Tanegashima (種子島), most often called in Japanese and sometimes in English hinawajū (火縄銃, "matchlock gun"), was a type of matchlock-configured arquebus firearm introduced to Japan through the Portuguese Empire in 1543. Tanegashima were used by the samurai class and their ashigaru "foot soldiers", and within a few years the introduction of the tanegashima in battle changed the way war was fought in Japan forever.