Japan History Lecture Series – Weapon Technologies and Masculine Identities: The Introduction and Diffusion of Guns

Did guns first arrive in Japan in 1543? Were they brought by the Portuguese; were they of western manufacture? What were they primarily used for? These and other questions will be addressed in this talk. In addition, Professor Walthall will discuss the evidence for the use of guns at the famous battle of Nagashino, the development of shooting as a martial art, and the connection between shoguns and guns. Professor Walthall will argue that by 1600, guns had become naturalized as a weapon of war, as a hunting implement, and as a martial art, but their meaning varied dramatically depending on how they were used and in which setting. In other words, what they meant for masculine identities depended on the situation.

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• http://www.faculty.uci.edu/profile.cfm?faculty_id=2515