Shooting the Shooting Samurai at Matsumoto Castle

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Exploring Japan’s Matchlock Gun History in Nagano

I headed out to Matsumoto Castle in Nagano and checked out the annual Matsumoto Castle Gun Corps matchlock demonstration. As a photographer, I originally went for the visuals. Smoke, armor, old weapons, castle walls. Honestly, it felt like walking onto a movie set.

But once I started talking with the crew and learning how these traditional Japanese firearms actually worked, it became way more interesting than I expected. Most people probably don’t think about samurai and guns together. We usually picture swords, bows, and armor. But Matsumoto Castle was actually built with firearms in mind. It was designed as a serious defensive fortress, complete with 115 firing positions for matchlock guns.

Standing inside the castle and imagining what that looked like during battle was pretty wild. The focus of the event was the hinawaju, the traditional Japanese matchlock gun that changed warfare in feudal Japan. The word itself is interesting. “Hi” means fire, “nawa” means rope, and “ju” means gun. Basically, a fire-rope gun. Once you see how it works, the name makes perfect sense.

Watching the firing process up close was honestly one of the coolest parts of the day. Every step is manual. Powder goes in first, then the ball, then everything gets packed down with a ramrod. After that, the shooter prepares the ignition powder and carefully positions the smoldering match cord.

And then BOOM! Smoke everywhere!

The sound echoing off Matsumoto Castle was incredible. One thing I learned during the demonstration was that these guns were more effective than I expected. Some specialized rifles from the period could reportedly hit targets from around 200 meters away, but the standard matchlock guns used in battle were generally effective at about 60 to 80 meters. Considering the time period, that is pretty impressive.

As one of the volunteer photographers, I had an absolute field day shooting this event. Between the traditional clothing, the drifting gun smoke, and the backdrop of Matsumoto Castle, there was no shortage of amazing shots. Nagano always has this calm atmosphere to it too, which made the whole experience even better.

What I really liked about this event was that it did not feel overly commercialized. It felt local, real, and genuinely passionate. The organizers and gunsmen clearly care a lot about preserving this part of Japanese history, and that energy comes through immediately when you talk to them.

From the X Timeline

Frame by frame. It's beautiful stuff! pic.twitter.com/cbaamWWA7d
— Ohazassu Japan (@ohazassu) May 10, 2026

It's a "fire rope" because they light a rope to ignite the gun powder.

First pic, he's pouring powder into the gun while holding the lit rope with his other hand.

Second pic, the mechanism that holds the lit rope is released and sent downward, igniting the powder. https://t.co/wtTL544ngy pic.twitter.com/4wcqyTnvXm
— Ohazassu Japan (@ohazassu) May 12, 2026

That's a hard look to beat. How cool are these guys?!
From the Matsumoto Castle Gun Corps event today. pic.twitter.com/yX01pMSCRR
— Ohazassu Japan (@ohazassu) May 10, 2026

Matsumoto Castle Gun Corps Online

Check out the Gun Samurai online here.

Check out official Matsumoto City info and more here.

Check out some awesome related exhibits at the castle here.

Word of the Day

As always, there's a Word of the Day. That's where I introduce a Japanese word related to the episode. Check it out along with all the words in the list. There are over 120 words in the list now.

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