This historical event happens around the beginning of January. Group of reenactors gather at the castle gates in full samurai armor, bearing the last local lords banners. The event took place mostly on the moat bridge but also on the grounds where tourists could take pictures and learn more.

The samurai armor they wore was quite detailed, indicating higher rank or nobility. With various designs and colours lacquered on. Japanese craftsmanship is famous for high quality lacquered objects.

The matchlock samurai also held katana and tanto swords along side their muskets. Muskets in feudal Japan were often called Tanegashima from the island, where matchlock type guns were first introduced and become widely popular in the unification of Japan during the warring states period (Sengoku Jidai) .

Here you can see them line up and fire a volley of shots over the moat. During this event they only shot black powder and no projectiles were fired. It did, however, make the locals and wildlife jump.

They also showed different types of matchlock guns being fired which I will show in my next post.......

Thanks for viewing, my posts are about the journey, the process and showing my experiences. Where there are a lack of words I like my work to speak for its self. Don't hesitate to ask questions. All the photos are mine and can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/takoyaki_king/ Follow me if you interested in photography and travel.