Best guess on this revolver is it’s a French Lefachaux model 1858.
This man would have been one of the last samurai as they were abolished in the 1870s during the Meiji Era, which entailed the industrialization of Japan.
Best guess on this revolver is it’s a French Lefachaux model 1858.
This man would have been one of the last samurai as they were abolished in the 1870s during the Meiji Era, which entailed the industrialization of Japan.
I thought the first comparison people would make would be to Rawhide Kobayashi.
But jokes aside, yes Samurai were proficient in many weapons. Guns being one of them. Firearms have been in Japan since roughly the 13th century. Proper matchlocks got introduced in the 1500s by the Portuguese.
As firearms improved they saw more use around the globe, including in Japan. At the end of the day they were soldiers who sought the best equipment.
The last battles they fought (~1870s) they used breech-loading rifles.