Abstract
In 1533, a silver smelting method was introduced and in 1543, a matchlock gun was imported. The common material for the phenomenon is lead. The provenance study of lead in the excavated objects such as general objects (balance weight, tobacco pipe and ornamental hairpin), Christian objects and more than 200 bullets from different areas during the warring state period of Japan were analyzed to make clear the provenance of those materials. As the results, more than 40% of the objects contained foreign lead (China and Southeast Asia). Song Toh mine in Kanchanaburi province in Thailand was found to be the source of lead from Southeast Asia. Lead used for silver smelting in Sado mine and Iwami mine was obtained from Japanese lead mine. The systematic difference of lead source for gun bullet and silver smelting lead may suggest new concept for Japanese history.
