Hojutsu

The art of firearms. Firearms were first introduced into Japan by the Portuguese in 1543. Hojutsu concerns itself solely with the use and strategies of firearms. The early firearms were muskets imported by the Portuguese. Later, the Japanese made their own muskets. Firearms were the deciding factor in the overthrow of the Tokugawa Shogun in the Meiji Revolution of the 1860's. The imperial army's guns defeated the Shogun's sword carrying samurai.