The other night when I brought this new " toy" to training, everyone was surprised,
which is my main goal, a comment was again "you're crazy", perhaps the best compliment you can get,
only Sensei said, "I thought that was a real gun, but by the smell of lacquer I known that is not"
What to say, for now, this is about the highlight of my armorer skill,after all, during my military service I was trained as a mechanic of infantry weapons, gunsmith.
So you are looking at Hidden Teppo wooden wersion made for practice.
Profession says that it's actually Tanju Aikuchi, or Tanto (depends on the length),
although you would think that it is really a ninja weapon, but it seems that's not the case.
It was known that Samurai's have rejected the idea to replace their swords with firearms, so it seems that "some" were later accepted the firearm but packed in a familiar look.
By the number of this firearms that can be found in antique shops, it seem to be exactly what was happened, normally they never mass manufactured, but still ...
Ninja like that idea too, for his undercover mission, and probably the only one who has used this tool fully, why?
Because after you use this single shot, you could use it like Jutte too, there were also cases that Jutte was conceal to look like Tanto (I make one too, pic. will be in new topic)
But what is really this?,
it is Japanese made single shot percussion pistol, disguised in Tanto koshiare,
usually it was Caliber 31,
history of this weapon goes in the middle of 19th Century, after Japan has been open to foreigners, the common types of European pistols types of Curiosa percussion pistols.(according to "The Gun Report")
Some other say that this is rare tanto pistol was used during the political turmoil in Japan, following the arrival of Commodore Perry's black ships in 1854, political assasinations were so frequent that Daiymo began carrying concealed pistols, giving them some protection
against visiting opposing Daiymo.
Most of these special order pistols are unsigned (but find some which is signed)
Profession says that this percussion firearm is particularly rare because Japanese firearm technology was suppressed until the mid-1850’s, which is about the time that metal cartridges began to achieve commercial success.
Whatever that was the reason for the development of this weapon, for those of us who practice ninjutsu, is essential idea of hidden, unexpected and element of surprise, which gives us the advantage, in the battle for survival.
So if you ask me why this? here is my answer:
As you all know, Ninjutsu legacy is huge,
because it grows in parallel with another great power,
Samurai,means that ninja need same knowledge with additions and special equipment to survive in combat against the Samurai, real number of that equipment we will newer know :-(
There is many Dojo's around the world, but they equipment for training is poor, mostly, you will know better.
So my mission is to create authentic equipment for training, yes today is time of new and modern weapons, but "root" is the same.
I that time it was Tanto pistol, today is cell phone pistol, again idea is same.
Soke used to say, "explain the feeling", so yes it is all about "the feel",
but how can you explain the feeling when you do not have the real thing in your hand?
it's true you could try to imagine it, but is it same feel?
I had luck (or bad luck) to spend my best years of life around war and in war (Croatian independent war 1990. -1995.) so I see many things.
Today's young people who come to train at our Dojo do not know almost nothing about the weapons of that time, twenty years after war,
we, the older ones that train ninjutsu not know much about weapons from the Samurai time,
all that because we not have the opportunity to see real one and take in hand "to feel".
So now I ask you, how you will learn from history, how you will explain to other that history?
Miyamoto Musashi in "Go rin no sho" book in one chapter say;
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