Samurai Firepower - A Matchlock Samurai Documentary 

Wasnt it Oda Nobunaga who first properly implemented firearms into military tactics to devastating effect?

As much as some idealize the swords and martial weapons as the main arms of the samurai, one has to admit the combination of fullbody armor with firearms looks cool.

As a student of history and particularly muzzleloading firearms, the weapons from Japan has been a subject that's sorely lacking over the years and I am glad we're starting to see more and more of videos like these, because these guns played a huge role, not only in Japanese history, but firearms history in general.

The Ōdzutsu is my favorite Japanese firearm. That thing is beastly.

This is an excellent video and it clearly and logically explained both the progression and development of firearms, and their use as a weapon of war. It was greatly enhanced by the use of climatic footage injected into the explanations of how and why Hojutsu became a martial art. The modern footage explained the differences in matchlocks available to gunners and who used which weapons and why. Then it showed tactics in realistic demonstrations. The female gunner explained how and why she became a gunner and why she was passionate about passing her knowledge on. As always your narration was flawless and engaging. I won't say this your best video, because you'll just make an even more through and entertaining one soon. So I'll just say it's one of your best and will be for quite a while.

I remember watching Ran and all the other older movies, and playing Shogun Total War (the first one), all while, based on what I knew of the more (overall) novel European 1500's musketry, thinking feudal Japanese musketry (Tanegashima's) couldn't possibly be THAT much more effective, and would have been more of a fear factor, what with the way those guns looked, no stocks, etc. Until I read about how the economics, industry & geography of Japan (for the most part a bunch of valleys in between mountains) played a big part in how the feudal lords fought battles. Such as the battles of Uedahara & Nagashiro, where the Takeda's couldn't circumvent/go around, suffering absolutely crippling and decisive defeats, in large part due to murderously effective musketry.

I'm from Brazil. I knew that our ancerstors the Portuguese sailors arrived in Japan and also Sain Francis Xavier stayed in Japan for a short period. But I didn't knew about this firearm introduction.

Fascinating video, well done.

Fantastic video! I was unaware of the different types of gun used and their battlefield role. I would love to learn more about how matchlocks were incorporated into armies and how generals used them as part of their overall strategy.

Very nice video actually, thank you for this, you are an artist.

Thank you so much sir, for the upload! I like the fact that this time is almost 17 mins long video!

This looks fascinating so very glad this popped up my feed😱👍❤️🔥🔥🔥🔥

Excellent video.

Tanzutsu 5:19 Banzutsu 5:45 Zamazutsu 6:14 Samuraizutsu/Chuzutsu 8:12 Ozutsu 9:01 Other types 9:24

Nice video, this topic definitely needs more documentaries on it

I saw many other interesting guns in Matsumoto castle when I visited. It would be nice to learn more about those

Os portugueses, por volta de 1543, aportaram no Japão, além de missionários e comerciantes, levaram armas de fogos. Apartir deste período , começaram a copiar e produzir. Mas nada era terrível quanto a espada samurai. Lâmina insuperável até os dias de hoje.

Every time I watch a samurai tv show or movie, the gunner commander shouts to the ashigaru to fire, what is the commander saying in Japanese? I've specifically heard it in the aoi: tokugawa sandai and sanada maru tv shows but I was always curious. Google translate said fire is yattane but google translate for japanese is rarely accurate in my experience lol

when your opponent sends the biggest baddest champion to lop off your head but then your samurai just pull out a matchlock rifles

Eric from IV8888 sent me here. Subscribed! 😁

Just found your channel! Awesome stuff! I was just in Tokyo this weekend and want to see much more of the country now.

Great video! Will you make a video on the less common japanese guns? I remember seeing a wheellock gun once, as well as the Kunitomo air gun which is fascinating.

soo cool

Really interesting documentary, thanks! Can you recommend any English language resources on the tactics and strategy of these matchlocks in warfare? Or is there a chance you'll be doing a documentary on the specifics of how they were utilized by generals of the time?

Muito bom.

How would the novice collector differentiate between a sixteenth century or early seventeenth century matchlock and a nineteenth century one?

Would love a collab between yall and Townsend and Waypoint survival. They do videos on similar topics but from the colonial Americas . Arizona Ghostriders is another, but they do old west history, so late mid 19th to early 20th centuries.

Do you know where I can get a look at the trigger mechanism on one of these I would lovecto build one I've built a medieval matchlock with the crossbow style lock these are extremely cool thank you for your video it was very good.

8:58 I think the equivalent to the Odzutsu is the Hand Mortar from the 18th Century.

Thank you so much. Can someone add a subtitle so it is easier to see the words and look up the terms?

Are these firearms produced locally or imported? I know Pedersoli in Italy basically produces western modern repros, but id love something like this!

Fun fact, due their isolationism policy the Japanese continue using matchlock for 3 centuries, ignoring wheel lock, flint lock weapons, after Commodore Perry force then open their ports in 1853 they start converto to percussion lock.

It's interesting how the development of tactics around the arquebus in Japan very closely mirror the developments in Europe when it was introduced there. It's as if the human brain works very much the same everywhere... (sarcasm). While breast plates introduced by the portuguese began appearing in japanese armor, early modern armies in Europe as well had introduced the notion to wear a heavier breast plate, pretty much at the expense of everything else, just so it would survive getting shot at by a matchlock arquebus by the early 1500's. Some western european infantry from the era are depicted even without helmets - though often with the sexy combed morion. The fire by sequence was also adapted in Europe in some armies, probably around the time of the Italian Wars, along with shifting ranks and countermarch during pike-and-shot warfare. Flintlocks, bayonets, and faster reloads enabled fire by ranks and other tactical methods using thin lines of musketeers during the 18th Century, possibly introduced by the dutch and perfected by nations like Prussia and the United Kingdom. The innacuracy of these guns is always a little overstated. At 100 metres and with good marksmanship you may still only hit the man next to the one you were aiming at, but in formation battles that's not a very big issue, I would think. In Europe at least, as we now know, they had a tendency to undershoot when firing **en masse** at longer ranges, and this was actually tested and discovered by the prussians around the 1750's. Thick smoke blinding your perception of the battlefield certainly played a big role in it.

Hello, i have two questions: I have seen a pistol similar to Tanzutsu, but it's lock was a hybrid of wheellock and a snaphaunce. It is possible to be an authentic Japanese gun? Also in 4:10 what kind of gun she's holding?

Eu sabia que as armas de fofo foram introdduzidas no Japão pelos Portugueses. Ainda hoje os Japoneses celebram todos os anos esse feito..

I'm curious about how the people of 2 completly different language system culture social heirachy in ancient time able communicate to each other when they just met

Did the Japanese ever progress to the flintlock?

실제 사무라이는 지휘관이고 조총 사격한건 아시가루잖아?

They seem much more smaller and efficient than their European counterparts. Is that correct? What differences are there between japanese and european firearms of the same period?

the real shoGUNs

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for stating that the art of samurai gunnery was a "martial art." In popular culture, the (crazy!) idea that "martial arts" means "hand to hand combat" (and even more oddly, "Asian self defense.") "Military art" and yes, that means the use of firearms. The next time some ignorant person says, "Oh I'll just shoot a martial artist," I'll show this video and reply, "Sure, if the martial artist doesn't shoot you first!"

3:35 So hold on, the use of a gun is considered a martial arts in Japan?

I did not think guns were allowed in Japan, but apparently those matchlocks are legal.

Actually it was invented in India. The Portuguese took it to japan when a captured Goa.

It doesn't look like they were ramming the ball down the barrel with a ramrod ! That's very strange. The American Indians that used flint locks on horseback never did either. It takes a very small ball in a big barrel to do that. Otherwise the ball won't get down to he in powder reliably. That can be dangerous. Amazing they would do this. Of course these reinactors don't fire anything but iT appears that this was normal not using a ramrod In Japan.

Bruh kids says knight will win against samurai Samurai:bang bang

Watching this encourages me to read the War and Peace size history of the medieval Japanese Korean War that has been sitting on my reading list for far too long.

It's a novelty to see a small fragment of American, in the Japanese.