Tanegashima is an island off the coast of the province of Osumi in Kyushu. It is famous for the manufacture of scissors, knives, and other edged tools, including many small precision pieces ideal for the care of Bonsai trees. After Fernao Mendes Pinto, the Portuguese explorer, introduced guns to Japan, they were manufactured on Tanegashima from 1542. In fact, guns were colloquially known as "Tanega-shima" for many years due to the belief that they were first manufactured there and not in foreign parts.