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Portuguese Arrival at Tanegashima
In 1543, two Portuguese trading ships blown off course reached Tanegashima in southern Kyushu, introducing matchlocks (teppō) that were quickly copie…
Timeline
- 1543Tanegashima · KyushuShips carrying Portuguese merchants including António da Mota strayed from the China route, landing at Tanegashima, where they made contact and traded with the island's lord, Tanegashima Tokitaka.
- 1543–1544Tanegashima · KyushuTokitaka purchased matchlocks and had craftsmen including Yaita Kinbei disassemble and copy them, beginning domestic Japanese production of Western firearms; teppō spread rapidly across the Kyushu provinces.
Sources
- Tanegashima https://www.britannica.com/place/Tanegashima
- Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879 — Noel Perrin (1979)