Here is a question for you. Back in 1600, do you know which country had the most firearms in the world?

The answer is Japan.

Firearms were introduced to Japan in 1543. Since then, over a decade, Japan had produced and possessed a hundred thousand firearms, according to a report of the Society of Jesus that had propagated Christianity in Japan in those days. In addition, around 1600, it is considered that the country possessed more than half a million firearms that accounted for half of all the firearms in the world.

In "Sh?gun", a novel by James Clavell and broadcasted as a TV drama, as well as in "The Last Samurai", a film starring Tom Cruise, Japan was described as if there had been almost no firearms and the country had attacked with only bows and arrows and swords around that time. However, it is completely wrong because, as stated above, Japan was the world's top possessor of firearms in that time.

After the year 1600 in which the novel is set, the long civil war in Japan ended in the early 17th century. Then, the government established a strict arms control policy and restricted the production of firearms.

Since the 17th century, firearm craftsmen had lost their jobs and started to make mechanical robots instead of the weapons. That would be the beginning of the machine industry in Japan.

By the way, currently guns have been strictly controlled in Japan and laws require all gun owners to possess a license. To be licensed, gun owners must meet the following requirements: having a right purpose to use guns such as competition or hunting, attending a lecture on gun safety from the police and passing the paper test, and going through a background check by the police as well as a health check by a doctor with no problem.

Since gun possession without the license is prohibited, Japan has a very low number of gun owners. In addition, under the strict rules of the police and law, the country has low rates of gun violence.

The above example shows, indeed, people outside Japan still have misconceptions about the country and some historical fictions such as "Sh?gun" or "The Last Samurai" would be responsible for the misconceptions.

I wrote this book in English because I felt a strong need to correct the errors in the James Clavell's book, "Sh?gun", and spread the idea to the world. However, even though you have not read his book, you should still enjoy my writings and also should be able to learn more about Japanese culture and history with my book. In this book, I first explained the real history and culture of Japan and then corrected the errors in "Shogun".

Table of Contents
Preface
?. Knowledge about Japanese persons (Ninja, Shogun and Emperor)
?. Knowledge about Japanese cities (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto)
?. Historical facts of Japan
?. Japanese Christianity
?. Daimyo, Japanese Feudal Lords
?. Japanese Culture
?. About James Clavell's novel "Sh?gun"
Postscript
References

The castle on the cover is Edo Castle where Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu lived, and it is the present Imperial Palace.

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