The modern European matchlock, or teppo, arrived in Japan in 1543, when a Portuguese ship was blown off course and landed at the island of Tanegashima (the firearm was also known as Tanegashima, named after the island). The local daimyo, Tanegashima Tokitaka, bought two and put a swordmaker to work. From these humble beginnings, the teppo became one of the dominant features of Japanese battlefields: by 1575 at the Battle of Nagashino, 3,000 gunners firing volleys of 1000 shots at a time destroyed the cavalary of the heretofore very successful Takeda clan. By the time of the Japanese invasion of Korea in the Imjin War (1592-1596), a quarter of the 160,000 troops were gunners.
The last event at every Kobudo Kyokai Taikai is an example of the art of Hōjutsu, or gunnery. This year's demonstrating art was Morishige-Ryu.
Getting the floor protected:
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