Intro

Today, we're going to take a look at a matchlock that was sold at an auction. Now, the title says it's a Japanese matchlock, but just by looking at the shape, it actually seems more like a Chinese one. We'll talk more about that in the next part. This matchlock was sold for 475 US dollars back in 2021. But that’s not really the focus of this video/article. What we’re going to focus on today are two main points: first, its identity, and second, taking a closer look at some interesting details about it.

Japanese or Chinese

First of all, is this a Japanese matchlock or a Chinese one? According to the auction title, they believed it was Japanese—probably because they thought the barrel had Japanese writing on it. But I don’t think the experts at the auction house were unprofessional. After all, this is a professional auction house. But Chinese characters and Japanese kanji are indeed very similar, except for some strokes. That being said, if we look at the shape of the gun, it actually has a lot of features typical of Chinese matchlocks—like the gunstock design. It even has a slot that was likely used to mount a bipod, which in Chinese is called 槍杈(or 槍叉). So based on the gunstock shape and the presence of a bipod slot, we can almost be certain that this isn’t a Japanese matchlock—at least not a typical one and it also doesn’t match the usual style of the Japanese snap matchlock.

Additionally, let’s go back to the writing on the barrel. Although some of the characters aren’t very clear, a few of them are readable. When put together, they form the phrase “第六十八号,” which means “Number 68” in Chinese. By the way, the character 号 looks more like the simplified Chinese version we use today, rather than the traditional form.

Now, if we take a look at other sources or public collections of Chinese matchlocks, we’ll notice that many of them have very similar engravings on the barrels—same font style, similar layout, just different characters. So in my opinion, I’m more inclined to call this a Chinese matchlock rather than a Japanese matchlock.

Is it a Chinese Musket Series?

The second point I want to talk about is the design styles of Chinese matchlocks. As we can see, Chinese matchlock muskets came in many different shapes—some had small, short handles; others featured long stocks in the Tibetan-like stocks; and some had what we call a half stock. But typically, the main differences show up in two areas: the shape of the gunstock, and the priming powder ignition mechanism—also known as the lock.

In fact, the shape of this musket isn’t particularly unique. But it does have four noticeable features:

First, an Islamic-Tibetan-like pressure matchlock mechanism.

Second, a distinctive gunstock shape, as shown in the photo.

Third, a bipod slot, which likely means the bipod was removable.

And fourth, a pouch mounted on the stock, used for storing the slow match.

If we compare these four features with other Chinese matchlocks found online, we’ll see that some of them share the same characteristics. So it makes me wonder—could they be a specific branch within the traditional Chinese muzzleloader family? Maybe after we study more traditional firearms and examine more examples, we’ll eventually find the answer.

The Time

This kind of muzzleloader collection was typically labeled with a date, often from the early 19th century, like the 1820s or 1840s. Meanwhile, when I look at war paintings depicting scenes from the Taiping Rebellion and try to find some clues, I suddenly notice that some of the soldiers in the painting are holding guns that look similar to the one we see today. So, if they’re the same type of gun, it could mean that this kind of weapon might have existed in the 1850s and 1860s as well. But anyway, this is just my inference, and it probably isn’t entirely accurate. We still need many more collections and proofs to figure it out.