were too fragile to stop bullets on their own and needed mats of wet straw to slow down the bullets enough for their standing shields to work.
Matsumoto castle had an extensive display of Japanese matchlocks. Great castle to visit, as one of the few remaining original castles that also has some decent displays. Most of the original 12 castles have next to no displays or exhibits. Just empty rooms.
Hollywood: Noooo…guns are dishonourable
Real samurai: Stay strapped or get clapped Guijin
Yeah, like, you are a WARRIOR. Your job is being good at killing. Why would you reject a new weapon that's good at killing?
Yes the collab we have all been waiting for. Nice one chaps.
Thanks man!
I went to Matsumoto jo years ago all they had was a samurai who would pop his fan to scare people. Didnt know they had this. Also if you go to Matsumoto city they have baum kuchen that are really delicious near the castle.
Disappointed that he didn't talk about artillery.
Also, a video on Sengoku Jidai sieges would be nice!
@Avocado Panda but how often, what was the strategy, what types of cannons and did they build them themselves or buy them from Europeans?
@@BountyFlamor literally almost none. The famous example would be Otomo asking Portugues's artillery for help to against Shimazu, and Tokugawa only using couple of canons in Siege of Osaka, but only for scaring Hideyoshi's family member in castle. Most of Sengoku's castles are in fact building on mountain or river, not those famous castles you see in the modern era cuz they are reimagined. Other than using fire, flood or digging. There are not many ways to siege except overwhelming the opponent or let them starve
Thanks for the channel recommendation ! This is so exciting !
Just here to remind people that Samurai and cowboys/gunslingers were contemporary to each other.
I think samurai had been in Japan for some time before cowboys/gunslingers.
@@atsukorichards1675they both existed in the 19th century. So they're contemporaries. Also samurai were also contemporaries with pirates.
@@atsukorichards1675sengoku jidai era
Very interesting. Were wheellock or snaphaunce/flintlock pistols ever brought in by Dutch traders? I know that the Dutch sometimes had Japanese craftsmen do decorative metalwork on flintlocks brought in for the purpose, but these were then brought back for sale in Europe or other places.
So despite the Teppu changed the Samurai warfare but they still need the Bow and also Ashigaru or Cavalry for the real outcome of a battle. Although from the Imjin war, Hideyoshi army gained alot of advantage due to their more improved rifle and tactics against Koreans, but the Ming also use Arquebuise as well or namely flamethrowers.
I remember in every Akira Kurosawa period movies, he always portray the Teppu in a negative light, as the rifle symbolize "Invention used for war" in his movies like Ran and also in the beginning of Kagemusha where the rifleman who shot Shingen.
A bit off topic Mr Shogunate, will you ever do a video about "Tenka Fubu" by Oda Nobunaga? I noticed there aren't any English information about Tenka Fubu and it true meaning.
I eventually want to!
@@TheShogunate great! The Tenka Fubu only heard on KOEI games as part of a political system where the Daimyo you play as will call upon the rest of the allies you haven't annexed into arms
Even at the time of Napoleon were still using cavalry with sabres. Not surpising for the Samurai to still rely on their more traditional weapons, since their musket warfare was still in it's infancy. Also since they only go to war with each other their their style of fighting doesn't change that much so they only modify their tactics and weaponry just enough to beat their local rivals. Europe on the other hand requires a nation to adapt much more quickly and rapidly since a country can be at war with different nations of different military at any time
@@haroldcruz8550 thus invention of Bayonette that exist to this day
Question: Did the Japanese also used flintlock firearms, or did they stick with just matchlock firearms until the introduction of more modern firearms?
Yes eventually flintlock guns were used but not in large numbers 🙇♂️
Flintlock guns were soon manufactured in Japan.
Japan is a treasure trove of flint.
However, the Japanese hated that type of gun and preferred the matchlock style.
The reason was that the Flintlock gun had a one second time lag between pulling the trigger and firing.
This time lag was very frustrating for the samurai.
No, the time that Europeans using flintlock are in Edo Bakufu, a peace period, which they even restrict Yari, Yumi and Teppo. No reason and need to adopt or even produce flintlock at that point
After watching your video, I started to wonder if the samurai ever experimented with crossbows as well.
Not Samurai, but in the Asuka and Nara period when Japan was modelling itself on everything Tang Chinese, they also tried Chinese-style centralized Imperial Army, complete with Crossbow-armed infantry. However, it doesn't last as in the Heian era it was replaced with the Feudal Samurai army.
@@penguasakucing8136 Ah ok, thank you for the
explanation.
@@winmoeaung86and to add more context. The centralized imperial army would always lose in each engagement they fought which lead the generals to rely more and more on their mercenaries, the bushi which would later turn into the samurai class as they're the effective soldiers when fighting the Ainu than the conscripts.
Wait a minute! Does this mean that firearm training scene from the last samurai historically Innacurate?
Yes, Japan has always been using muskets for centuries before that
Have you ever come across the samurai archives Japanese history podcast? Some really interesting stuff there. They have a bunch of episodes on nagashino and dispel some of the myths surrounding it. You might also find the episode on horse/cavalry and the ones about the takeda clan/shingen particularly interesting
Okay making more ammo after running out of ammo during a siege is the most gangster shit I've ever heard in my life
Didn't the Samurai used Gatling guns during the Boshin war and the Satsuma rebellion if I'm not mistaken.
They did. Cannons too.
So John Wick master "hojutsu" martial art ?...nice 😁
So glad I've found your channel a few weeks ago. Been hooked. Very informative content!!
I had NO FUCKIN IDEA about this history love to know more about Japanese history and Gun History their both Always sooooo fuckin cool
If I was an Ashigaru or Samurai, my tactical load out would be the Yari, Katana, Wakazashi, and Matchlock gun with 60 rounds of ammo.
How the heck are you supposed to afford that much ammo? Some arquebusier units are barely even capable of carrying 30rounds due to corruption or lack of funds.
Heck even the Prussian units of Frederick the Great boasted of their ability to be issued 60 rounds each. You've got to be a rich samurai to afford that loadout.
Cool. I never knew there where such
Speaking of firearms in Early Modern Japan. Dammit Hideyoshi I really bloody hate sword hunts or other such weapons control measures. Either from government pencil pushers or your local warlord regardless of era.
In America, they're trying to push the bills of gun control and try to buy back the guns. The sword-hunter in US is ATF.
Actually fire arm's where generally much more available in japan after the end of the sengoku jidai them swords. Mostly becouse many considered it a dishonorable weapon, instead of having sword's many pesants had fire arms for self defense, matchlocks where also popularly used for hunting. Japan probably was the most well armed country in the world in the late 1700s since fire arms where so widely available, although they certainly where of lower quality them european guns by the time such as flintlock muskets.
I’m happy to see that at least a few Japanese are permitted to enjoy firearms. Excellent video.
Enjoyed every bit of this video
Sakai City Osaka , gun(teppo) manufacturing , and its technology have become a city of bicycles .
Shimano !!
Samurai who is also a time traveler: Let me introduce you to my magnum .457 with The Piercer
Before I started to learn about the samurai, I always thought that they only used katanas and they always lived by honor.
But after I started to really dig into the topic (your channel was and is a really great source of information, nearly everything I know is from your channel) I came to the conclusion, that the image of a samurai in pop culture, is really lame.
I think that the real image of a sengoku samurai, using guns and different kinds of weapon, and using anything in order to achieve victory, is way more awesome, than that 1dimension samurai, waving a katana and shouting ,,HONOR!!"
The only samurai that are really well known for being super honorable are Uesugi Kenshin and Naoe Kanetsugu. Really recommend you look into them.
The samurai of the Warring States period changed jobs to a high-paying lord.
That was common sense at the time.
"Honor" or "loyalty" is a concept that a bureaucratized samurai learned in a textbook in a peaceful time in Japan.
Honor in the world of the Samurai means serving you lord with loyalty and devotion, it has nothing to do with our modern notion of Honor. That doesn't mean though that there were no Samurais who lived an honorable life in the modern sense of the word.
@@takaakiyamada5451 Depends on the period, in the Sengoku period, honor to ones feudal lord is already strictly followed. Though there seems to be much more leeway when it comes to daimyo to daimyo loyalty.
who would win
virgin kenjutsu
or
chad hojutsu
The tanegashima seems to have been based on snap matchlocks that were produced in Portuguese Malacca, at the armory of Malacca, a colony of Portugal since 1511, called an istinggar in Malay
The name tanegashima came from the Japanese island (Tanegashima) where a Chinese junk with Portuguese adventurers on board was driven to anchor by a storm in 1543. The lord of the Japanese island, Tanegashima Tokitaka (1528-1579), purchased two matchlock muskets from the Portuguese and put a swordsmith to work copying the matchlock barrel and firing mechanism
The smith, Yaita, did not have much of a problem with most of the gun but "drilling the barrel helically so that the screw (bisen bolt) could be tightly inserted" was a major problem as this "technique did not apparently exist in Japan until this time."
The Portuguese fixed their ship and left the island and only in the next year when a Portuguese blacksmith was brought back to Japan was the problem solved
Within ten years of its introduction, over 300,000 tanegashima firearms were reported to have been manufactered
the foreigns from the west have names and nationalities, their names are Diogo Zaimoto and Cristóvão Borralho and they where portuguese, and all started with hunting ducks.
Are gloveless kote more of an archer/gunner thing, or is it more common?
There's an accurate depiction in the movie called "Heaven and Earth", I didn't even see if they use bows and arrows at all, The ranged combat done mainly by firearms.
About old and the new, so armor sword + guns its the same as in late XV and XVI century Europe, but in europe even more with early XVI with full plate armor, horses in plate, much more different weapons types etc
All you need now is holy insence and Shinto prayers as you maintain the museum pieces.
awesome. thanks for this upload
Nice soundtrack from samurai warriors 2 empires 👌
My favorite weapon in anime used to be the katana but now I favor the New Nambu Model 60, a .38 Special snub-nosed revolver issued to the Japanese police.
I hate that Shadiversity completely ignored that Samurai used guns in his Knights Vs. Samurai video.
oh my gosh my family makes knives in Idaho and my uncle is a master smith, the only one ever in Idaho. he has been to japan a few times to teach knif makers how to make steal from types of dirt like a lost art. anyway he makes barrels the old way for types of flintlocks i think he would love to talk with you.
So no cased bullets, right?
Loose powder was poured down the muzzle?
Japan during the Sengoku Jidai:
Late at night, a band of raiders quietly approach a seemingly defenseless military outpost, they think they have the edge when suddenly:
BOOM! CRACK! FSSS!
Bright red flames swiftly stab the darkness, the attackers begin to panic and become disorganized as most of them strike the ground lifeless, soon, more flames erupt in the night and the leader of the raiders can't comprehend what just happened or what those flames were from, the face of warfare is changed forever from there.
Pretty cool, good work
Is it bad i know learned most of my sengoku period stuff from sengoku rance?
That Samurai Warriors 2 Empires music!
Its really weird to me that their firearms don't have full length stocks. They end off in what we'd call today "Sawn off grips" like the kind you'd see on cut down shotguns. European Firearms had pretty much from the beginning had the user pulling the butt of the weapon into the shoulder, whereas the Japanese Firearms seems to be intended to be braced against the cheek. The fact that the match gets thrown away from the musket after the powder is lit is also interesting.
I wonder if the gunpowder charge and damage between the European and Japanese matchlocks were different as I see the Teppo do not have gunstocks or butts to rest against the shoulder.
Depends on the calibre. Guns in Japan came in many sizes, and so does in Europe. The lighter 16th cent Arquebus and Caliver had the same shoulder stock-less curved grip model similar to the Japanese Hinawajuu (some even have exaggerated hockey stick shape) - the Japanese gun was a copy of the Portuguese Goa-pattern Snap Arquebus after all.
If compared to 16th cent Spanish Heavy Musket, with thick shoulder stock and propped on a stand, it shoots 8-12 gauge shot so 18-21mm calibre. The common 16th cent European Arquebus could be anywhere from 20 to 30 gauge, so 13 to 15.6mm.
Not sure about Japanese guns, but from a quick googling, Japanese pistols were 3-4 monme (12.7-13.7mm), hunting piece 4-5 (13.7-14.4mm), and common battle firearms at 6-7 (15.2-15.75mm). Ozutsu were 50-80 Monme.
The Zamazutsu in 8:08 are said to be 14.5mm, so its a 5 monme plus piece.
Dunno about the powder load though.
@@penguasakucing8136 Thanks for taking your time to explain this. Domo arigato!
The Teppo/Tanegashima was a near one-to-one copy of a specific type of Portuguese arquebus/musket. It's heavier than it looks, and accuracy over long distances wasn't as valued as it was in later guns. It was probably very close to other contemporary muskets in damage, since new styles of Japanese armor emerged specifically to deflect bullets, similar to what occurred to European armor.
Yoooooooo this was super neat! Sorry it took so long for me to find it!
My understanding is that these arquebuses were largely European designs either traded for or copied. Were any designs that were developed in China used during the Sengoku era (or before)?
Yes, the Ming who pushed out the Mongolians used firearms en masse with peasant levies. This was to nullify the vast training the Yuan had. Quantity over quality. These weren't matchlocks, arquebuses, or anything similar. They were very crude and often broke after use. Also why they stopped using them.
My personal theory, in the East firearms evolves from the hand cannon into the swivel gun that will be mounted on a sailing ship is enough to cause damage to their opponent for a self defense beside being use for the ship singeling.There are similarity in shape between the South East Asia Swivel gun and the hand cannon that can be found in the Korea and Mongol invasion of Vietnam in the past other than that the Mungal expansion into the Bengal and Burma probably could be the source of the matchlock introduction by the Mughal into the South East Asia other than the Safavid Empire influence. It seems Swivel gun is much more popular in those days while matchlock is being use for the royal military guard in some Kingdom unless there is a long term war and the matchlock manufacturer is being made plenty with a simple like iron design than decline afterward during its peaceful period in the past.
The pipe gun invented by the Chinese was introduced to Japan and Europe.
Europeans actively used China's first new weapon.
However, the Japanese did not consider this weapon effective and did not use it much. The reason is that the pipe gun couldn't control the bullet. For that reason, the Japanese regarded it as "this is a weapon only to threaten the enemy" and rarely used it on the battlefield.
very interesting
I'm curious during the Boshin War, what sort of Fireams did both sides used?
Both sides used both bolt acting rifles as well as mini guns, but the Imperial army as well as the samurai in their side used more artillery than their shogunate counterpart allowing them to pound the well dug in shogunate forces before charging in.
Very interesting vid. The rotating fire technique was also used in Europe, for much the same reason. It was pioneered by the Spanish, and used in conjunction with pikeman. I am curious as to how the Japanese used handguns in concert with infantry?
They use fire by ranks tactics way before Europeans learned line warfare tactics. It was effectively used against the Koreans diring the imjin war.
THANK YOU
Ive read somewhere that at the height of the Sengoku jidai, Japan arguably had the highest concentration of firearms in the world.
Also, blacksmiths would at least have heard of 'hand guns' so arquebuses would not be so exotic.
Oda Nobunaga: so anyway I started blasting
masahuku clan in the building
Just curious,did the Japanese also learn modern gunery tactics from the European? Or they just figure themself?
Maybe mix of both?
is there some decent research done on the following topics:
- how exactly was the technology transfer done? was it stolen or licensed or what?
- how did the firearms evolve once manufactured by the "schools" as someone mention in the comments
- how did Japanese handguns compare at subsequent stages to the Western equivalents
Did the Japanese use artillery? The Ottomans captured Constantinople and defeated the Hungarians at Mohacs with artillery. The Japanese didn’t seem to use them although the Chinese did in the Imjin War.
@@silentecho92able They also used trebuches loaded with 30 pound black powder bombs, even at the early days of the sengoku Jidai.
they did situationally you have to remember Japan is a very mountainous country which. made it very difficult to transport heavy siege guns, while relatively light guns were used but they were more common used as defensive units and and sieges and not used regularly in field battles
The Japanese did have cannons but it wasn't regularly used like Robert mentioned.
Don't forget that the Koreans also used cannons to great effect during the Imjin War, and even had their own classifications of cannons (especially during naval battles, as all their ships were armed with cannons, same can't be said of Japanese ships)
Interesting video.
Did they have pistol?
Good job
The Mongols introduced Japan to explosive weapons before that, through rocket arrows and fragmentation grenades (YES!)... wonder why Japan never bothered to reverse engineer and use those.
Fragmentation grenades at that time killed the user.more than the enemt
Guns are older than most people think. Even Vlad Dracula used handgonnes against the Ottomans (Ottomen?)
So cool.
古文書学で遊学中です。ぜひ観光したいと考えています。
This part of two man crew heavier gun seems weird, it have only 14mm caliber? its the same as ordinary European arquebus and muskets were in 18-22mm range.
what are they using the rope for?
Good video 👍🏻
So sword Saint Isshin was also a Gun Saint ?
Were these rifled or were they smoothbored like a brown bess?
Why didnt they get guns from the Chinese before the Portuguese came?
They did, however they were difficult to reproduce with the resources available in Japan 🙇♂️
I thought this era was called feudal Japan? Wasn’t medieval Japan before this?