June 15, 2012 11:24:00 AM
Posted By Thomas L. Buck
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My son in the family "cave" with our latest aquisition... an early 17th century Japanese matchlock, it's a little over 53 inches, or 135 centimeters.
And, here is an excerpt from W. M. Hawley's book "The Mon - Japanese Family Crests", page 28, showing the family names that used variations of this crest.. On the bottom side of the barrel is the gun smith's signature, shown below:
The above signature reads - 国 Country(Kuni)・時代 Era(Jidai):近江国(Gousyu/Toutoumi) 江戸時代 (from 1603).
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