Murata rifle

Murata rifle
Type 22 Murata repeating rifle
Type	Bolt-action service rifle
Place of origin	Japan
Service history
Used by	See Users
Wars	Imperial Japanese Military First Sino-Japanese War Boxer Rebellion Russo-Japanese War World War I Philippine Revolutionary Military Philippine Revolution Spanish-American War Philippine-American War
Production history
Produced	1880–1905
Variants	Type 13 Type 16 Type 18 Type 22 Type 22 carbine civilian
Specifications
Weight	4.09kg
Length	1294mm
Barrel length	840mm
Cartridge	11×60mmR Murata 8×53mmR Murata
Caliber	11mm 8mm
Action	Bolt action
Muzzle velocity	435m/s
Feed system	Single-Shot (Type 13, Type 16, Type 18, and civilian models) 8, 5-round tube magazine (Type 22, Type 22 carbine)

The Murata rifle (村田銃, Murata jyū^?) was the first indigenously produced Japanese service rifle adopted in 1880 as the Meiji Type 13 Murata single-shot rifle. The 13 referred to the adoption date, the year 13 in the Meiji period according to the Japanese calendar.

The development of the weapon was lengthy as it involved the establishment of an adequate industrial structure to support it. Before producing local weapons, the early Imperial Japan Army had been relying on various imports since the time of the Boshin War, and especially on the French Chassepot, the British Snider-Enfield and the Spencer repeating rifle. This was about 300 years after Japan developed its first guns, derived from Portuguese matchlock designs, the Tanegashima or "Nanban guns".

The combat experience of the Boshin War emphasized the need for a standardized design, and the Japanese Army was impressed with the metallic-cartridge design of the French Gras rifle. The design was invented by Major Murata Tsuneyoshi, an infantry officer in the Japanese Imperial Army. Adopted in Emperor Meiji's thirteenth year of reign, the rifle was designated as the model 13 and went into production as the 11-millimeter Type 13 single-shot, bolt-action rifle in 1880.

Superficial improvements such as components, bayonet lugs, and minor configurations led to the redesignation of the Type 13 to the Type 18 rifle in 1885. Further modifications in the same year involving both tubular and box magazines led to the Type 22 rifle, which used a tubular magazine and was reduced to caliber 8mm. The Type 22 was the first Japanese military rifle to utilize smokeless powder and entered military service in 1889.