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How Have Firearms Affected Japan

Firearms were first introduced to Japan in 1543 in Tanegashima, which is now present day Kagoshima, by Portuguese sailors. At the time, the central government was slowly but surely beginning to collapse, and Japan was in the middle of a major civil war period, the Sengoku. The warring Daimyos or warlords immediately recognized the advantage of the new weapon, causing guns to spread throughout Japan, giving way to the rise of major industrial production sites in Omi and Kii. Japan's independent production of firearms was both rapid and efficient, and some historians estimate the number of firearms that existed in Sengoku Japan to have been about 100,000, more than the number of firearms in all of present-day Europe combined. The National Police Agency Pamphlet on Japanese Gun Control refers to Japan at this time as "A top-class firearm superpower even on the global level." However, with the unification of Japan, the large amounts of guns were seen as catalysts for revolt. Toyotomi Hideyoshi initiated the Katanagari or ‘sword hunt' policy and prohibited the possession of swords and guns by all but the Samurai class. The Tokugawa Shogunate or warrior government continued in Hideyoshi's footsteps and was known for its "Irideppo ni Deonna" or "watch out for weapons and women leaving Edo" policy, which banned the entrance of guns into the Edo, which is now present day Tokyo. Gun Control took root in Japan first and foremost as a method to prevent armed rebellion and ensure the domination of central rule. The successful gun industry of the Sengoku Period basically died but some of the technicians converted to the production of fireworks, and fireworks have become an important part of Japanese tradition ever since. After the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), guns were not principally banned, but the possession of firearms was only allowed through registration. During the Allied Occupation, Gun Control was taken one step further, and the prohibition of gun possession became...

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