Tanegashima

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use in the Sengoku Jidai (or Japanese Warring States) period and the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, before being superseded in the 19th century by more advanced firearms.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

Effective Range: Usialy 87 - 110 yds (80 to 100 meters) for the long guns

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
	Tatsuya Nakadai	Kagemusha
Shogun Assassin		samurai		1980
Ran		Various soldiers of Taro, Jiro, Saburo's army		1985
	Hisashi Igawa	Shuri Kurogane
Heaven and Earth		soldiers		1990
	Takaaki Enoki	Kagetora
Journey of Honor		japanese soldiers		1991
	Toshirô Mifune	Lord Ieyasu
	Sho Kosugi	Daigoro Mayeda
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III	John Aylward	Niles		1993
	Elias Koteas	Casey Jones / Whit
Azumi		Samurai		2003
The Hidden Blade		Guards		2004
Samurai Commando: Mission 1549		ashigaru		2005
	Haruka Ayase	Nohime	only holds, not fires
Philosophy of a Knife		Boy	toy, archive footage	2008
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 is 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	Appears as	Note	Release Date
Yakuza 2			2006
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots		Joke weapon that has 1-in-3 chance of summoning a tornado when fired.	2008
Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan!		Unusable by the player, except as a bludgeon in certain circumstances	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
Yakuza Kiwami 2	"Komaki Matchlock Gun"	Adapted to fire three rounds without reloading like the pepperbox model below, but only modeled with a single barrel and flash pan.	2018

Anime

Show Title	Character	Notation	Date
The Dagger of Kamui	Imperisal Japanese Army, Ashigaru		1985
Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy	Daisuke Jigen, Lupin III, Fujiko Mine	muskets, gold-plated furniture	1987
InuYasha	Foot soldiers, Ashigaru	numerous episodes	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
Demon King Daimao	Ninja		2010
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

Tanegashima Pepperbox

Original Japanese matchlock three barreled pepperbox.

Original Japanese matchlock three barreled pepperbox.

The Tanegashima Pepperbox is a very rare type of the medieval Japanese firearm. While hundreds of thousands of standard Tanegashima were produced, only a few dozen examples of the pepperbox are known. The standard type of Tanegashima pepperbox mates the matchlock gun with three manually revolving barrels with a single lock and hammer.

Specifications

(16th Century - 19th Century Japan)

Type: Muzzleloading black powder revolving barrels pepperbox

Caliber: Various

Capacity: 3

Fire Modes: Single Shot

The Tanegashima Pepperbox 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
Azumi	Kazuki Kitamura	Kanbê Inoue		2003