Title: Samurai, Momoyama period, late 16th century
Manufacturer: Vladimir Vasilenko
Scale: 75mm
Sculptor: Vladimir Vasilenko
Material & no. of pieces: 11 white metal, 1 piece of wire
Order from: Vladimir Vasilenko

The Samurai kit from PF member Valdimir Vasilenko arrives in a white cardboard box with parts housed in cut out foam for protection. It consists of 11 white metal parts and 1 piece of wire for the wick (match cord) for the handheld cannon. Superbly sculpted and casted by Vladimir.

This is a Samurai figure kit of the late 16th to early 17th century, Momoyama period (1573-1603). He is wearing the tosei-gusoku (modern armour), carrying the daisho a match pair of katana and wakizashi and he is firing his o-zutsu handheld cannon.

The Tosei-Guoku Armour
The Tosei-Guoku means modern armour. In the 16th century Japan began trading with Europe during what would become known as the Nanban trade. Samurai acquired European armour including the cuirass and comb morion which they modified and combined with domestic armour as it provided better protection from the newly introduced matchlock muskets known as Tanegashima. The introduction of the tanegashima by the Portuguese in 1543 changed the nature of warfare in Japan causing the Japanese armour makers to change the design of their armours from the centuries old lamellar armours to plate armour constructed from iron and steel plates which was called tosei gusoku (new armours). Bullet resistant armours were developed called tameshi gusoku or (bullet tested) allowing samurai to continue wearing their armour despite the use of firearms. The armour was generally constructed from many small iron (tetsu) and or leather (nerigawa) scales (kozane) and or plates (ita-mono), connected to each other by rivets and lace (odoshi) made from leather and or silk, and or chain armour (kusari). These armor plates were usually attached to a cloth or leather backing. Japanese armour was designed to be as lightweight as possible as the samurai had many tasks including riding a horse and archery in addition to swordsmanship. The armour was usually brightly lacquered to protect against the harsh Japanese climate. Chain armour (kusari) was also used to construct individual armour pieces and full suits of kusari were even used.

The O-zutsu
The O-zutsu (大型火縄銃),Samurai handheld cannon.
In the mid 1500’s Portuguese traders introduced firearms to Japan. The deadly new weapons became very popular among the Samurai and soldiers causing a whole new weapons industry which flourished in to the point that Japanese firearms use rivaled that of Europe in both number and quality. While the matchlock musket was the most common Japanese firearm, many other stranger weapons were also produced.
One of the strangest was the o-zutsu. "O-zutsu" is a Japanese word for cannon; however Japanese cannon came in a variety of sizes, including small handheld cannon. Popular in the late 16th and early 17th century, o-zutsu handheld cannons were basically small man portable cannon modeled after regular matchlock muskets. They can be loaded with regular cannonballs or firing bi-hyia fire arrow.

Here are the casting parts

Parts View

Head, upper body and arms view

Continued in the next post..........

..........Continued from previous post

Lower body view

Continued in the next post..........

Handheld cannon view

Daisho view

Base, wick and sashimono view

Final thoughts:
PF member Valdimir Vasilenko has done it again. His Samurai, Momoyama period late 16th century kit where the sculpting is impressive and well researched with stunning detail. The armour, the handheld cannon and the daisho are highly accurate and the kit is historically correct. It also comes with an extra casting of a sashimono to customize the figure. In my memory this could be the very first white metal kit which depicts a Samurai firing handheld cannon. The white metal casting is great. In order to view the masterly sculpt especially the armour chain mail, you really need a magnify glass to admire the stunning detail. Once more, a magnificent kit and highly recommended. You can PM Valdimir for order information.

Some video and photo references:

Please click on "watch on youtube tab".

Cheers,

Felix

Stunning...am glad to have ordered it..can’t wait!

Thank you, Felix, for this review!The photos were perfect.On them, I can see even the details that I can't see in my magnifying glass

Amazing details.I pay tribute to Vladimir's work.This samurai has two suspicious points of examination, but it is generally within the range of historical accuracy.As a Japanese, I get headaches from the weirdness of many foreign samurai figures, but to see a samurai figure with this kind of accuracy is a joy to behold.

But the review is a bit disappointing.A reference with a rudimentary error that clearly needs to be corrected is used.The name of the armor parts is explained in Illustration, but the kanji "垂" in this item 18 is pronounced "tare" in Japanese.It's not "sodejirushi / 袖印".Item 19 "襟廻" is pronounced "erimawashi".Erimawashi is a standing collar-like part that protects the circumference of the neck and is a completely different part from the yodarekake.Completely wrong.The yodarekake that appeared in the Nanbokuchō period is a protective gear that protects the throat and chest, and was already an old-fashioned part in the latter half of the 16th century.The lower part, which is an improved version of yodarekake and integrated with menpō, is called "tare".Yodarekake is usually called nodowa in modern Japan, but in the Azuchi-Momoyama period and Edo period it was probably called guruwa.

Sorry the review disappointed you. The reference by Wendelin Boeheim from 1890 was an Austrian army officer and weapons historian. May be he got mixed up in his translations. Glad you pointed this out. Next time I shall contact you to approve any of my review before I post them.

How about these references:

https://issuu.com/davethatcher/docs/the_samurai_armour_glossary_2013_v2

Hello Myouchin !
Thank you for your comment!I would be grateful if you would point out the shortcomings in the course of my work on the next samurai.We get a lot of information from English-language sources, they may contain errors.Therefore, it would be very good to find them in a timely manner.

Cheers to your humble attitude. But you don't need to get my approval. My level is "student" and I can't imitate a teacher.

Everything to the right of the new photo is correct. However, # 10 on the left is maedate, not wakidate. Unbelievable···

About The Samurai Armor Glossary.I can't read this reference in detail because I can't speak English, but there are so many words that aren't often used in modern Japanese references.I don't have much of an opinion about these words, but I think I can make a judgment about the word "gesan/下散".
Gesan (not Gessan), another name for "kusazuri / 草摺" is probably a relatively new word.
Gesan can be found in the book "Zōhyō Monogatari/雑兵物語", which was established around 1673 to 1684.

佐助殿の着なさった具足の下散（gesan）が日数もたたないにひつちぎれたが、黒糸だとかんがへ申た。

As an older document, gesan can be found in "Sumpu owakemono odōguchō / 駿府御分物御道具帳" (1616-1618), which lists the relics of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

御具足拾六領分
一　筒　けひき　けさん（gesan）　くれない　ちゃ　こん　白いと
たんたん

However, kusazuri is used in the documents of the Sengoku period in the 16th century.
"Oreihaikō no ki/御礼拝講之記 " (1562), which records the ritual of Shōgun Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

御具足胴丸、両袖者、草摺（kusazuri）八間、並同・・・

Takeda Shingen's jyūshin Anayama Nobugimi (1541-1582)'s "Gusoku tyūmon / 具足注文".

くそく、はらまき、おけかハとう、くさすり（kusazuri）十けん六さけ

These are just a few examples, but they will help to judge something. In particular, it should be noted that Muromati bakufu's official record "Oreihaikō no ki" uses kusazuri.I prioritize the Sengoku period over the Edo period.

By the way, kabuto of Kikuchiyo in "Seven Samurai" was gesan jikoro.

Hello Vladimir,
I saw the cast and realized the true value of your sculpt. It's a really amazing detail!!
Your work is correct enough, but in my opinion his historical accuracy would have been perfect if the battlefield this samurai was heading for was the 1614 or 1615 Ōzaka castle.

Thank you, Myouchin!You're probably right.I was still thinking about the battle of Sekigahara.According to unconfirmed reports, some artillery also participated in it.Perhaps the hand canon could be there?

Sorry...my attention was focused on armor, so I didn't think about Ōzutsu's historical accuracy at all.The large cannons are certain to have been used on the battlefield before Sekigahara, but I don't know anything about when the hand cannon first appeared or began to be used on the battlefield.
The reason I thought this samurai historical research wasn't perfect was because I found a part that wasn't suitable for the Azuchi-Momoyama period armor.One of them is erimawashi (or tate eri).Masataka Satō, a manufacturer of Japanese armor, claims that erimawashi is a part that appeared early in the Edo period.I checked a lot of armor to see if his opinion was correct.Most of the Japanese armor that remains today is from the Edo period.There are not many armors from the 16th century, but I have not found a single one of those armors with erimawashi on it.It is better to interpret Mr.Satō's opinion as correct.But I think this problem is not a fatal to the armor of 1600. The range to be forgiven.






Another is kikkou tateage of shino suneate.Kikkou (亀甲) means the shell of a turtle.It is called by this name because the hexagonal iron piece called Kikkou gane resembles the shell of a turtle.





Mr. Satō claims that kikkou tateage is also a part that appeared early in the Edo Period, just like erimawashi.



A: The armor that Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave to Date Masamune in 1590.




B; Armor used by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the 1600 battle of Sekigahara



C: Armor used by Ii Naomasa in the 1600 battle of Sekigahara



Although it is difficult for me to accurately date the armor, these three armors have been proven reliable by many experts.All three shino suneate are types without kikkou tateage.Mr.Satō's opinion has been reinforced.However, shino suneate is even less numerous than dō because it has been deprived of its share by tsutsu suneate.I am hesitant to draw any conclusions because of the lack of verification material.


Finally, I must speak of my own past missteps.I created Samurai about 3 years ago with the time setting being the battle of Suemori castle in 1584.I knew Mr.Satō's opinion at this point, but I didn't take it seriously, so I made a kikkou tateage.But this was a mistake. 1600 is safe, but 1584 is out.

In terms of exact dates- think about usage being a spectrum...maybe not in Japan, but absolutely in Europe, armour and weapons tended being used after specific “best before” dates ..armies and armour was less uniform..
for all this minutae I ordered f0r the sculpt and cast quality. Not to count rivits

Thank you so much, Myouchin! I have never come across any information about this. I thought that this piece of armor was suitable for the entire period of the 16th century. I will adjust the armor of my next samurai based on this information. And this samurai seems to be moving into the siege of Ozaka Castle

Thank you, John.Now, thanks to Myouchin, we have more accurately identified this samurai in time.It is relevant for the time of the siege of Osaka Castle 1614-1615

They are not samurai of low rank.Toyotomi Hideyoshi was the most person of power at Japan in 1590.Tokugawa Ieyasu was Daimyō, the strongest force in Japan, although there were many enemies in 1600.Ii Naomasa was one of the most important kashin of Ieyasu. They were capable of preparing the latest equipment for war.
Hideyoshi was a man with a taste for luxury and an insatiable appetite for the latest fads.
Ieyasu bought the entire cargo of a Netherlands merchant ship (De Liefde) that washed ashore at Bungo in March 1600.He then modified the armor, which is probably not a commodity but a piece of equipment for marines, in a Japanese style. This is the Nanban dō in photo B.It was the latest armor, which was very rare in Japan at that time.
There is no rational reason for them to use outdated equipment.

For Japanese people, being humble is one of the highest virtues.Vladimir, you are the humblest person I have ever met on social media.Your spirit is a ＳＡＭＵＲＡＩ.

Back to the kikkou tateage of shino suneate.Kikkou (亀甲). Check out these armours and the dates. They all have them. There are all other armours have them before the 1600.