A FINE JAPANESE TAZUKE-RYU SCHOOL INLAID MATCHLOCK CARBINE, OZUTSU TEPPO EDO 1615-1868 Of massive proportions, the 30-monme (26mm bore) carbine with a heavy 71cm barrel finely decorated with gold and silver wire inlays, the lower section with the maru ni kuginuki (nail-puller in a circle) mon family crest on a dense asa-no-ha ground, the other two thirds of the barrel depicting Tekkai Sennin blowing his soul out of his body, the underside signed Tomioka Saheiji Yoshihisa, the stock made from sturdy Japanese oak wood, approx. 11,8kg and 103 cm overall. Cf. C Sinclaire, Samurai, The weapons and spirit of the Japanese warrior, pp130-131, and I Bottomley & A P Hopson, Arms & Armour of the Samurai, pp.124-125, for other examples of Japanese inlaid hand cannons. Also, the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, access. no.2892-D3. The maru ni kuginuki mon was used by several families, including the Hori Clan. Tekkai is typically depicted here as a sennin (immortal hermit), wearing a coat and skirt made of mugwort leaves and carrying a tall wood staff. Tekkai Sennin was an Immortal who blew his soul out of his body in order to meet his master on Mount Hua. When his spirit tried to return, he found that he had been cremated. He thus had no choice but to inhabit the body of a lame beggar lying nearby. This type of large teppo carbines known as ozutsu ('cannon') was mounted onto castle walls to protect it against invaders. They were also used on ships, on horseback, as assault weapons to blast through door hinges and to launch incendiary or explosive arrows (hiya) to set fires during sieges. These powerful firearms had large recoil and bails of rice would be necessary to support the gunner's back. Heavy round lead balls were used as ammunition, with sizes described as monme. Taking 30-monme shots, this carbine is one of the largest examples of Japanese Edo Period hand-held firearms. By the 19th c., these had become obsolete and were only used to call monks to prayer, to signal the time in cities, and for official inaugurations. Yoshihisa was a gunsmith from the Musashi Province, an area stretching today from Tokyo to the Prefectures of Saitama and Kanagawa. He is recorded working circa Tenpo 14 (1843) and was an official supplier to the Shogun.