A matchlock gun (musket) consists of many subassemblies such as the barrel, the stock, the mechanism and metal fittings. Before delivery, the firearm may be decorated according to the buyer’s preference.

In the case of Sakai matchlock guns, labor was divided between gunsmiths who manufactured the barrel and performed the final assembly, and subcontracted specialist artisans who made individual parts: the stock, the mechanism and metal fittings, decorative inlays, and molds for casting musket ball bullets.

The space where you now stand is the work where gunsmiths assembled the parts made respectively by other artisans into complete firearms.

The assembling activities took place in the earthen-floored area. The walls are blackened with soot near the ceiling, indicating that fire was used in this finishing process. As depicted in the Guide to Famous Sights of Izumi (Izumi Meisho Zue: Edo-period guidebook of the old Izumi province), people passing by may have been able to watch the gunsmiths at work.