Nambu Pistols

Japan, well known for technological advancements in consumer electronics and automobiles, is a virtually firearms-free society. With the exception of the military and police, handgun ownership is strictly prohibited.

The country only has two firearms manufacturers and neither produces handguns, but that was not always the case. There was a time when Japanese soldiers proudly carried native-made handguns.

The first and only Japanese-produced sidearm was invented in 1902 by Lieutenant General Kijiro Nambu, the son of a samurai who served in the Imperial Japanese Army. Nambu, who founded Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, designed so many small arms that some called him the John Browning of Japan.

With a design likely based on the Mauser C96, his namesake Nambu pistol, which chambered 8 mm rounds, was produced from 1906 to 1945. The handgun was sold commercially in China and Siam and ultimately saw service with Japan's military in the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

By the end of its production run, the once high-quality Nambu pistol saw a discernible drop in workmanship due to Great War raw material shortages. This left the sidearms with obvious machining flaws and poor finishing. Companion holsters that were once rendered in leather were fashioned from lower-end rubberized canvas.

Quick Facts

• From 1911 to 1926, during the reign of Emperor Taisho, graduates of Imperial Japanese Army military academies were presented with specially-inscribed Nambu pistols and rigs
• An extremely rare Baby Nambu pistol with its leather flap holster and fourteen original bullets sold at an Amoskeag auction for $23,000
• In 2008 at James D. Julia, a very rare Grandpapa Nambu with a shoulder stock estimated to sell for $5,000 to $8,000 went for $24,150