History of the Ashigaru Harquebusier

        The use of the tanegashima required minimal training compared to traditional weaponry. Farmers, low-ranking footsoldiers and women were armed with tanegashima and provided supporting fire from behind defenses. While most gunners at this time were ashigaru, higher quality guns called samurai-zutsu were specially crafted for samurai who could afford them. This increase in the number of armed troops bolstered the strength of armies which made use of them, including the army of Oda Nobunaga, who came to unify Japan.

        The popularity of guns in Japan exploded during the turbulent end of the Sengoku period, with 160,000 ashigaru gunners participating in the invasion of Korea in 1592. During the relative peace of the following Edo period, the use of guns in battle decreased, as the small internal conflicts of this time were better suited to short-range combat. Guns were largely relegated to scaring off animals, hunting, and target practice, though they remained in steady production. During this time, guns were taken up by warrior monks for the defense of their monastic orders.

        The use of guns for warfare picked up again when Commodore Perry and his fleet made landfall in 1854 with superior military prowess, prompting the Shogunate to rapidly arm their soldiers with newer flintlock guns imported from the Netherlands. This rearmament led up to the 1867 Boshin war, where feudal lords fought against the Shogunate government. A variety of guns including the older tanegashima, the newer flintlocks, and exotic new firearms imported from Europe were used.

Sources: 

Lidin, Olof G. Tanegashima: the arrival of Europe in Japan. NIAS Press, 2002.

Perrin, Noel. Giving up the gun: Japan's reversion to the sword, 1543-1879. D. R. Godine, 1979.

Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai Armies 1550–1615. Vol. 86. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012.