ABSTRACT
The Kunitomo teppōki chronicle tells how the musket was introduced in East Asia and Japan beginning with a preamble that attempts to put the story in a historical perspective, although in an imaginary fashion. The first facts and dates can be described as utter fantasy, but as the chronicle continues, it becomes more trustworthy when it relates how the musket reached Tanegashima and from there spread all over Japan. The opening paragraph may be regarded as a typical Chinese introduction that helps set the tone for the work as a whole and lead the reader into the main themes, that is, the story of the introduction of the musket and the subsequent production of cannon in Japan.
