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Post by momoyama on Sept 25, 2016 7:27:08 GMT -5
Hello all, newbie here,
I found this this site while searching for info on Japanese weapons. Specifically matchlocks. From reading a bit I gather everyone is really into certain aspects of Japanese culture and or history, as am I . Hope you don't mind me asking but is this a club or group dedicated to your pursuits, or just a loose affiliation of like minded people? I hope to have some questions in the future and also to offer some info that may be of help to you all. Do you all participate in reenactments and the like?
Thanks,
momoyama
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 10:46:44 GMT -5
Welcome! This group doesn't see as many new (or old, to be frank) faces as it used to, so it's good to see one, at least. You are correct that this group exists to bring together people who are researching and recreating historical Japanese culture. This group is not a club, though some of us are members of the Society for Creative Anachronism ( www.sca.org), which is dedicated to the medieval period in general. This group here is one of several that has attracted those of us SCAdians who have a specific interest in the Japanese medieval period (That being everything from the Heian period to the Azuchi/Momoyama period, basically anything up to 1600 CE). A lot of traffic has moved over to Facebook, but a few die-hards still hold down this fort. We can't promise to be able to answer all your questions, and probably not rapidly, but it's always good to see what other people are researching so ask away!
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Post by momoyama on Sept 25, 2016 18:58:03 GMT -5
Thank you for the welcome! Okay I did some reading up on SCA, and now understand better. I'm rather surprised because I didn't know of the group or the Japanese line. Just quick reading and the attention to detail is so high here. I'll be back with questions soon, Domo, (hope I'm not too informal but my historical keigo level is low Momoyama
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Saionji Shonagon
New Member
One dreamed of becoming somebody. Another remained awake and became. (Found in a fortune cookie.)
Posts: 7,240
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Post by Saionji Shonagon on Sept 26, 2016 13:40:01 GMT -5
The SCA pretty much avoids the use of black powder weapons in any practical application. That said, there's a decent little book called "Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe In Japan" by Olof G. Lidin that includes English translations of accounts of the arrival of the namban in Japan and the introduction of firearms. (Now if I can just remember who I loaned my copy to....)
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Post by momoyama on Sept 27, 2016 7:45:59 GMT -5
The SCA pretty much avoids the use of black powder weapons in any practical application. That said, there's a decent little book called "Tanegashima: The Arrival of Europe In Japan" by Olof G. Lidin that includes English translations of accounts of the arrival of the namban in Japan and the introduction of firearms. (Now if I can just remember who I loaned my copy to....) I was wondering why no matchlock info on here, but see how it wouldn't fit in with the SCA competition. Have to ask if anyone shows up with a matchlock to show off, or if they keep one at home? I just happened to surf in here the other day while looking for a matchlock part I found. Wouldn't mind owning one but you know how the laws are over here on weapons. Thanks ill be checking into the book as well, so much new info from here , so little time.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2016 9:12:38 GMT -5
I was wondering why no matchlock info on here, but see how it wouldn't fit in with the SCA competition. Have to ask if anyone shows up with a matchlock to show off, or if they keep one at home? I just happened to surf in here the other day while looking for a matchlock part I found. Wouldn't mind owning one but you know how the laws are over here on weapons. Well, I am not a lawyer, and I can only speak to my experiences in Pennsylvania, but I know a number of historical re-enactors (French & Indian war, mostly) who own collections of black powder firearms and who often fire them at events. So, this is more of a matter of obeying site and event rules. The Pennsic War, for instance, has site rule #1 that prohibits all firearms "aside from those with specific, prior written authorization". I don't think you could get permission to carry one around, and certainly such a thing would not be permitted on the battlefield, but you could probably get permission to bring examples on site to teach a class if you could present a plan that would keep everybody safe. I think that would be a class that people would be interested in, too. I love seeing classes in things that are historical, but impractical for modern use.
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Post by Please Delete on Sept 28, 2016 21:41:07 GMT -5
If you are in Japan, there are strict laws, but you can work within them; I know of people who have guns for hunting and one person who owns a gun range. If you really want to get into Japanese matchlocks, look up some of the Japanese gunnery schools, which continue to practice the old gunnery martial arts.
-Ii
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Post by solveig on Oct 22, 2016 23:52:50 GMT -5
Noble Cousin! Greetings from Sólveig! I was wondering why no matchlock info on here, but see how it wouldn't fit in with the SCA competition. Have to ask if anyone shows up with a matchlock to show off, or if they keep one at home? I just happened to surf in here the other day while looking for a matchlock part I found. Wouldn't mind owning one but you know how the laws are over here on weapons. Thanks ill be checking into the book as well, so much new info from here , so little time. First of all. Welcome! Hopefully you will stick around. Actually, since almost all of us are pretty much amateurs, the lack of matchlock information is more a matter of nobody deciding to be sufficiently interested in the tings to research them. That is generally speaking how the Society as a whole operates. However, your mere presence will probably spur people into looking into matchlocks. I once saw a rather impressive slow march teppo drill team at Pennsic. I do not know whether they would be allowed back as the rules for Pennsic keep getting more restrictive due to people insisting on doing dumb things. Currently, firearms of any type are generally banned from Pennsic. (There appears to be an exception for the cannon battery that signals the opening and closing of Pennsic.) What is Pennsic? Pennsic is a two week Summer camping event which is the largest Society event each year. A bunch of the members of Tousando go there pretty much every year. I "teach" a bunch of classes and workshops, conduct tea demos, and stuff like that. The only way to legitimately have teppo at Pennsic at this point would be to have a well regulated group and specially petition the Coopers & Wilvers (who own the property and instituted the ban) to allow just that group. Unfortunately, that might be a bridge too far at this point, because a matchlock group appearing in 2017 would probably result in unregulated imitators in 2018. Theoretically, black powder could be an activity within the Society. It would probably be organized by the marshalate which also controls target archery and various kinds of personal armed combat. To get it going, it would have to progress through various stages probably starting as an unofficial activity and then through a phase as an "experimental" marshal form. But, I think that it is worth doing. Black powder was very much the thing in the sixteenth century. According to "Giving Up the Gun", over 1/2 of the world's firearms were in Japanese hands in 1600. Antique firearm companies are in operation in Japan. They show up at a variety of festivals doing anything from simply marching in formation in a parade to mass firings.
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