From the Military Rifle Journal, September 2001, pages 234 - 237

According to general opinion firearms were introduced into Japan in either 1539 or 1543 by the Dutch on the southern island of Kyushu. [1] (Numbers in brackets refer to works listed in the bibliography.) By the year after their introduction, firearms were being made by the Japanese themselves. However, in 1641 all foreigners were banished from Japan with the exception of a small settlement of Chinese and Dutch which was allowed to exist in Nagasaki. Since foreign travel was essentially forbidden to Japanese, little outside knowledge, including military, filtered into Japan. Although knowledge of firearms spread throughout Japan and although there were regiments armed with firearms, the mode of Japanese fighting, led by the development of the Samurai, did not encourage large scale use of firearms.([1],pages 5 - 7) But the popular perception that no knowledge of Western science and technology entered Japan during this period is quite incorrect as the following passage shows.

"Mizuno Tadekuni was to go further towards adopting western techniques for Japan's military equipment. He was acquainted with experiments made by a Nagasaki notable, Takashima Shuhan. This latter belonged to an old family of Nagasaki municipal magistrates and had been interested in "Dutch studies" and particularly artillery since his youth. He ordered cannon in Holland and he himself had a few mortars cast at Nagasaki on the model of ones he had received from Europe. When the war in China began, he sent the governor of the port a long note stating his opinion on military techniques. In it, he emphasized the importance of superiority of naval equipment. The English, he said, had put the strength of weapons into the service of injustice. That is why the empire of Japan had to organize its defense, taking into consideration new techniques. The cannon in use in seigniorial armies were equivalent to those which existed in Europe several centuries before. The coastal forts of Japan must be quickly supplied with modern batteries. The governor of Nagasaki sent this report to the Bakefu. Mizuno Tadakuni was advised of it and submitted the decision to the shogunal council. The conservative section of the council raised objection that Takashima's words should be backed up by facts. The municipal magistrate of Nagasaki was therefore invited to Yedo to show the capability of modern artillery. After long preparations, on June 27, 1841, Takashima organized a day's demonstration on a firing range on a river bank north of Yedo.

That day, in front of hutments transformed into "boxes" for the roju, daimyo,and officials of the Bakefu, Takashima demonstrated a series of rifle, mortar and field gun firing exercises executed by men he had instructed. The men's equipment was new: they wore jackets with narrow sleeves, breeches tight round the ankles, and their heads were protected by light helmets. And orders were given in Dutch by the officers.

The demonstration convinced Tadakuni, who rewarded Takashima; he bought pieces of ordnance from him and authorized him to teach gunnery to officials of the Bakefu including Egawa Hidetatsu, and to the officials of the fiefs in the following year. ([2], pages 83 - 84.)

It was not long after this that Japan was "opened" to the world. Treaties were signed with the United States (1853 - 54), Great Britain (1854, signed at Nagasaki), Russia (1855, signed at Shimoda) and Holland (1856). It was the Dutch who established a naval training school at Nagasaki in 1857 which was staffed with 22 Dutch instructors. ([2], page 101.) As most readers are aware, the Japanese considered themselves superior to the foreigners and friction quickly developed. Two incidents in particular demonstrated the power of Western arms and stimulated the more progressive Japanese to see the necessity of obtaining modern arms. On 15 August 1863, British warships bombarded Kagoshima, the stronghold of the Satsuma clan, and on 5 - 8 September 1864 an international force of warships destroyed the Shimonseki forts of the Choshu clan. Due to these and other incidents two companies of British troops were quartered at Yokohama in 1864 and were joined later by French troops. These troops were carefully observed.

Although Japan was ruled nominally by the Emperor, real power lay with the shogun. There was much unrest in Japan and in 1859 private individuals were for the first time given the right to transfer firearms by purchase and sale. The various clans, particularly Choshu and Satsuma, set about arming their own troops with imported weapons. In 1867 a combination of clans, led by Choshu and Satsuma, forced the shogun to resign and restored the emperor to real power. On 13 February 1867 the new emperor Mutsu-hito ascended the throne of Japan and choose Meiji as the name of his reign. The year 1867 marks the point when Japan changed from a collection of clan armies to a national army, but this process took time.

Tsuneyoshi Murata was born in 1837, the eldest son of Tsunenori Murata, a lower class samurai of the Satsuma clan in Kyushu. In March of 1856 Murata joined the artillery troop of the Shoueman Narita school which was the official school of the Satsuma army. A month later Murata became assistant of the research center. Here he met a scholar who knew Dutch and read some of his works. It was at this point that Murata decided that Japan must produce its own arms. Murata's first battle experience was in the bombardment of Kagoshima by British warships mentioned above. The effectiveness of the British cannon and the ineffectiveness of the Satsuma cannon made a strong impression on Murata and Murata proposed that Satsuma adopt a bolt action design he had been working on as part of the re-arming. According to [3] the Satsuma facilities could only produce 3 rifles a day so in 1866 the Satsuma clan adopted the muzzle-loading Enfield from England and Dutch muskets. With the outbreak of the movement to oust the shogun, Murata's work was suspended and he participated in the fighting as part of the 3000 men sent to Tokyo (Edo) by Satsuma. During the fighting, Murata found a British Westley-Richards and an American Sharps among the captured arms. He decided to adopt the Sharps as the standard arm for his troops.

In 1871 the newly established central government ordered the registration of all firearms in Japan and by 1874 the registration was almost complete,a total of 180,000 rifles having been registered. The rifles listed represented most (if not all) rifles then available. In addition to the rifles previously mentioned there were Dreyses (Zundnadelgewehr) from Prussia, Allumettes and Chassepots from France, Martinis from England and Winchesters (Models 66 and 73). Although the Enfield had been adopted in 1870 as the standard infantry arm (Model 3), these confiscated arms were used as follows until there were enough Enfields.

Konoe Garrison- Albini, Snyder

Tokyo Garrison- Snyder, Enfield

Infantry First Company- Chassepot

Osaka Garrison- Enfield, Zundnadelgewehr

Hiroshima Garrison- Enfield

Kumamoto Garrison- Enfield, Snyder

The Winchesters were put into storage. ([3]) From this it seems safe to assume that Murata was familar with most contemporary military rifles.

In 1871, Murata, who was an outstanding marksman, organized a marksmanship school. Sixty captured Belgian Albini rifles were adopted as the arm of the school. And in 1873 Murata became an instructor at the Army Officer School and resumed his research on rifles.

After the restoration of power to the Emperor, the central government began the consolidation of the various clans' military men and equipment into a national army and navy. In January 1868 naval and military sections were established. In February these became the Bureau of Military Affairs; and in April the Bureau was closed and replaced by an official of military affairs who took charge of the two bureaus of the Army and Navy and four offices of Fortification, Arms, Warships, and Horses. In order to collect arms the Arms Office began purchasing the facilities set up by the various clans to manufacture and/or repair arms. The first facility purchased was the Sekiguchi factory in Koishikawa, Tokyo, which had been set up by the Tokugawa Shogunate. This factory was put to work manufacturing arms for the Meiji government and is considered the origin of the Tokyo Arsenal. "The beginning of the era of Meiji, in which the Arms Office was in control, was, as has been said in the section under "Arms", an age of construction in the history of the military industry; and the works carried on by the Arms Office in the making of ammunition and ignition tools in that period were only those of the old powder mills or high explosive mills which were passed over from the Shogunate and clans; the manufacturing of supplies was mainly of ammunition used for the old rifles and was done on a small scale, as all the arrangements were defective." ([1], page 46.) In November, 1869, the Arms Office was abolished and the Tokyo Arsenal formally established in February, 1870. Various improvements were made and in April, 1871, all arms production for the entire country "was carried on under the sole management of the arsenal." ([1], page 31.) "At the time of the establishment of the arsenal in Tokyo in February, 3 Meiji (1870), the bullets for the various kinds of rifles were made only as needed, but after the adoption of the Enfield in the same year as the regulation military rifle, bullets for the same rifle were chiefly made and those for others were made only as supplementary. The bullet adopted at that time was the cast oval bullet of lead." ([1], page 46.) From October, 1871, to April, 1875, Philippe Jauly, a Belgian "foreman of small arms making artificers", was engaged as a teacher of small arms making at the Tokyo Arsenal. In April, 1873, a set of machines needed for remodeling Enfields into Allumettes was purchased for $20,000.

In February, 1870, the Osaka Arsenal was established by moving machinery and workmen from the Nagasaki iron foundry set up by the Tokugawa Shogunate to the site of the rice granary in the inner citadel of the Osaka castle. "It commenced its work in June, and in the intercalary tenth month started its stuffing of gun powder and made frictional percussion caps, cartridges for the Chassepot, cartridges for maneuvers, fire arrows, etc., which was the first stuffing of gun powder done in the arsenal." ([1], page 46.) "Thus the preparation for arms manufacture by the military authorities was begun, the Tokyo Arsenal to make chiefly small arms, and the Osaka Arsenal chiefly guns. ([1], page 39.)

The central government also moved to acquire some up-to date military training for its troops. In January, 1867, a mission of 5 French officers under Captain Chanoine of the staff corps arrived in Japan. (The French were replaced by Germans after Prussia's victory over France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871).) In September, 1867, a British naval mission under Commander Tracey arrived to organize the navy. (The British continued as naval advisors thru the 1890's.) The foreign troops stationed in Japan were carefully observed, and Japanese officers traveled abroad; for example, General Oyama was an observer in the Franco-Prussian War.

In February, 1874, Murata was offered command of army training which he declined in order to continue his efforts on rifle research. Murata's decision to concentrata his efforts on rifle research brought him to the attention of General Saigo, commander of the army. After meeting with Murata, General Saigo became one of Murata's most important supporters. It was at this time that Murata "copied and redesigned the French Chassepot." [3]

On 18 January, 1875, Murata was sent to Europe to study firearms design, and also, since Murata was an outstanding marksman, to gain some publicity for Japan. Murata landed in France (due to his friendship with the French Army Captain Aceman). He showed the blueprints of his design to French authorities but was informed that his design already existed in the Dutch Beaumont. He was shown, and tested, both the Beaumont and the French Gras (which had been adopted by France in 1874). After his testing he decided the Beaumont was superior in rapid firing and accuracy. Murata visited the government arsenal at Saint Etienne. After France, Murata went to England. He visited the factories in Birmingham and the Whitworth factory in Manchester. Murata was particularly impressed by the advanced machinery used in the Whitworth factory and he bought both the hexagonal bore Whitworth infantry rifle and hunting rifle. Returning to London, he finally obtained permission to visit the government arsenal at Enfield where they were making the Henry - Martini rifle. He also visited Aldershot and Bristol; and at each location won the marksmanship competition. After England he went to Germany. Although the authorities would not allow him to visit the manufacturing portion of Spandau Arsenal, he did visit the marksmanship school there and won the markmanship competition. He stayed at Spandau for awhile to study and then went to Berlin where he visited the Krupp Works at Essen. After a visit to the Mauser Works he went to Switzerland and then to France again. In France he entered the World Championship Marksmanship Competition in Marseilles and won. Murata's winning of the World Championship did much to make Japan known in military circles. After a stay in Europe of ten months he sailed back to Japan. ([3])

In January, 1875, the small arms works were constructed at the Tokyo Arsenal, and in February, 1875, the arsenal was reorganized and renamed the Head Arsenal. Also in February, 1875, the Ordnance Factory at Osaka became the Branch Arsenal. "In September, 8 Meiji (1875), the machine for making the Snyder shell arrived at the Tokyo Head Arsenal from England, so that the arsenal made about 50,000 of the same shell daily." ([1], page 46.) "In July 1876 the small arms works in the Tokyo Head Arsenal manufactured rifles for the first time. In September a riot arose in the Yamaguchi and Kumamoto prefectures and the repairing of Snyders and Allumettes was hastily made." ([1], page 41.)

The modernization of Japan did not proceed without antagonizing some elements of Japanese society, particularly the samurai. In February, 1877, the South-West Civil War broke out and lasted until September, 1877. (See [2], pages 274-275.) Murata fought on the side of the central government against his countrymen, serving as captain of sniper troops. During the war the Snyder rifle was the infantry arm while the Spencer rifle was the arm of the cavalry and light artillery. After this war Murata was the thirty-second ranking officer in the army. "As to the small arms, it was so arranged that the Enfields that were hitherto remodeled into Allumettes were made into Snyders during the war. During this disturbance the Hagi small arms factory was put under the juridiction of the Osaka Branch Arsenal and the Allumettes were made there." ([1], page 41.)

In October, 1878, selected pieces from among a lot of the old Enfields were remodeled into Snyders. "The wood for the stock of the military rifle, of which there had been no particular kind fixed, was, as the consequence of study, decided for the future to be beech, walnut also being used." ([1], page 42.) "In a word, in that year new arms were made or the old ones repaired according to the various improvements resulting from the experience obtained in the Satsuma Rebellion." ([1], page 42.) "In October, 11 Meiji 1878, the method was fixed by which paper was to be pasted over with gum-lac within and without the small arms cartridge case;..... Besides, many improvements were made in the manufacture of ammunition and ignition tools, based upon the experience obtained from the Satsuma Rebellion." ([1], page 48.)

"... in October, 1879, the Head Arsenal was replaced by the Tokyo Arsenal, responsible principally for the manufacture and repair of arms and ammunition, and by the headquarters of the first Ordnance Committee, responsible for the storing and distribution of arms." (Subdivisions, etc., are detailed in [1], pages 31-33.) "In October, 1879, the Osaka Arsenal was established, the Arsenal proper being responsible for the manufacture of artillery and included a small arms repairing works, and the storage and distribution of the arms being placed under the jurisdiction of the second Ordnance Committee." ([1], page 36.)

1. Kobayashi, Ushisaburo, Military Industries of Japan, Oxford University Press, New York, 1922.

2. Akamatsu, Paul, Meiji 1868, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Japan, translated from the French by Miriam Kocham, Harper and Row, 1972.

3. Articles by Yoshio Obashi (in Japanese).