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Originally Posted by Rick
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Salaams Rick ~ My "seven stars" reference also points to the similarities ...and slight differences between Vietnamese, Japanese and Malay; (Bold letters are mine) I quote;
"This article will focus on a curious type of matchlock seen by the author
on his recent sojourn, a form which has until now been little known amongst
Western collectors (Fig. 11). The barrels, generally octagonal and always
smoothbore, vary greatly in length. Calibers range from .40 to about .50
in. They are mounted by means of narrow metal capucines into simple stocks
with short, downward-curving butts, fashioned of very dense native hardwood
and often provided with ivory or bone butt- and toeplates. From the shape
of the butts, they are clearly intended to be rested against the cheek
while firing. The locks are of iron, with minimal embellishment, and feature
a forward falling serpentine released by a transverse sear and propelled
by a single leaf mainspring (Fig. 12). Vietnamese antiquarians and collectors
who were queried on their origin insist that they are typical of the Hue
area. This might explain their radically different appearance and mechanical
design to the rare Tonkin muskets mentioned above. However, the contention
by some that they represent borrowed Japanese technology is questionable
for several reasons:
1. Japanese Hinawa-ju, though superficially similar, have butts whose
toe areas feature a chamfered contour. These Vietnamese guns have flat
butts, which puts them in a class with some Malay guns.
2. Japanese barrels are almost always pin-fastened to the stock fore-ends,
whereas the Vietnamese ones are attached with bands or capucines (as are
Malay, Javanese, Burmese, and Chinese examples). However, it must be noted
that the Vietnamese gunstocks do have a longitudinal saw-cut visible along
the underside of the fore-end as is the case with Japanese (and Korean)
muskets.
3. The mainspring on the Vietnamese lock is single-leaf, whereas Japanese
locks have a V-shaped external’ or coiled internal spring. Also, all Vietnamese
locks seen by the author are of iron, whereas brass was almost universally
used in Japan.
4. The shape and mounting of the trigger-guard is akin to Malay, not-Japanese, prototypes.
5. The position of the trigger relative to the serpentine and buttplate
is more akin to the proportions found on Malay and Javanese guns (closer
to the serpentine than the Japanese).
The snapping matchlock with forward-falling serpentine and transverse
sear activated by a conventional trigger was introduced to various Southeast
Asian and Far Eastern cultures in the first half of the 16th cent. by
the Portuguese. It is in itself a product of the fusion of Indo-Portuguese
technologies. It is interesting to note that these Vietnamese guns-retain
the single leaf mainspring of the Lusitanian prototypes, whereas the versions produced later by the Chinese’ Japanese, and Koreans all utilized V-shaped springs". Unquote.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi