気砲記 Kihoki (Air Gun Design)

This is the first edition of the gun maker Kunitomo Tōbei’s book, 気砲記 Kihōki (Air Gun Design), published by the author in 1819 after he had studied a European air gun which Dutch traders had given to the Shogun and which Kunitomo was asked to repair. In this book, Kunitomo describes the theory behind the gun, its parts, how to create air pressure by a pumping action, etc. It became the template for the subsequent production of air guns in Japan and is an excellent example of how western knowledge and technology were received, adapted, and utilized by the Japanese in the early nineteenth century.