The Japanese use of cannon

[Nakamura Lobato]

Domo arigato gozaimashita Tomi-sama

That is a wonderful link. I am excited to look around at all of the Japanese artifacts.

Nakamura

By the way I posted your link over at Samurai Archives

[Eufarius]

it is a wonderful link.

[Tomisama]

You are very welcome

The link was provided to me be some folks over at the Samurai Archives Citadel.

http://forums.samurai-archives.com/

Another page from the museum on the subject of firearms.

http://www.rekihaku.ac.jp/e-rekihaku/126/rekishi.html

Enjoy

[Kagemusha]

The cannon question is really intresting. After all there are many documented occasions of use of cannons and handcannons, but there is also about use of chinese type trebutchets in Onin war. My personal wiew is that while the cannons and other projectile launchers would have historical sources for their use in the mod, those would pretty much make the sieges in the mod peace of cake. Currently we have been working so that the only available options for attacker to use in siege would be ram,ladders and possibly bit modded siege towers, but then with this engine we cant create very realistic Japanese castle towns to begin with. So in the end the option is there,but im not at all sure if we should use it.

[Nakamura Lobato]

Have you spoken to the creators of the Napoleonic 2 mod about this? Could you simply increase the stats of the fortifications?

[Kagemusha]

NTW2 is completely focused on battles and doesnt have campaign in it at all. In a Napoleonic setting the field cannons are an very important part of the battles, but it doesnt have much to do with the siege aspect of this mod, since cannons werent much used in field battles during the period in Japan.

[Tomisama]

Just a few points in time to hopefully demonstrate the high probability that there were cannon being used in Japan (agreed, as siege weapons), in at least the last 30 years of the Ran no Jidai.


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1510 Saw the first documented Chinese firearm delivered to Japan. Some say this was a matchlock, some a pole cannon.

Most certainly over the next 33 years, many more found their way from the mainland.

1543 Portuguese matchlocks in Japanese hands.

Remember that Japan had no isolation policy in those days, and with the European and Asian traders ready to do business, the Japanese manufacturing their own, and the needs of a country at war. Well, it didn’t take long…

1553 Estimated 100,000 guns in Japan

1570 The earliest documentation of Japanese manufacturing their own cannon.

1600 Estimated 300,000 guns in Japan.

How many cannon do you think there would be by then?

Oh yes, a little something extra was donated near the very end of the conflict.

The cargo of the ship "Erasmus" was a windfall of Dutch and English weaponry of the time. The ship was of 400 ton class and had 26 cannon. The cargo had 550 matchlocks , 5,000 cannon ball and 5,000 lbs of gun powder as well as chain-shot and shrapnell. The ship itself had a figurehead which was described as Eramus holding a book in his hand and was sometimes called the "Charity". This windfall of weaponry and gunpowder was probably used by Tokogawa Ieyasu at the Battle of Sekigahara.

http://www.artsales.com/ARTistory/Xa...liam_Adams.htm