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Lieutenant General Kijirō Nambu (南部 麒次郎 Nanbu Kijirō) was a Japanese military officer and firearms designer who was responsible for producing much of the Imperial Japanese Army's arsenal during the early 20th century. He was the most prolific and well-known designer of Japanese small arms in history.

Biography[]

Born the son of a former samurai retainer of the Nabeshima clan in Hizen Province (now part of modern-day Nagasaki), Nambu had a troubled childhood, but eventually secured himself a place in the 2nd class of the Imperial Japanese Army Academy and was later commissioned a lieutenant of artillery.

Nambu later joined the Tokyo Arsenal in 1897 and was assigned to work under famed designer Nariakira Arisaka; the former was later promoted to Major and developed a semi-automatic pistol for the Japanese Army. Many other designs soon followed, with Nambu founding his own company, the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company in 1927 with financial backing from the Okura zaibatsu; he received numerous contracts from both the army and the navy.

When Japan surrendered after World War II, Nambu announced that his company would cease operations; before that could happen, his facilities were sequestered by the American occupation authorities and continued to produce equipment under the name of Shin-Chūō Kōgyō. Nambu died in 1949 at the age of 79 and was said to have lost some of his hearing ability in his final years due to his constant exposure to loud sounds like muzzle reports.

Designs[]

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