Tanegashima

Japanese "Tanegashima" matchlock arquebus.

Specifications

(16th Century - 19th Century Japan)

Type: Muzzleloading black powder musket

Caliber: Various

Capacity: 1

Fire Modes: Single Shot

Tanegashima

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use in the Sengoku Jidai (or Japanese Warring States) period and the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, before being superseded in the 19th century by more advanced firearms.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

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Seven Samurai				1954
Ran		Various soldiers of Taro, Jiro, Saburo's army		1985
Ran	Hisashi Igawa	Shuri Kurogane		1985

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-sin		Used by various Japanese soldiers	Represented by thinly-disguised (and highly anachronistic) M1 Garands, which are shown firing semiautomatically	2004-2005

Video Game

Game Title	Appears as	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.	2008
Total War: Shogun 2		Used by various infantry units.	2011