Tag Archives: Atakebune

Atakebune Kit Now Available

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Woody Joe has officially announced the release of their new Atakebune kit. This kit is based on the model at the Saga Prefectural Nagoya Castle Museum, which is located near Fukuoka, Japan. That model represents a large Atakebune, which was the largest class of warship used by the Japanese armies during their warring states period.

The 1/100-scale kit sells for ¥38,000, which at the current exchange is about $335. Woody Joe will begin shipping the kits to resellers this coming Sunday, October 31st, but you can place your order now.

Japanse online hobby deal Zootoyz has the kit listed here: https://www.japan-wooden-model-kits-zootoyz.shop/contents/en-us/p25066.html

From the kit photos, the model looks a little on the simple side, but that just leaves room for some good detailing. As posted before, the dimensions of the kit are: Length 490mm Width 230mm Height 310mm (overall, including oars and stand).

I have two kits on order, which will hopefully arrive within a couple weeks. I’ll post a brief out of the box review when I get them. Ω

Atakebune – Japanese Warship Kit in Development

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At last, it’s happening. After some enthusiastic petitioning by Kazunori Morikawa, myself, and others to the Japanese wooden model kit maker Woody Joe, it appears the company is actively developing the prototype for an Atakebune.

Museum model of an atakebune

For those who don’t already know, the Atakebune is the largest class of warship used by the Japanese feudal armies of the warring states period. These lumbering ships were effectively floating fortresses. While they were equipped with one large mast and square sail, as well as a  single bank of oars, they were often towed by smaller warships.

Museum model of a large atakebune

I’ve had a number of people ask me about the availability of an Atakebune kit. Up to now, there hasn’t been much  available in the form of a well researched scale model kit. But, yesterday, Woody Joe posted a photo on their Facebook page, announcing that they’ve started working on a prototype model.

The new model is 1/100 scale, and it’s only a prototype, so we won’t know if it’s going to go into production yet. I’m a bit disappointed that the model is not 1/72 scale, as that scale would then match Woody Joe’s Higaki Kaisen and Kitamaebune kits, plus it would then be compatible with 1/72 samurai figures that are currently available.

However, a 1/72 scale model would almost 40% larger than a 1/100 scale model. And, considering these were large ships, that would be a big kit that might be harder for company to manufacture. Also, such a large model may be less appealing in Japan, which is their primary market.

I don’t know any more details yet, but will post them as soon as I learn more. Ω

Hunting for the Elusive Atakebune (安宅船)

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Atakebune were the largest class of purpose built warships that were used by the Japanese clans during the Sengoku period, or the Warring States period. These ships ranged from around 30 to 50 meters in length, were equipped with a large, box-like structure. Inside were the oarsmen, foot soldiers and samurai, protected by the wooden walls. The structure had two or three levels, with the top level being the roof of the structure. Firing and viewing ports were cut out and may have been closable with a hinged cover.

Atakebune model at the Verkehr Museum in Shizuoka.

In addition to a single-bank of sculling oars, the ship carried a large square sail hung from a single mast, usually mounted near the center of the ship. In bad weather, or when otherwise not in use, the mast could be un-stepped and lowered across the top of the ship. Usually, the ships were equipped with three sets of supports that the masts laid across.

Some ships carried a heavily constructe deck cabin that sat of the roof level of the ship. Some unusually large atakebune, referred to as an o-atakebune, carried castle-like structure atop.

Image courtesy of the University of Tokyo General Library – Atakemaru ship illustration / image edited

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Explore Inside Japan – Sengoku Period Warship Models

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Today, I just ran across a website called Explore Inside Japan. It’s an english language blog site that appears to have begun in late 2016, and has had regular postings about once a month since then. There is no explanation on the site that I’ve found as to who the blogger is, but it’s nicely written and interesting.

I specifically ran across a post about some sights in Shizuoka city, Japan, and there was a good write up about Sunpu castle, this is the castle built for the first Tokugawa Shōgun, Tokugawa Ieyasu. The article explained nicely about the different types of castle layouts, which I never knew, and had a lot of detail about this castle.

But, the next post, remembering that blogs post newest entries first, described a trip to the Verkehr Museum (verkehn is German for transportation), also in Shizuoka city. This small museum I’ve mentioned in a previous post. It happens to house a number of models of old Japanese ships, including the warships of the Sengoku period.

Photo from Explore Inside Japan’s website.

As I said, I’ve posted about the Verkehr museum before and included photos of the ship models there, but this site has many more. So if you’re interested in reading about Atakebune, Sekibune, and Kobaya, check out this blog site:

https://uexinja.blogspot.com/2018/01/

Also, if you’re interested specifically in Japanese warships, there’s an interesting post about a visit to the Wasen Research Institute’s exhibition room at Kanagawa University, and the decline of the large wooden warships.

https://uexinja.blogspot.com/2019/04/japanese-style-battle-ship.html

Again, this is an interesting website and I highly recommend checking it out. Ω