Artillery of Japan

Description of the mechanism of a breech-loading swivel gun in Japanese. 16th century.

Artillery in Japan is recorded in the 13th century. It was not used widely before the Sengoku period in the 16th century.

Takashima Shuhan artillery demonstration for roju and daimyo, 1841

History

In the 1840s, the Tokugawa Shogunate began to anticipate that either British or French military might attack Japan. Takashima Shuhan (1798-1866) submitted a petition to the shogun calling for the purchase of Western firearms. In 1841, a demonstration of Western gunnery made a strong impression. Powerful conservative factions in the shogunate resisted change.

British capture Japanese cannon, 1864

During the 1864 Bombardment of Shimonoseki, European naval guns were shown to be superior to Japanese cannon on shore.

Following the Meiji Restoration, Japan would pursue a policy of "Rich country, strong army" (富国強兵), which led to a general rearmament.

Imperial Japanese Army

The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) used artillery during the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895).

Naval guns and field artillery were important in the Russo-Japanese War of 1905.

Before and during World War II, the Japanese Army deployed a variety of artillery pieces.

Imperial Japanese Navy

The French-built Matsushima, flagship of the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of the Yalu River (1894), used a 320 mm (13 in) Canet gun.

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) developed large naval artillery pieces.

Japan Self Defense Force (JSDF)

The self-propelled artillery of the current Japanese military include

• Type 75 155 mm self-propelled howitzer
• M110 howitzer
• M270 MLRS
• Type 99 155 mm self-propelled howitzer

Artillery Of Japan Media

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  A 16th-century swivel breech-loading Japanese cannon, called an Ōzutsu (大筒, "Big Pipe").

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  A breech-loading swivel gun of Sengoku era. This gun is thought to have been cast in Portuguese Goa, India and used by famous Christian daimyo Ōtomo Sōrin. Caliber: 95mm, length: 2880mm

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  A bronze hand cannon that is thought to be originated from China.

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  Japanese artillery unit, at the Koishikawa arsenal, Tokyo, in 1882. Photographed by Hugues Krafft

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  Japan's main heavy artillery unit during the Second World War, the Type 89 15 cm Cannon

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  Model 96 (1936) 15cm howitzer

Related pages

• List of field guns
• List of heavy mortars
• List of howitzers

Further reading

• Evans, David C and Mark Peattie. (1997). Kaigun: strategy, tactics, and technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941 Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland ISBN 0-87021-192-7