Kijiro Nambu
Encyclopedia
was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
and the founder of Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, manufacturer of many of the firearms the Japanese military would use in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. A prolific small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
designer, he was sometimes called the "John Browning
John Browning
John Moses Browning , born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed many varieties of military and civilian firearms, cartridges, and gun mechanisms, many of which are still in use around the world...
of Japan". He was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Order of the Sacred Treasure
The is a Japanese Order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. It is awarded in eight classes . It is generally awarded for long and/or meritorious service and considered to be the lowest of the Japanese orders of merit...
(2nd class) in 1914.
Biography
Nambu was born as the younger son to a former samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
retainer of the Nabeshima clan
Nabeshima clan
The Nabeshima clan was a prominent Japanese samurai clan of Kyūshū which controlled Saga Domain from the late Sengoku period through the Edo period.The Nabeshima clan was a cadet branch of the Shōni clan and was descended from the Fujiwara clan...
, in Saga domain
Saga Domain
Saga Domain was a han, or feudal domain, in Tokugawa period Japan. Largely contiguous with Hizen Province on Kyūshū, the domain was governed from Saga Castle in the capital city of Saga by the Nabeshima clan of tozama daimyō...
in 1869 (present-day Saga prefecture
Saga Prefecture
is located in the northwest part of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. It touches both the Sea of Japan and the Ariake Sea. The western part of the prefecture is a region famous for producing ceramics and porcelain, particularly the towns of Karatsu, Imari, and Arita...
). His mother died soon after he was born, and as his father had financial difficulties, he was sent out to be raised by a local merchant. Through hard work and determination, he secured a place in the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy at the age of 20. At age 23, he was commissioned a lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
of artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
In 1897, Nambu was assigned to Tokyo Arsenal, where he was assigned to work under noted weapons designer Nariakira Arisaka
Nariakira Arisaka
Baron was a lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army, and as the inventor of the Arisaka Rifle, is regarded as one of the leading arms designers in Japanese history,next to Kijiro Nambu.-Biography:...
on the Type 30 rifle
Type 30 Rifle
The Type 30 Rifle Arisaka was a bolt-action rifle that was the standard infantry rifle of the Japanese infantry from 1897 to 1905. It was the first rifle in the Arisaka family as well as the first to chamber the 6.5x50mm Arisaka round...
project followed by the Type 26 revolver
Type 26 revolver
was the first modern pistol adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army. It was developed at the Koishikawa Arsenal and is named for its year of adoption in the Japanese dating system...
. He was then promoted to major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and ordered to develop a semi automatic pistol for the Japanese military. This design, an 8mm pistol, was the ancestor of the famed Nambu pistol
Nambu pistol
was a semi-automatic pistol used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy during the First and Second World Wars. The pistol had two variants, the Type A , and the Type 14 .-History:...
, and was completed in 1902. Nambu built a smaller and lighter 7mm version in 1907. The design was praised by then Army Minister Terauchi Masatake
Terauchi Masatake
, GCB was a Japanese military officer and politician. He was a Field Marshal in the Imperial Japanese Army and the 18th Prime Minister of Japan from 9 October 1916 to 29 September 1918.-Early period:...
, but the Japanese army did not place it into production due to production costs. The larger version was eventually adopted by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
's Special Naval Landing Forces
Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces
The Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces , were the marine troops of the Imperial Japanese Navy and were a part of the IJN Land Forces...
, and the smaller version was sold commercially to private customers.
The Type 14 pistol was an improved version of the 1902 version, similar in dimensions and performance. Although it was never officially adopted by the Japanese military (officers were expected to purchase their own side arm
Side arm
A side arm is a weapon, usually a pistol but can be a dagger, as used in pre-modern times, which is worn on the body in a holster to permit immediate access and use. A side arm is typically required equipment for military personnel and sometimes carried by law enforcement personnel...
s), it became the most common sidearm in use. Most of the pistols were produced by the Tokyo Arsenal with a smaller number manufactured by the Tokio Gasu Denky. Production of Type 14s lasted until the end of World War II in 1945. Total production numbers are estimated at approximately 200,000 for all variants.
During Nambu's tour at the Army Rifle Manufacturing Plant (later renamed the Kokura Arsenal) he developed the Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun
Type 3 Heavy Machine Gun
, also known as the Taishō 14 Machine Gun, was a Japanese air-cooled heavy machine gun, based on the design of the Hotchkiss M1914. Although the Hotchkiss used 8mm cartridges, from 1914 Japan produced the Type 3 under license from Hotchkiss using the 6.5x50mm Arisaka ammunition.It used an ammo...
in 1914 and the Type 11 Light Machine Gun
Type 11 Light Machine Gun
The was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and during World War II.-History:Combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had convinced the Japanese army of the utility of machine guns to provide covering fire for advancing infantry...
in 1922. In 1922, Nambu was promoted to lieutenant general
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....
and placed in charge of the Tokyo Artillery Arsenal. He reorganized the army arsenal system in 1923 and was named Commander of the Army Explosives Arsenal and Army Institute of Scientific research. In 1924, he retired from active military service,
Nambu founded the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company in Tokyo in 1927, with financial backing from the Okura
Okura
The is, along with the Izumi school and Sagi schools, one of a school of kyogen. Kyogen of Ōkura school uses an older form of Japanese language than does Izumi. Their kyogen preserves the sarugaku tradition.-References:* *...
zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
. Nambu received many contracts from both the Japanese army and navy for side arms, light machine guns and heavy machine guns, and also for testing and evaluation of many foreign designs. This included the Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun
Type 92 Heavy Machine Gun
entered service in 1932 and was the standard Japanese heavy machine gun used during World War II. It was used extensively by the Imperial Japanese Army and Collaborationist forces. Captured weapons were also used extensively by Chinese National Revolutionary Army troops and the North Korean army...
, Type 94 8 mm Pistol, Type II machine pistol
Type II machine pistol
The was a submachine gun of Japanese origin chambered in the 8mm Nambu round and was issued to Japanese Naval units.The machine gun was produced in relatively small numbers for the IJN during the invasion of Shanghai. During its trial periods it was found that the 8mm round which it used had a...
, Type 100 submachine gun
Type 100 submachine gun
The was a Japanese submachine gun used during World War II, and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity. It was made in two basic variants referred to by American and British observers as the Type 100/40 and the Type 100/44, the latter also known as the Type 100...
and licensed production of the Type 99 Light Machine Gun
Type 99 Light Machine Gun
The was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. -History and development:The Type 96 Light Machine Gun, an improvement over the previous Type 11 Light Machine Gun was introduced into combat service in 1936, and quickly proved to be a versatile weapon to provide...
.
At the end of World War II
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
, Nambu announced that his company would cease all weapons production; however, his facilities were sequestered under the American occupation authorities
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
, and continued to produce equipment for the police and subsequently for the post-war Japanese National Safety Forces, the predecessor to the current Japanese Self-Defense Force. Nambu died in May 1949, and his company was absorbed into the Japanese precision equipment manufacturer Minebea Co.
Weapons
- Type II machine pistol
- Type 14 Nambu PistolNambu pistolwas a semi-automatic pistol used by the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy during the First and Second World Wars. The pistol had two variants, the Type A , and the Type 14 .-History:...
- Type 100 Sub Machine Gun
- Type 3 Heavy Machine GunType 3 Heavy Machine Gun, also known as the Taishō 14 Machine Gun, was a Japanese air-cooled heavy machine gun, based on the design of the Hotchkiss M1914. Although the Hotchkiss used 8mm cartridges, from 1914 Japan produced the Type 3 under license from Hotchkiss using the 6.5x50mm Arisaka ammunition.It used an ammo...
- Type 92 Heavy Machine GunType 92 Heavy Machine Gunentered service in 1932 and was the standard Japanese heavy machine gun used during World War II. It was used extensively by the Imperial Japanese Army and Collaborationist forces. Captured weapons were also used extensively by Chinese National Revolutionary Army troops and the North Korean army...
- Type 11 Light Machine GunType 11 Light Machine GunThe was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and during World War II.-History:Combat experience in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 had convinced the Japanese army of the utility of machine guns to provide covering fire for advancing infantry...
- Type 96 Light Machine GunType 96 Light Machine GunThe was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the interwar period and in World War II. - History and development :Combat experience in the Manchurian Incident of 1931 and subsequent actions in Manchuria and northern China reaffirmed the Japanese army of the utility of machine...
- Type 97 Light Machine GunType 97 Light Machine GunThe was the standard machine gun used in tanks and armored vehicles of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, and also as a light machine gun by infantry forces.-Development:...
- Type 99 Light Machine GunType 99 Light Machine GunThe was a light machine gun used by the Imperial Japanese Army in World War II. -History and development:The Type 96 Light Machine Gun, an improvement over the previous Type 11 Light Machine Gun was introduced into combat service in 1936, and quickly proved to be a versatile weapon to provide...
