Tanegashima Tokitaka (1528 – October 21, 1579) was a Japanese ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and no ...

'' of the Sengoku period, the 14th head of the Tanegashima clan. He is known for having first established contact with the Europeans, and producing the first European type firearms of Japan.

Early life

Tokitaka was born in 1528, the son of Tanegashima Satotoki (種子島恵時), a retainer of ''

Shimazu Takahisa , a son of Shimazu Tadayoshi, was a ''daimyō'' during Japan's Sengoku period. He was the fifteenth head of the Shimazu clan. Biography In 1514, he is said to have been born in Izaku Castle. On 1526, Takahisa was adopted as the successor to ...

. Tokitaka was a father in law of

Shimazu Yoshihisa was a powerful ''daimyō'' and the 16th Chief of Shimazu clan of Satsuma Province, the eldest son of Shimazu Takahisa. He was renowned as a great general, who managed to subjugate Kyushu through the deft maneuvering of his three brothers. Eventu ...

. He became head of the Tanegashima clan when his father abdicated.

Contact with Europeans

In 1543, a ship transporting Portuguese sailors, accompanied by a man named Wufeng, arrived near Tanegashima island. The Europeans were brought to Tokitaka, who was only 15 years old, and demonstrated in front of him the use of

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. The term ''arquebus'' was applied to many different forms of firearms ...

firearms. Lord Tanegashima Tokitaka instructed his swordsmith, Yaita Kinbei Kiyosada (八板金兵衛清定), to create functional replicas of the objects, the first ever Japanese-made. The smith (Yaita) did not have much of a problem with most of the gun but "drilling the barrel helically so that the screw (''bisen'' bolt) could be tightly inserted" was a major problem as this "technique did not apparently exist in Japan until this time." The following year, a Portuguese blacksmith was brought back to Japan and the problem was solved. Tanegashima Tokitaka, quickly acquired the methods of producing firearms and gunpowder. Due to Tanegashima's role in the spread of firearms, firearms were colloquially known as "

Tanegashima (gun) , most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English , was a type of matchlock-configured arquebus firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. It was used by the samurai class and their "foot soldiers", and within ...

" in Japan. Tanegashima Tokitaka was reported to have constantly practiced with the firearm.

Siege of Kajiki

The Siege of Kajiki was fought in the year of 1549 when forces of the

Shimazu clan The were the ''daimyō'' of the Satsuma han, which spread over Satsuma, Ōsumi and Hyūga provinces in Japan. The Shimazu were identified as one of the '' tozama'' or outsider ''daimyō'' familiesAppert, Georges ''et al.'' (1888). in contr ...

besieged the castle of Kajiki in

Ōsumi Province was a province of Japan in the area of southeastern Kyūshū, corresponding to the eastern half of modern Kagoshima Prefecture, and including the Ōsumi Islands . Ōsumi bordered on Hyūga to the northeast, and Satsuma Province to the nor ...

. The siege succeeded and the castle was taken. Shimazu vassal, Ijuin Tadaaki used a gun given by Tanegashima Tokitaka. The siege is notable for

made use of European arquebuses, being the first time "Portuguese derived" arquebuses were used in battle in Japan.

Death

Lord Tokitaka died in October 21, 1579.

References

{{reflist People of the Sengoku period Daimyo 1528 births 1579 deaths Shimazu clan