Samurai, Momoyama period, late 16th century

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 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 armour view

Lower body armour view

Handheld cannon view

Daisho view

Base, wick and sashimono view

Final thoughts:

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.

Some photos and video references:

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Thank you for looking!