Gunnery

Waryu gunnery is one of the early modern martial arts. It is a technique in which gunpowder is loaded into large and small guns (firearms with a barrel) and the explosive force is used to fire bullets and flaming arrows, which hit targets. The early modern "Kōyō Gunkan" lists the four martial arts as "bows, guns, military arts, and horses," and Kaibara Ekiken's "Wakan Meisū Zokusho" lists three of the fourteen Japanese martial arts: "flying guns, firing arrows, and flaming arrows," and the term gunnery was used as a general term for these three arts. At the time, the distinction between guns and cannons was not clear, and they were divided into small cannons (30 momme = 112.5 grams or less), medium and large cannons (100 momme or more), and firearms (1 kanme = 3.75 kilograms or more) according to the weight of the lead or iron bullets. Also, one of the unique Japanese fire arrows (hiyazutsu) was the bohiya, a stick-shaped fire arrow that was fired at the target with an incendiary powder wrapped around the end of the stick and a wooden or iron feather attached. (1) Guns = the art of small rifles such as guns, matchlock guns, short barrels, small barrels, hand barrels, Tanegashima, and beaked guns, (2) firing = the art of artillery such as cannons, large barrels, stone arrows, franki, and shimohou, (3) arrows = the art of fire such as stick fire arrows, horokudama (explosive bullets), land mines, and smoke signals. In addition, the technique of firing with guns and short barrels is sometimes called gunnery, and the art of using cannons, stone arrows, franki, canons, horokudama, and smoke signals is sometimes called fire techniques.

Guns that fire guns using gunpowder were introduced to Japan in 1543 (Tenbun 12) when a Portuguese man washed up on Tanegashima Island in Osumi Province brought with him a matchlock gun called an arquebus (Chinese name: bird gun). The lord of the domain, Tanegashima Tokitaka, purchased this gun and had his vassal Shinokawa Kosaburo learn how to make gunpowder and swordsmith Yaita Kinbei learn how to manufacture guns, and eventually succeeded in making a replica. In addition, during the Eiroku period (1558-1570), Tsuda Kanmotsu Sancho, a native of Kishu, wrote a book on the secrets of shooting techniques, and during the Keicho period (1596-1615), Inatomi Ichimu, a native of Tanabe, Tanba, wrote a luxurious book on gunnery that detailed research into gunpowder, trajectory, posture, and aiming points. Thus, as the Edo period began, many branches and tributaries were created, as each domain and school was reluctant to disclose their military secrets, and by the end of the Edo period, there were more than 200 schools. Among them, the Inoue school of Geki Masatsugu Inoue and the Tatsuke school of Hyogonosuke Kagesumi Tatsuke were adopted by the Edo Shogunate's gun department for their meritorious service in the Siege of Osaka, and each controlled five yoriki (police officers), 20 doshin (police officers), and six blacksmiths, and boasted of their influence until the rise of Western gunnery at the end of the Edo period. After the Shimabara Rebellion, the country entered a period of isolation, and gunnery gradually lost its practical use and became a form of entertainment. It was said that "all sorts of styles competed, and there were many schools. Each had its own virtue and its own shortcomings," and it became fashionable to boast of the number of schools of dual training, and to create a new school by combining only the strengths of several schools. It is said that in the Owari domain there were over 40 schools of gunnery and over 100 masters, and in the Kishu domain there were 14 gunnery masters who called themselves first-class schools, each with their own area of ​​expertise and secret techniques known as gohiji.

As described above, Japanese gunnery developed independently as a result of the isolationist policy, but research into Western large firearms and cannon techniques in particular was extremely sluggish. However, some knowledgeable people in the shogunate and the gunners in charge of the Nagasaki Battery were very interested in the new information from the Netherlands. In 1650 (Keian 3), Hojo Ujinaga, a shogunate official, observed a mortar firing demonstration by Julian Schedel, an attendant to the Dutch trading post chief, at Mureno in Bushu (near Inokashira Park in Tokyo), and asked him about Western siege tactics. Then, during the Kanbun era (1661-1673), the Komou and Oranda schools arose in Nagasaki after learning mortar artillery techniques directly from the Dutchman Kemple, and the Jikaku school, founded by Yakushiji Uemon Tanenaga, incorporated new Western artillery techniques from the mid-17th century. The next Shogun, Yoshimune, encouraged gunnery, saying that "guns are the ultimate weapon, and are related to the safety of the nation," and in 1728 (Kyoho 13), two years after the issuance of the order to drive away smuggling ships, he opened a gunnery training ground on the Shonan coast and had the guards under the gunnery department test-fire large and small cannons. In addition to town-attacks (long distance) and corner-attacks (close distance), large cannon training also included boat-attacks and sagegaya (from high places). Then, in 1738 (Genbun 3), in order to strengthen the large cannons, he employed Sasaki Kanzaburo, a retainer from Kishu, as the cannon officer. Furthermore, as news of Russia moving south spread, it became urgent to teach gunnery for coastal defense, and in 1792 (Kansei 4), Matsudaira Sadanobu opened a gunnery training range in Tokumarugahara near Edo.

Then, in 1808 (Bunka 5) following the incident involving the British ship Phaeton, the shogunate appointed Toshimoto, the grandson of Sakamoto Tenzan (1745-1803) of the Ogino school, who had invented the Shuhatsudai, as the gunnery instructor for Nagasaki, in order to strengthen security in Nagasaki. He had Takagi Sadashirou and Takashima Shirobei (father of Shuhan) of the Nagasaki gunnery corps trained in the Tenzan school. Furthermore, upon hearing news of the Opium Wars in 1840 (Tenpo 11), Takashima Shuhan of Nagasaki studied Western gunnery under Steurer, a military officer at the Dutch trading post, and purchased new guns such as Gebel, Jagel, and Howitzer at his own expense, leading 400 disciples to attempt Western-style training, and wrote a petition to the shogunate explaining the importance of national defense against the advance of Western powers into the Far East. This was accepted, and the following year he held Japan's first demonstration of gun training at Tokumaruhara. Soon, such brilliant masters of Western-style gunnery as Egawa Hidetatsu, Shimosone Kanesaburo, Nabeshima Juzaemon, Murakami Munenori, and Ikebe Keita gathered under Shuhan's students, forming the basis for realizing the military reforms that took place during the Meiji Restoration.

[Ichiro Watanabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

近世武術の一つ、和流砲術。大小の鉄砲（有筒火器）に火薬を詰め、その爆発力によって、弾丸や火矢(ひや)などを発射させ、目標物に命中させる技術をいう。近世初頭の『甲陽軍鑑』では、武芸四門として「弓・鉄砲・兵法・馬」の四つをあげ、また貝原益軒(かいばらえきけん)の『和漢名数続編』には、日本武芸十四事のうちに「鳥銃・発熕・火箭(ひや)」の三事をあげ、この三術の総称として砲術の語が使われた。当時、銃と砲との区分は明らかではなく、鉛や鉄製の弾丸の重さによって小筒(こづつ)（30匁＝112.5グラム以下）、中筒、大筒(おおづつ)（100匁以上）、石火矢(いしびや)（1貫目＝3.75キログラム以上）などの区分があった。また日本独特の火矢筒(ひやづつ)の一つに、棒の先に焼夷薬を包み、木か鉄製の羽根をつけて目標に発射する棒火矢(ぼうひや)が考案された。（1）鳥銃＝鉄砲、火縄銃、短筒、小筒、手筒、種子島(たねがしま)、鳥嘴(ちょうし)銃などの小銃の術、（2）発熕＝大砲、大筒、石火矢、仏郎機(フランキ)、子母砲(しもほう)などの火砲の術、（3）火箭＝棒火矢、炮烙玉(ほうろくだま)（炸裂(さくれつ)弾）、地雷火(じらいか)、狼煙(のろし)などの火術を含んでいた。なお別に、鉄砲、短筒などで射撃する技術を砲術といい、大筒、石火矢、フランキ、カノン、炮烙玉、狼煙の類を扱う術を火術と称する場合がある。

　わが国に火薬を用いて発射する鉄砲が伝来したのは、1543年（天文12）大隅(おおすみ)国種子島に漂着したポルトガル人によって、アルケビュース（中国名、鳥銃）という火縄式の銃が招来され、これを領主種子島時尭(ときたか)が購求して、家臣篠川小四郎に火薬の作り方、刀工八板金兵衛に鉄砲の製造法を学ばせ、ついにその模製に成功したのに始まるという。ついでに永禄(えいろく)年間（1558～70）紀州の人、津田監物算長(つだけんもつかずなが)によって、射撃法の秘伝書が著述されたのをはじめとして、慶長(けいちょう)年間（1596～1615）には、丹波(たんば)田辺の人稲冨一夢(いなとみいちむ)によって、火薬、弾道、姿勢、狙撃(そげき)点を詳細に研究した豪華な砲術伝書がつくられた。こうして江戸時代に入ると、各藩各流ともにそれぞれ軍事上の秘密として公開を嫌ったため、多くの分流支流を生じ、幕末に至るまでに200余流を数えた。なかでも井上外記正継(いのうえげきまさつぐ)の井上流や田付兵庫助景澄(たつけひょうごのすけかげすみ)の田付流は、大坂の陣の功労によって江戸幕府の御鉄砲方(おてっぽうがた)に採用され、それぞれ与力(よりき)5騎、同心20人、鍛冶師(かじし)6人を支配して、幕末に西洋砲術が台頭するまでその権勢を誇った。島原の乱後、鎖国時代に入り、砲術はしだいに実用を忘れた存在となり、戯芸に走るようになり、「色さまざまの競出して、流々頗(すこぶ)る多し。いずれも一徳一失あり」といわれ、兼修の流派の数を誇り、数流の長所だけを集めて新流をたてることが流行した。尾張(おわり)藩では40余流の砲術、師家(しけ)100余に及んだといい、また紀州藩でも、14家の砲術師範がそれぞれ一流を称し、専門の分野を異にし、御秘事(ごひじ)という非公開の得意技(とくいわざ)をもっていた。

　以上のように日本の砲術は、鎖国によって独自の展開を示したが、とくに西洋の大型火器や大砲術に対する研究はきわめて低調であった。しかし幕府の一部識者や長崎砲台を担当した砲術家の間では、オランダからの新情報に強い関心がもたれていた。1650年（慶安3）幕臣北条氏長(うじなが)はオランダ商館長の随員ユリアン・スヘーデルが武州牟礼野(むれの)（東京都井の頭公園付近）で披露した臼砲(きゅうほう)の発射を見学して西洋の攻城法を質問している。ついで寛文(かんぶん)年間（1661～73）オランダ人ケンプルの直伝の臼砲術を受けて長崎に紅毛(こうもう)流や阿蘭陀(オランダ)流がおこり、薬師寺宇右衛門種永(やくしじうえもんたねなが)の始めた自覚(じかく)流には、17世紀中葉の新しい西洋の砲術が取り入れられている。ついで8代将軍吉宗(よしむね)は「鉄砲は兵器中の絶技、国家安危の関(かか)わる所」として砲術を奨励し、密貿易船打払令発令後2年の1728年（享保13）には湘南(しょうなん)海岸に砲術調練場を開き、鉄炮方配下の番衆に大・小筒の試し打ちを行わせ、大筒の訓練には町打(ちょううち)（遠距離）と角打(かくうち)（近距離）のほか船打(ふなうち)と下ヶ矢(さげがや)（高所から）を加えたりした。ついで1738年（元文3）には大筒を強化するため、紀州からの随臣佐々木勘三郎を大筒役に採用している。さらにロシアの南下が伝えられ、海防のために砲術の伝授が急務となると、1792年（寛政4）松平定信(さだのぶ)は江戸近郊の徳丸原(とくまるがはら)に砲術練習場を開いている。

　ついで1808年（文化5）英船フェートン号事件以来、幕府は長崎の警備を強化するため、周発台(しゅはつだい)を創案した荻野(おぎの)流の坂本天山(てんざん)（1745―1803）の孫俊元(としもと)を登用して長崎の砲術師範役に任じ、長崎鉄炮方の高木定四郎や高島四郎兵衛（秋帆(しゅうはん)の父）に天山流を伝習させた。さらに1840年（天保11）アヘン戦争の報を受けて、長崎の高島秋帆は、オランダ商館付武官スチュレルに師事して西洋砲術を習得し、ゲベール、ヤーゲル、ホウィッツルなどの新式銃砲を自費を投じて買い入れ、門弟400人を率いて西洋式調練を試み、幕府に上書して、欧米の極東進出に対し国防の重要性を説き、これが認められて翌年徳丸原で日本最初の銃砲調練を披露するに至った。やがて秋帆の門下には江川英龍(ひでたつ)、下曽禰(しもそね)金三郎、鍋島(なべしま)十左衛門、村上範致(むねのり)、池部啓太らの西洋流砲術の俊秀が集まり、幕末維新の兵制改革を実現する素地を形成したのである。

［渡邉一郎］

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