Difference between revisions of "Tanegashima"

Revision as of 09:58, 9 October 2016

Japanese "Tanegashima" matchlock arquebus.

Short-barrelled "Tanegashima" matchlock arquebus at the Ako Temple museum

Japanese "Tanegashima" matchlock pistol.

The Tanegashima (種子島; also known as hinawajuu or teppo) is a Japanese clone of a muzzleloading matchlock arquebus, introduced to Japan when 2 samples were purchased from Portuguese sailors on the eponymous Japanese island in 1543. Realizing the potential of the Portuguese weapon (it could be given to unskilled conscripts who could be trained to use it effectively in a matter of weeks, unlike the traditional Japanese bow or Yumi which took years to master), the Japanese copied it and swiftly began producing and deploying it en masse.

The Tanegashima was enthusiastically adopted by many Japanese warring factions of the period, and saw major use in the Sengoku Jidai (or Japanese Warring States) period and the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, before being superseded in the 19th century by more advanced firearms. As the Japanese did not export the weapon, it is most likely to appear in Japanese-produced media, or media that deals with historical Japan.

Like most antique firearms, any Tanegashima that is fired in a live-action work is almost certainly a prop or modern reproduction, due to the needless expense of procuring the genuine historical articles (most of which are now rare and expensive museum pieces) for such scenes.

Please check the talk page for additional variants not shown on the main page.

Specifications

(16th Century - 19th Century Japan)

Type: Muzzleloading black powder arquebus

Caliber: Various

Capacity: 1

Fire Modes: Single Shot

The Tanegashima and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Seven Samurai		bandits		1954
	Toshirô Mifune	Kikuchiyo
	Shinpei Takagi	bandit chief
	Seiji Miyaguchi	Kyuzo
	Isao Kimura	Katsushirō
	Takashi Shimura	Kambei Shimada
	Toshio Takahara	Bandit with Gun
Harakiri	Tôru Takeuchi	Retainer		1962
	Hisashi Igawa	Retainer
	Shichisaburô Amatsu	Retainer
The Yellow One			hanged on the walls	1964
G.I. Samurai		ashigaru		1979
Kagemusha		A few thousand characters		1980
Kagemusha	Tatsuya Nakadai	Kagemusha		1980
Shogun Assassin		samurai		1980
Ran		Various soldiers of Taro, Jiro, Saburo's army		1985
Ran	Hisashi Igawa	Shuri Kurogane		1985
Heaven and Earth		soldiers		1990
Heaven and Earth	Takaaki Enoki	Kagetora		1990
Journey of Honor		japanese soldiers		1991
	Toshirô Mifune	Lord Ieyasu
	Sho Kosugi	Daigoro Mayeda
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III	John Aylward	Niles		1993
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III	Elias Koteas	Casey Jones / Whit		1993
The Hidden Blade		Guards		2004
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549		ashigaru		2005
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549	Haruka Ayase	Nohime	only holds, not fires	2005
Shinobido		Samurai		2012
Unforgiven		Men who are engaged		2013
The Admiral: Roaring Currents		Japanese soldiers	This is the only firearm in the series, so this page are ineligible	2014

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin		Japanese soldiers	This is the only firearm in the series, so this page are ineligible	2004-2005
Heroes - Season 2	Darryl Chan	Whitebeard's men	"The Line" (S2E06)	2007
Kamen Rider Ghost			"Gathered! Fifteen Eyecons!" (S1E10)	2015-2016

Video Game

Game Title	Note	Release Date
Yakuza Kenzan	Unusable by the player, except as a bludgeon in certain circumstances	2008
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots	Joke weapon that has 1-in-3 chance of summoning a tornado when fired.	2008
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker	Joke weapon that has 1-in-3 chance of summoning a tornado when hitting an enemy.	2010
Total War: Shogun 2	Used by various infantry units.	2011

Anime

Show Title	Character	Notation	Date
InuYasha	Gun battalion	season 4 (2002-2003) ep. 103	2000–2004
Gun Frontier	Samurai	also known as a "Hinawajyu"	2002
Samurai Champloo	Soldiers		2004-2005
Afro Samurai	Mercenary	first episode	2007
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna	Soldiers	This is the only firearm in the series, so this page are ineligible	2002
Nobunagun	Soldiers	flashback in episode 1	2014
Aria the Scarlet Ammo AA			2015
Mobile Suit Gundam: IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS		Tanegashima Pistol	2015
Drifters	Japanese warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyohisa Shimazu		2015

@@ Line 156: / Line 156: @@
 | ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: IRON-BLOODED ORPHANS]]'' ||  || Tanegashima Pistol || 2015
 |-
-| ''[[Drifters]]'' || Japanese warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyohisa || || 2015
+| ''[[Drifters]]'' || Japanese warlords, Oda Nobunaga, Toyohisa Shimazu || || 2015
 |-
 |}