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Japanese ashigaru firing hinawajū.Night-shooting practice, using ropes to maintain proper firing elevation. Tanegashima (), most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English hinawajū (火縄銃, "matchlock gun"), was a type of matchlock-configured [1] arquebus [2] firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. [3]
In 1543, Europeans reached Japan for the first time when a junk belonging to the Chinese wokou pirate lord Wang Zhi carrying Portuguese traders was shipwrecked at Tanegashima. The Portuguese introduced the arquebus to the Japanese during this chance encounter, which gave the Japanese, embroiled in the bloody Sengoku period at the time, a ...
However, firearms could be manned effectively by farmers or non-samurai low-ranking soldiers. [10] The Japanese soon worked on various techniques to improve the effectiveness of their guns. They developed serial firing technique to create a continuous rain of bullets on the enemy. [11] They also developed bigger calibers to increase lethality. [11]
Ashigaru wearing armor and jingasa firing tanegashima (Japanese matchlocks). Ashigaru (足軽, "light of foot") were infantry employed by the samurai class of feudal Japan.The first known reference to ashigaru was in the 14th century, [1] but it was during the Ashikaga shogunate (Muromachi period) that the use of ashigaru became prevalent by various warring factions.
The first dated illustration of a matchlock mechanism dates to 1475, and by the 16th century they were universally used. During this time the latest tactic in using the matchlock was to line up and send off a volley of musket balls at the enemy. This volley would be much more effective than single soldiers trying to hit individual targets. [5]
A samurai reenactor practicing hōjutsu at Matsumoto Castle. Japanese Gunnery is known as hōjutsu. Hōjutsu (砲術) / Teppojutsu (鉄砲術), the art of gunnery, is the martial art of Japan dedicated to Japanese black powder firearm usage. Hōjutsu is still practiced today, often with antique matchlock firearms such as the tanegashima. The ...
In the West, the onna-musha gained popularity when the historical documentary Samurai Warrior Queens aired on the Smithsonian Channel. [41] [42] Several other channels reprised the documentary. The 56th NHK taiga drama, Naotora: The Lady Warlord, was the first NHK drama where the female protagonist is the head of a samurai clan. [43]
Shima Kiyooki (島 清興, 9 June 1543 - 21 October 1600), also known as Shima Tomoyuki and Shima Katsutake, was a Japanese samurai of the late Sengoku period.His nickname was Shima Sakon (島 左近) (Shima Nearby on the Left).