Colton’s Reviews > Giving Up the Gun: Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1545-1879 > Status Update
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-a lord’s castle was under siege and before his castle was taken he asked the attackers if the battle could stop for a moment so that he could give them his fine swords, ensuring they would not be destroyed, the attackers accepted, briefly stopped the battle as the swords were taken off the premises, and then took the castle and killed the lord. The lord died happy his swords were safe.
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-Japan received guns for the first time in the mid 1500s, within a year they had a template to make their own rifles. Sword smiths were the craftsman
-Japan grew rapidly, underselling copper and steel to Dutch Spanish and English. They protected their resources making it almost impossible for foreigners to get in on their trade, citing an understanding of the intent of the foreigners to colonize Japan through trade
-In the 16th century Japan had a larger population than any European nation, 25 million people, at the time France had 16M and America 1M. Their population is also believed to have a higher literacy rate than any other nation at the time
-By the time the gun was fully adopted in Japan they had mastered its making and use. Battles looked more modern than most of what was occurring in Europe. There are instances of trench warfare from 1584 Japan.
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