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[[Image:Edo-teppo.JPG|right|thumb|500px|An Edo period matchlock gun. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.]]

[[Image:Edo-teppo.JPG|right|thumb|500px|An Edo period matchlock gun. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.]]

*''Japanese'': 鉄砲 ''(teppou)''

*''Japanese'': 鉄砲 ''(teppou)''

==Introduction to Japan==

==Introduction to Japan==

The introduction of the European matchlock began in [[1543]], during the appropriately named [[Sengoku period]] ("Period of the Country/Provinces at War"). At this time Japan found a trading partner in the Europeans. In [[1543]] a Portuguese ship arrived off the coast of [[Tanegashima]], south of Kyushu. One item they had was an arquebus. After trying it out, the lord of Tanegashima, Tokitaka, disregarding the high price of the arms, purchased from the aliens two pieces of the firearms for his family treasure and occupied himself ceaselessly with learning to use it. He instructed a retainer to learn to make the powder. Some local iron workers tried to copy the work, but they could not figure out how to close the end of the barrel. Fortunately the next year some more traders arrived, among whom was an iron worker, who taught how to close the barrel and about the springs. This discovery led to the production of several tens of firearms in a period of a little over a year. Tokitaka instructed his retainers to practice on the new weapon, and many beccame proficient. Later, a [[Sakai]] merchant, later known as Teppô-mata, came and stayed on the island for one or two years and learned the craft. From him, the knowledge spread throughout the country.<ref>Nanpo ''Teppô-ki''</ref>

The introduction of the European matchlock began in [[1543]], during the [[Sengoku period]]. In that year, two or three Portuguese arrived aboard a Chinese junk off the coast of [[Tanegashima]], south of Kyushu. Though the account by [[Fernao Mendes Pinto]] is oft-cited, that by [[Antonio Galvano]], governor of [[Malacca]] from [[1536]]-[[1540]], is considered by some scholars more reliable. According to his account, published posthumously in [[1557]], the three Portuguese were Christopher Antonio da Mota, Francis Zimoro, and Antonio Perota, who had abandoned their Portuguese compatriots in [[Ayutthaya|Siam]] and found passage aboard this Chinese junk.<ref>Gary Leupp, ''Interracial Intimacy in Japan: Western Men and Japanese Women, 1543-1900'', A&C Black (2003), 2.</ref>

 

After trying out the arquebuses the Portuguese had with them, the lord of the island, [[Tanegashima Tokitaka]], purchased from the strangers two examples of the firearms for his family treasury and is said to have occupied himself ceaselessly with learning to use them. He instructed a retainer to learn to make the [[gunpowder]], and another, the swordsmith Yasuita Kinbei Kiyosada, to reproduce the weapon itself. According to some accounts, Tokitaka gave his daughter to the Portuguese in exchange for the weapons, and/or for instruction in their production. Kiyosada encountered difficulties, however, in reproducing the spring mechanism, and also in properly sealing the end of the barrel. Fortunately the next year a Portuguese ship arrived (by some accounts bearing the same Portuguese men), and a smith on board was able to teach Kiyosada about the spring mechanism, and how to close the barrel. This discovery led to the production of several tens of firearms in a period of a little over a year. Tokitaka instructed his retainers to practice on the new weapon, and many beccame proficient. Later, the [[Sakai]] merchant [[Tachibana Iemonzaburo|Tachibana Iemonzaburô]], later known as Teppô-mata, came and stayed on the island for one or two years and learned the craft. From him, the knowledge spread throughout the country.<ref>Nanpo ''Teppô-ki''</ref>

After that the Portuguese had begun to openly trade with other cities in Japan. [[Nagasaki]] had become a major trade port for trade between the Japanese and Portuguese, and the traders brought a variety of novelties including wool, velvet, tobacco, clocks and eyeglasses. But the most popular and less novel item brought to Japan by Europe, was the matchlock arquebus.  

After that the Portuguese had begun to openly trade with other cities in Japan. [[Nagasaki]] had become a major trade port for trade between the Japanese and Portuguese, and the traders brought a variety of novelties including wool, velvet, tobacco, clocks and eyeglasses. But the most popular and less novel item brought to Japan by Europe, was the matchlock arquebus.