Early 16th Century Arquebus
The Arquebus was a form of firearm that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. It was introduced to the Samurai during the 16th century. It fired with an matchlock mechanism.
From the middle of the 16th century, Iga-mono infiltrated the foreign embassy, stealing the designs and guns for their own use. They disliked the flared muzzle of some examples but it was easier to load compared to the Bow. Iga-mono often claimed it fired with great accuracy, but was loud and prone to misfire and malfunction.
Warlord Oda Nobunga had several attempts on his life by arquebus. In 1571, a Koka-mono by the name of Sugitani Zenjubō was tasked to assassinate Nobunaga. Using two arquebuses, Zenjubo fired two shots at Nobunaga, but was unable to inflict fatal damage through Nobunaga's armor. Sugitani managed to escape, but was caught four years later and put to death. Nobunaga was also in an Iga province when a group of three shinobi shot at him with custom arquebuses. The bullets missed Nobunaga, however, and instead killed eight of his surrounding guards.
The Giyoshu military manual recommends that lit musket fuses should be put into pouches to avoid detection during night raids.