Murata Tsuneyoshi

Danshaku Murata Tsuneyoshi
村田 経芳
Portrait photograph of Murata Tsuneyoshi.
Personal details
Born	July 30, 1838 Kagoshima Domain, Satsuma Province, Japan
Died	February 9, 1921(1921-02-09) (aged 82) Tokyo, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan
Military service
Allegiance	Imperial Japanese Army
Years of service	1867-1905
Commands	Army Technical Bureau
Battles/wars	Active service Boshin War Satsuma Rebellion Reserve service First Sino-Japanese War Russo-Japanese War

In this Japanese name, the surname is Murata.

Murata Tsuneyoshi (村田 経芳, 1838-1921) was a Japanese samurai, swordsman, marksman, firearm inventor, gunsmith, soldier, and military officer. He also used the names Yūemon (勇右衛門) and Keizaemon (勁左衛門).

Biography

He was born the eldest son of Murata Ransai Tsunenori (村田 蘭斎 経徳), a retainer of the Shimazu clan. In his youth he studied the Tachi school of swordsmanship, a derivative of Jigen-ryū, as well as the Takashima school of hōjutsu. He also studied contemporary Western gunnery.

Murata's first experience of battle was during the Bombardment of Kagoshima by the Royal Navy in 1863. During this engagement, Murata was strongly impressed by the small arms used by the British, and began studying firearms technology. In early 1865, Murata presented to the Satsuma authorities his own design for a bolt-action rifle. This was an astonishing feat for an inventor educated in a medieval society, as the bolt-action was then a state-of-the-art technology even in Europe. However, Satsuma rejected his design because it was considered to be beyond the limited manufacturing capacity of the Satsuma arsenals. Murata's 1865 rifle design was probably inspired by the Dreyse needle gun. Murata continued to develop and improve upon his initial design for more than a decade.

Murata joined the revolutionary Imperial Japanese Army at the outbreak of the Boshin War, and rapidly developed a reputation as one of the best marksmen in the army. During the war, Murata led the First Rural Unit (外城一番隊, Tojō ichibantai), a sniper fireteam contributed by the Satsuma forces. Engagements in which Murata was involved included the battles of Toba-Fushimi, Bonari Pass, and Aizu. In 1871, he was assigned to the Imperial Guard Division in Tokyo where he became a captain (大尉, taii).

In 1875, he was sent to Europe to study modern firearms technology and gunnery techniques. During his tour, he was received by, among others, France, Germany, Holland, and Sweden–Norway. However, local authorities blocked him from visiting any formal facilities due to a prevailing fear of arms development in Asia. Despite the obstruction, he was somehow able to acquire at least one Gras rifle and Beaumont rifle respectively and studied their mechanical and ergonomic designs. In 1877, after returning to Japan, he was promoted to major (少佐, shōsa) and participated in the suppression of the Satsuma Rebellion. In 1880, he developed Japan's first indigenously produced standardized service rifle, the single-shot Murata rifle. Around that time, Murata built a summer house in Ōiso, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Murata's rifle featured a firing pin actuated by a simple but powerful leaf spring, a somewhat antiquated design compared to the more complex coil springs used in most bolt-action mechanisms of the time. This feature it shared with the Beaumont rifle. It is unknown why Murata chose this type of spring, but a number of reasons have been suggested. Japanese gunsmiths already had centuries of experience manufacturing leaf springs for the matchlock firing mechanisms of tanegashima arquebuses, and Murata's own training in traditional gunnery had likely familiarized him with the mechanical aspects of the centuries-old matchlock.

At the Koishikawa Arsenal in the early 1880s, Murata oversaw the manufacturing of the first batches of Murata rifles to be distributed to the Japanese armed forces. Many units were personally inspected by him, and early production models were stamped with his signature.

In 1890, he was promoted to major general (少将, shōshō) and transferred to the reserve. On June 5, 1896, he was created a baron (男爵, danshaku) for his military service in the Boshin War and Satsuma Rebellion. Murata's research on firearm design was taken over by his student Arisaka Nariakira. Murata remained in reserve throughout the First Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, but did not play an active role.

In 1891, Murata collaborated with Jūmonji Shinsuke (十文字 伸介) of the Kanemaru Kenjirō Gun Shop (金丸健二郎商店) on Japan's first published book on modern Western-style hunting, the New Illustrated Book of Rifle Hunting (傍訓図解銃猟新書, Bōkun zukai jūryō shinsho).

Privately, Murata was an avid practitioner of precision target shooting. In his later years, he often travelled to Europe to participate in long range shooting competitions where he won a number of championships.

He died of liver failure in 1921 at the age of 83. Murata's grave is located at Yanaka Cemetery in Taitō, Tokyo.

Family

Murata Tsuneyoshi's great-grandson was the scholar of German literature Murata Tsunekazu (1930-2011), married to Murata Ingeborg (村田 インゲボルグ) (b. 1941). Murata Tsunekazu is known for his studies of Thomas Mann. Another descendant is Murata Tonio (村田 統二雄).