Murata Tsuneyoshi
was a Japanese samurai, swordsman, marksman, firearm inventor, gunsmith, soldier, and military officer. He also used the assumed names  and . Biography
He was born the eldest son of , a retainer of the Shimazu clan. In his youth he studied the  of swordsmanship, a derivative of Jigen-ryū, as well as Western gunnery. Murata joined the revolutionary Imperial Japanese Army at the outbreak of the Boshin War. He rapidly developed a reputation as one of the best marksmen in the army, and led the , 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 . 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  and participated in the suppression of the Satsuma Rebellion. In 1880, he developed Japan's first indigenously produced standardized service rifle, the Murata rifle. Around that time, Murata built a summer house in Ōiso, Kanagawa Prefecture. 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 engraved with his signature. In 1890, he was promoted to  and transferred to the reserve. On June 5, 1896, he was created a  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  of the  on Japan's first professionally published book on hunting, the 

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. References 

1838 births
1921 deaths
Samurai
People of the Boshin War
Meiji Restoration
Military snipers
People from Kagoshima Prefecture
Japanese inventors
Gunsmiths
Japanese soldiers
Deaths from liver failure
Military personnel from Kagoshima Prefecture