SOLD - Rare Japanese Murata Type 13 Rifle

Description

10/7/22 - This is a very nice example of a rare Japanese Murata Type 13 rifle manufactured in the late 1800's. The Murata Type 13 rifle was Japan's first domestically designed and produced modern military rifle. It gets its designation from the fact it was designed by Tsuneyoshi Murata (later made a major-general and a baron) and adopted in Meiji 13 (the 13th year of the reign of the Meiji Emperor, Hirohito's grandfather), i.e. 1880. It is a bolt action, single shot rifle that fired an 11mm black powder cartridge that was similar to others of the period like the 11mm Mauser, but not interchangeable with them. They saw use in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. After being retired from service, most either served as training rifles in Japan's schools or ended up on the civilian market. This one is mostly matching except for the bolt and one screw in the trigger assembly. Intact Imperial mum on the receiver. Most of the gun has been refinished, so the bluing is actually really nice. Not much bluing loss, but there are areas of minor pitting under the bluing here and there. The stock is pretty banged up and bruised, and there is an area along the left side of the barrel where the wood has chipped away. Excellent bore with strong rifling.