REKIHAKU

No.108 A Witness to History

Volumes of marksmanship teachings, reflections of an era

Two works of marksmanship teachings are introduced in this article. One is a single volume titled "Tamakoshirae no koto" (The manufacture of bullets) that Miyazakinai Kurandonosuke presented to Minami Sakyoryo in the sixth month of 1585 (Tensei 13). The other is part of a twenty volume series titled "Ippen ichiryu no sho" (A book of one return, one style), and "Gokui-sho" (Book of Essentials) that Inatomi Ichimu Risai presented to Okubo Tozaburo in the ninth month of 1615 (Keicho 15).

	a single volume titled "Tamakoshirae no koto" (The manufacture of bullets) that Miyazakinai Kurandonosuke presented to Minami Sakyoryo. Style is not known.

Division of Five Periods

Japanese gunnery began with the arrival of guns in Japan and ended with the Meiji Restoration. The nearly three century-long history of gunnery can be divided into five periods each with its own unique characteristics. The first period dates from the introduction of guns to Japan until the start of the Edo Period. In this period wars continued under imperial rule. Feudal lords sought to expand their territories and competed fiercely to expand their armament supplies. Gunnery of the first period reflected these social conditions of war and the practical aspects of gunnery were strong.

The second period was through to the end of the warring periods to the time when the country was at peace; in other words, from the creation of the Edo Bakufu to the Kanbun Era (1661-1673). Large guns, called ishibiya and ozutsu, were introduced in the latter half of the first period . However, in the Bunroku and Keicho Eras (1592-1615) domestic and foreign wars caused an even greater amount of large weapons to be adopted. Parts of the first and second periods overlap, but the use of large weapons was remarkable and descriptions of large weapons became popular, reflecting this trend.

The third period occurred under the rule of the Edo authorities and was the most stable and peaceful period. There was a shift to handheld large-barreled rifles, rifles and hiyazutsu that launched flaming arrows and other such technologies. The mainstream of gunnery drifted farm from practicality. Measures to promote the martial arts in the Kyoho Reform strengthened this trend toward unconventional gunnery.

The fourth period lasted from after Kansei, when the northern islands faced threats from foreign powers, until the fist years of Meiji. The main objective of gunnery up to this point had been the improvement of individual marksmanship ability. And reflecting the peaceful social conditions, the range of unconventional gunnery that was far removed from practicality had grown. However, gunnery came to be regarded as a necessity for protection of the coastline by statesmen as a foreign crisis loomed before them. As a result, gunnery that used guns for war tactics was born. The fifth period lasted from the end of the Tempo Era to the beginning of the Meiji Era. Western style guns advocated by Takashima Shuhan became popular.

Japanese gunnery was practical in periods of war and removed from practicality in times of peace. When foreign crisis posed a threat, practical gunnery appeared once again. It always was in accord with the movements of the times and inseparable from them in each era.

Inatomi-style volume of marksmanship teachings (examples from a total of 32 illustrasions)

Characteristics of the volumes of marksmanship teachings in the first period

A large number of marksmanship teaching volumes from the third to fifth periods have been handed down to the present day. However, the number of volumes predating the Keicho Era in the first period is notably few. They can be counted on four fingers, including fragmentary documents. The oldest work is "Teppokusurikata narabini chogo shidai (Ordinary gunpowder mixing method) (Uesugi clan document) that Muromachi Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru sent to the Uesugi clan in Echigo in the second month of 1559 (Eiroku 2). The next is a Tsuda-style (Jiyusai-style) "Tamagusuri chogo shidai" (Gunpowder mixing) (private collection) granted by a certain Nagauji to the Jiyusai in the third month of 1569 (Eiroku 12).

The style of the third extant volume is not known, but it is the single volume of "Tamakoshirae no koto" (The manufacture of bullets) from Miyazakinai Kurandonosuke from the sixth month of Tensei 13. The fourth oldest volume is of the Kishiwada-style and is titled "Meate no oogoto" (The importance of aim) (Morita Shrine, Nagano) that Yoshida Zenbei Morisada presented to the powerful northern Shinano clan of Yashima Tozaburo in the second month of 1594 (Bunroku 3).

The oldest volume, the Echigo Uesugi clan's book, contains information about the mixing ratio of gunpowder materials. This is valuable considering the number of guns that existed in the country at that time. Without gunpowder, a rifle is nothing more than a useless object. Gunpowder is a necessity for guns, but one cannot recklessly and randomly just stuff gunpowder into a gun. It was necessary to subtly change the ratio of gunpowder materials according such factors as to the length of the rifle stock, the weight of the bullets, that day's weather and humidity, the time of day and whether the objective was war or hunting. If one did not posses correct knowledge of gunpowder mixing, one could not use a gun effectively.

There is more surprising information contained in the third oldest volume from the sixth month of Tensei 13. It is common thought that a rifle is loaded with only one bullet, but this volume contains descriptions of thirty types of bullets and detailed instructions on how to make them. These include several bullets connected by wire and cast bullets which were made by pouring steel into a mold that containing two bullets which were cast simultaneously, hollow bullets, scattering bullets, double bullets, triple bullets, oblong bullets made of several oblong pellets wired together, "gate crasher" (monyaburi) bullets made of four pellets wired together, arrow-shaped bullets and others.

The fact that several types of bullets existed in the Sengoku Period is evidenced by accurate literary documentation and by the results of archeological excavations. It follows that the types of bullets mentioned in the works introduced in this article were by no means rare and it would not be a mistake to say that they were used normally in battle. These bullets were developed as marksmen experienced numerous battles and discovered by trial and error which type of bullets accurately destroyed the target. This is also a fact of the spread of guns.

Illustrated with a naked rider to show proper body positioning	The Inatomi-style book of marksmanship teachings presented to Okubo Tozaburo (examples from a total of 32 illustrations)

Inatomi-style teachings

The other work introduced in this article are twenty volumes that Inatomi Ichimu Risai presented to Okubo Tozaburo in the ninth month of Keicho 15, "Ipppen ichiryu no sho" (Book of one return, one style)(eleven volumes) and "Gokuisho" (Book of essentials) (five volumes). The binding of the front cover is deep blue affixed with gold and silver pigments. The title piece is vermilion with gold pigment and the inside cover has gold leaf embossed with a flower shaped rhombus. They are gorgeous volumes. The calligraphy was written by one of the top calligraphers of the time. The illustrations were done by an artist of the Kano group, again testifying to the luxury of the work.

The marksman Inatomi Ichimu Risai was in the service of the Hosakawa clan, but he left the Hosakawa clan after the Battle of Sekigahara and served Tokugawa Ieyasu's ninth son, Matsudaira Tadayoshi. After Matsudaira's death, Inatomi served Tokugawa Ieyasu and lived in Sunpu. He died by illness in the second month of Keicho 16 at the age of 61. This book of teachings was presented to Okubo Tozaburo nine months before Ichimu's death. It is conjectured that Okubo Tozaburo was the son of the powerful Okubo Nagayasu who was the head of the Edo Bakufu magistrates.

The Inatomi-style work is composed of twenty-five volumes in three parts; "Ippen ichiryu no sho" (11 volumes), "Gokuisho" (9 volumes), and "Daigokui" (5 volumes). In the title pieces of the volumes introduced here were inscriptions such as "origins of guns", "113 items", "113 items of notice", "gunpowder methods", "preparations for aiming", "gunpowder preparations", "eye and hand preparation", "fixing a target" and others. In other words, the teachings began with the origins of guns and contained in great detail articles about everything one needed to know about handling guns such as knowledge of marksmanship, firing posture according to the type of weapon used, bullet types, specifications of guns by bullets, mixing ratios of gunpowder materials, an explanation of the structures used to hold sights and more.

	After word written by Inatomi Ichimu Risai

The existence of marksmen

As guns were imported, a great number of warriors with refined marksmanship skills, known as hojutsushi (marksmen) appeared around the country. They made their living traveling from province to province, teaching marksmanship, and publishing books of teachings and being paid to teach. The marksmen accumulated knowledge of guns through their experiences in battle and purported to have secret knowledge and teachings. In the first period, feudal lords put efforts into military armament preparations and there was single-mindedness to obtain the usage and deployment of powerful guns. In the half century under imperial rule, the development and spread of guns was remarkable, but in the end we cannot forget the existence of that group of warriors known as hojutsushi. The two works of teachings introduced in this article can surely be called witnesses to these facts.

Takehisa Udagawa