Book: Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879

[arnisador]

Perrin, Noel. Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879 (Boston: David R. Godine, 1979)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...28001/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_6_1/104-0730448-6126362

This slim volume tells the story of Japan adopting firearms in the late 1500s, using them widely for about a century, then largely abandoning them in favor of the sword. It was promoted in the late 1970s as a possible model for nuclear disarmament but the story is of interest in its own right. A quick read that is highly recommended for classical Japanese arts enthusiasts.

There's a condensed version at:
http://www.jef.or.jp/en/jti/200001_024.html

From that site:
But one fact is certain. The Japanese were keen users of firearms for nearly a hundred years. They then turned back to swords and spears. Few scholars agree completely on what made them do it, or on how, having gone so far with guns, they were able to retrace their steps.

 

[arnisador]

Perrin, Noel. Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879 (Boston: David R. Godine, 1979)

Giving Up the Gun is not a martial arts story per se. This slim volume tells the true tale of how the Japanese adopted Western-style firearms for warfare in the 1500s, made wide use of them for about a century, then abandoned them in favor of the sword.

The book is well-researched and the tale is well told. Perrin draws on a variety of sources for this history but also makes his point with poems and artwork. In a screen painting of an unidentified battle dated around 1615, for example, he draws the reader's attention to the fact that the upper-class swordsmen are horse-mounted while the lower-class gunners are not. The implication is that the gun was associated with a lower standard of skill and was considered a more appropriate weapon for the lower classes. He also gives a translation of a song sung by Japanese Christians, samurai included, whose rebellion was put down in the last major Japanese battle featuring gunplay for over two hundred years (the Shimabara Rebellion of 1637); the song speaks of near-constant gunfire.

After the rebellion, Perrin writes that the "samurai went back to taking fencing lessons, the monks resumed making black-feathered arrows, and all over Japan smiths poured out a never-ending stream of top quality armor and swords." This was not a sudden stop, nor did it represent a change for the samurai only--Japan had been making its own matchlocks and had even exported some of them! While limited use of cannon for coastal defense and of course the odd firearm use occurred, the Japanese--after having used guns extensively in combat for some time, and in full knowledge of their power--reverted to the sword and bow. (A Swedish visitor to Japan reports that as of 1776 the coastal guns were tested only once every 7 years. These 8-pound cannon would greet Commodore Perry and his 64-pound guns, which were so large that the sailors joked they could load the Japanese cannons in their own!) No one fully understands why the change occurred, and Perrin does not attempt to give a definitive answer, though he does dissect several that have been put forward.

This book was promoted in the late 1970s as a possible model for nuclear disarmament. Perrin indulges himself in some discussion along these lines. This discussion is somewhat dated but comes mostly at the end and does not detract from the story, which is of interest in its own right--and all the more so for enthusiast of the traditional Japanese weapons arts. I highly recommend this book to those interested in the classical Japanese arts and the context in which they grew.

There's a condensed version online at http://www.jef.or.jp/en/jti/200001_024.html. Here's a quote from that site:

But one fact is certain. The Japanese were keen users of firearms for nearly a hundred years. They then turned back to swords and spears. Few scholars agree completely on what made them do it, or on how, having gone so far with guns, they were able to retrace their steps.

Scholars may not agree as to why, but you'll enjoy thinking and arguing about it. The story is told from the very beginning up to modern times. At only 92 pages plus notes, this detailed but readable book, with many illustrations, is enlightening and enjoyable.

 

[Rich Parsons]

They Use of guns and then to drop them and return to older tools of the trade.


As mentioned, part of it was class and social behavior. Also, look at the technology, advanced though it was, it was not an AK-47. A good Bowman could get off a few more shots with better precision and possible extended range over the existing rifles of the day. (* Not sure where I read this, sorry *) Given both of these facts it is easier to understand or see why and how it happened.

Thanks for the review. Can I browse the book in October Arni?

 

[arnisador]

Yes, remind me when you're here!

 

[Eldritch Knight]

Exactly. Anyone ever read the book or watched the movie Shogun? Remember when Buntaro, while drunk, was able to place 3 arrows in the same place on the target, in the middle of the night, through a screen door? No marksman of the time could do that - the bow was as much as weapon of honor to the samurai as their other traditions. As a culture with strong ties to their roots and culture, this was not something that they would give up, nor would in favor of an inferior weapon.

 

[arnisador]

I did read and watch Shogun. I enjoyed both forms.

It looks like Tom Cruise's upcoming movie has elements similar both to those in Shogun and also the gun book:
The Last Samurai

 

[someguy]

I suppose you could shot move arrows than bullets.
I think Musashi said something about why he dislikes the use of guns. Can't queit remember why though. I guess I ought to go reread that book.

 

[arnisador]

In the current (Oct./Nov. 2003) issue of W. Hock Hocheim's Close Quarter Combat Magazine, Richard Cohen discusses this book in a feature article entitled "Samurai Guns: How Firearms Destroy the Samurai. It adds little to what is in Noel Perrin's book and is edited so poorly as to be embarrassing.