Japanese 7.65mm Hamada Pistol

/ forgottenweapons
The Hamada was one of very few Japanese military weapons made by a private commercial firm. Designed and introduced in 1940, the basic Type Hamada pistol was a blowback .32ACP handgun similar in style to the Browning model 1910. About 5000 of them were manufactured during WWII, although most of these were sent to China. All the known examples in Western collections are form a fairly narrow serial number range (~2200-3000), which probably represent a single batch rerouted to the Pacific islands, where they were occasionally captured by US troops.
In 1943, Hamada was asked to develop a pistol in 8mm Nambu to simplify ammunition logistics, and this would become the Type 2 Hamada.

[@autofox1744]

Sadly, I doubt we'll be hearing much about Japanese arms in China, maybe ever. During the "Great Leap Forward" in the 1950s, the Chinese set up thousands of "backyard" forges to boost steel production. This had the effect of making China one of the largest steel producing nations in the world, albeit of inferior quality. The problem had a lot to do with where they GOT the steel. The Chinese basically looted the countryside for all the scrap iron they could find. One of the main things that went into the smelting pots were surplus firearms; obsolete or unusual guns in calibers that were non-standard. The Chinese at that time had standardized their military arms on mainly Russian standards like 7.62 Tokarev, and so any weapons which could not use this ammunition - such as guns chambered in .32 ACP - were melted down as scrap. Doubtless, vast quantities of historic firearms - among other artifacts - disappeared into the forges.

[@METX174]

There is a theory claims the steel forging part of the "Great Leap Forward" was meant to destory arms left in civilian hands and keep able bodied men occupied in strenuous labor, thus make it impossible for any resistance against the government to occour. The communist leadership should've been smart enough to know those junk metals came out of the backyard forges are no good for any industrial uses.

[@autofox1744]

@@METX174 While I don't doubt that was a part of the thinking, I doubt it was the only reason. Mainly, I think they wanted the prestige of being a major steel-producing nation, if only on paper. The fact that they were disarming potential dissidents at the same time was probably seen as a fringe benefit.

[@Anymouse2]

@@autofox1744 And Pig Iron Production used to be seen as the Economic Measurement, actually, just like we use GDP or HDI nowadays. (Japan never had enough consumer iron usage to raise these metrics, despite building steel battleships, which was a critical factor in convincing economists that GDP was better than Pig Iron). By smelting all of that, China could have at least achieved consumer use (cast iron pans), and raised the metrics, even if it did not fit heavy industry.

[@danielwilke7574]

​@@METX174 this is from the same government that decided to kill off certain brids because "it are crops" which in turn caused a famine because they ate the insect who are the crops. They also rejected a lot of western tech as "bourgaise" including medicine. I wouldn't give them too much credit.

[@honorabledoggo6597]

"Oh man i love it! Wounder how much it is?" *sold for 12.6k* Rip dreams of owning one

[@juandemarko8348]

For real I wish someone would make a repro

[@Shortsclipsvideo1]

Still looking?

[@hakureishrine]

Hey Ian. Great video on this pistol. However, I'm not sure if the kanji at 10:09 indicates that a Tokyo factory. The character is 昭 (sho) as in 昭和 (showa). So I think it is meant to read 昭18 to represent the year only.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+hakureishrine Thanks!

[@veryberrykeri]

_mayuyu_ shouwa 18 is 1943, so that works out.

[@davidbroz-tanner1756]

Weebs to the rescue.

[@jacobmccandles1767]

@@davidbroz-tanner1756 Ian is a Ouib...lol

[@colliniams9784]

Hamada and Son is still around today, and has an interesting website. It's mostly in Japanese, but there's enough English to find your way around. The section on the history of the company is light on information, but has some cool photos and old ads that show everything from Winchester 1907's to pistols and some really nice doubles. I think Hognose did a section on it over at Weaponsman a couple of years ago.

[@bikkiikun]

The "Hamada Symbol" looks like the second Kanji of the name: 浜田 The Symbols on the Safety lever is: 安 (Safe) and, though not on this one, you'll find it on other Japanese firearms: 火 (Fire... literally). The year Marking 昭 is short for 昭和 (Showa), this is even now used: 平 for 平成 (Heisei) and currently 令 for 令和 (Reiwa) (2021 = 令3).

[@andrewsuryali8540]

I really like the one safety marking. Safe - blank. If ya can't see "safe", it ain't. BTW Ian, Showa 18 is the 18th year of the Showa (enlightened harmony) era. This was the way emperor Hirohito named his reign, so a better way to explain it would have been to say the 18th year of the Showa emperor's - Hirohito's - reign. The dynasty hasn't changed in over 2000 years. The Japanese year 2003 (1943) refers to the dynastic era.

[@raider762]

Brilliant design on that removable barrel.

[@conmcgrath7174]

I'm not so sure about that? The accuracy of the pistol would have depended entirely on that barrel being an 'interference fit', which it obviously wasn't. Right there, building in an error that you don't need. In fairness, maybe that 'error' was less than a human shooter would ever even notice, at 20 yards, you shoot at the big man-size thing, so please excuse me for being picky! There's a good reason I never made guns commercially, no-body could afford (or want) them and even if they could, I might decide they are a 'dick-head' and a danger to society (if not themselves) and I don't want to be responsible for anything they do or to aid their delusions in any way. Speaking of delusions, time for my meds, sorry for the rave. Pax and respect.

[@xDonarudox]

It's a shame there isn't a chain of Hamada gun stores in Japan today.

[@さすらいの旅人-w2j]

Because of tight gun control law in Japan

[@hugosinclair6798]

@@さすらいの旅人-w2j damnit Japan, have you learned nothing!?

[@The8thCharacter]

Hugo Sinclair well, it was MacArthur who made it that way...

[@TheGrammargestapo1]

@@The8thCharacter and japanese society has benefited immensely from the difficulty of obtaining guns. Imagine how awful the already top 6 in the world suicide rate would be if it was literally as easy as going to a gun store and 3 days later blowing your brains out.

[@God-mb8wi]

@@hugosinclair6798 It's pretty much only served to benefit the country

[@fordxbgtfalcon]

Tokyo still has only one gun shop. they can only sell bolt action hunting rifles and break barrel shotguns. and it's very hard to obtain a licence to purchase one. it takes about 2 months of training and several thousand dollars.... or Yen...

[@ToastyMozart]

+gunz-n-gadgets Wait, several thousand dollars or several thousand yen?

[@fordxbgtfalcon]

ToastyMozart, it costs about 5k in U.S. money, or 500k yen.

[@さすらいの旅人-w2j]

Yeah. It is very difficult to get gun permit in Japan. If you have any mental problem or criminal records, you can't. In Japan, it take 10 years to get license to own rifles. Although it is difficult, you can own auto loading rifles.

[@Чаювоскресениямертвых]

@@さすらいの旅人-w2j Why does Japan has such strict gun laws? It doesnt have long history of gun violence, iirc.

[@さすらいの旅人-w2j]

@@Чаювоскресениямертвых Because most of us think the presence of firearms is dangerous for our society although I don't think so. Mass media are brainwashing us in Japan.

[@d0j0w0]

The Japanese military probably saw this pistol and said, look a gun that doesn't suck we need that!

[@AntigonusMonopthalmos]

Very few of Japan’s guns “sucked”

[@jacobmccandles1767]

@@AntigonusMonopthalmos No need to church it up: their handguns were over-engineered, light hitting, and of dubious reliability. Of you had to adopt the combat handguns of any WWII participant, Japan if pretty much the bottom of that list. ~Let's see, we have .32s ~A 1911-sized gun that hits like a .32. ~A baby Nambu that hits like a .22 ~And a piss poor awkward/dangerous POS that, while bulky and ungainly...hits like a .32, with the capacity of a revolver. Even the Italians did better.

[@AntigonusMonopthalmos]

@@jacobmccandles1767 Yes, their handguns were underpowered by WW2 standards. But I was referring to guns that saw actual use in the war, such as the Arisaka and the Nambu LMGs. Both of which were outstanding designs

[@jacobmccandles1767]

@@AntigonusMonopthalmos their bolt action rifles left them severely deficient in small unit firepower as compared to the M1 and .30 Carbine. The type 11 Nambu was a dysfunctional cludge of a gun, but the Type 96 and 99 were, yes, good weapons.

[@DrownInLysergic]

@@jacobmccandles1767 Their bolt action rifles were fine as far as accuracy goes but the 6.5mm cartridge was relatively underpowered compared to pretty much every other country's standards during WW2 until they tried to upgrade it but weren't able to fully do so. Bolt action will never beat a semi auto M1 though.

[@sergeantbigmac]

Looks like an Ortgies. Actually looks a lot like an Ortgies. Its always interesting how 32acp was so popular back then. Probably a different view of handguns in those days. Besides, a gentlemen/officer wouldnt want unpleasant recoil now would he ;)

[@さすらいの旅人-w2j]

浜田式拳銃 is one of great pistols I want to own if our nation don't have tight gun laws.

[@andrigorosetti8176]

that rotational dovetail to hold the barrel in place is pretty cool, is it meant to be a toolless disassembly feature or is that just an added benefit of the design i wonder?

[@Gloomshadow100]

+Andrigo rosetti he was thinking "long term".. it allowed a civilian owner to swap out a worn barrel, very cool for a civilian piece but not necessary and kinda over complicates production for a "go to war" pistol. 7.65 isn't going to shoot out a bore, especially during the lifespan of a solider. The soviets just would have pressed a pin through it and would have been fine.

[@johnyricco1220]

Just saw a 1947 Japanese movie Snow Trail, and Toshiro Mifune has one of these.

[@williamprince1114]

Did Hamada Inc survive post war as a fire arms maker? Did the Hamada pistol see any post war use as a police or military sidearm? It seems like a very good design that could have had many more years of useful service the way Browning, Beretta, and Walther's in 32 acp did.

[@bhimatamaindrana6104]

they survive, they only make hunting shotgun and customize firearms what Hamada do in the first place

[@Anymouse2]

@@bhimatamaindrana6104 That is nice to read! We actually have a serious Pig and Bear problem in today's Japan, so shotguns do fit the bill.

[@3AMJH]

Another foreign firearm in the 30s-40s China that I would love to know more about is the Lahti-Saloranta M/26 light machine gun. From the gun's Wikipedia page: "China also placed an order for 30,000 M/26s chambered for 7.92×57mm Mauser in 1937, but only 1,200 of these weapons were actually delivered due to Japanese diplomatic pressure.". I'd love to know if any of these 1200 Chinese M/26s survived to this day, or if there exists any Chinese photographs showing the gun.

[@Gloomshadow100]

one of the best Japanese 32s ive seen.. pretty clean compared to what they normally used.

[@DJSpike-ft9yw]

Even if Browning’s patents were active...do you think the Imperial Japanese government would have enforced a foreigner’s patents? Not a chance.

[@stonewalljackson6168]

Japanese firearms are just different, I need one.

[@agoogleaccount2861]

Stonewall Jackson. The nambu 14 is a decent gun and fun to shoot . they are quite good quality. Reloads can be made from reformed .40 s&w brass .

[@greenefieldmann3014]

Sorry, I was looking for the red bus.

[@tenhundredkills]

+Greene Fieldmann Are you sure you wouldn't be more interested in the "Numbers Song"?

[@slowpokebr549]

It looks to me like the disassembly catch would dig into the web of your hand upon firing.

[@DocLaw172]

Barrel mount is similar to the Ortgies, and I think that the cut out on the inside of the slide is for the lip on the striker spring guide to hold it in place for reassembly. Again, similar to the Ortgies.

[@myramadd6651]

Japanese small arms never cease to amaze me.

[@Phos9]

If you were to remove the sear reset lever, would it actually be full auto? It seems like the striker would just follow the slide forward when it's coming back into battery, would that actually hit hard enough to set another round off?

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

It really does seem like a (relatively) unique design.

[@Traderjoe]

Thats a gorgeous gun! Ian, did Rock Island change their name? Originally you use to say "Rock Island Auction House" and then it was changed to "Rock Island Auction Company" and in the beginning of this one, you said "House", though I think that you might have misspoke. Either way, why did they go from House to Company?

[@wizard0313]

Did you mean to say Ian, not Iran?

[@Traderjoe]

Yep, I corrected it after I set the comment. My fingers are out of tune today :)

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+traderjoes The actual name has always been "Rock Island Auction Company", and I just opted to pay more attention to that fact this time. :)

[@mrgiggles2279]

a very interesting pistol. I love the unique barrel.

[@AdoringFan]

The problem with the idea that these guns survive in China is that China has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world. I would suspect that most of the guns that were in China were destroyed, taken out of the country, or are held by the military.

[@NikoMoraKamu]

+Adoring Fan maybe still survive in little villages in the deep of china hidden at the crate of the old fighters

[@smokeydops]

+Adoring Fan I am willing to wager a good number of them took the trip to Taiwan.

[@NeoNyder]

+Adoring Fan China must have military museums where some examples could still exist/

[@twirlipofthemists3201]

Miykayloas Flores Sounds awesome.

[@kevinoliver3083]

​@@smokeydopsOr were captured by the Red Army in their Manchurian offensive, in 1945.

[@blabla1311]

looks like the röhm rg42 and the deutsche werke 25 in 25acp

[@lukewind13]

Love the History given with the look at the Gun(s)!

[@dhy5342]

That sear setup looks like it would be a simple matter to convert it to full aotumatic, althouge I don't know why you'd want to.

[@bitronic1]

@10:13 that's actually the kanji character for "Showa", not the factory where the firearm was made.

[@geoffedwards-tb4kp]

Nice compact pistol. Good large mag capacity for the era.

[@Logovanni]

Japanese Ortgies. If only they were as common as an Ortgies...

[@Samuraislash600]

Internals kind of remind me of a mixture of a Walther PPK and a Browning gun. Super interesting. If only I had the money to purchase one. XD

[@jackthebeardlyy9050]

I found a hamata in my local gun store but didn't have any money😤

[@AussieFanXCIV]

Is there a large collection of WWII era Japanese weapons up for sale at this auction or are you just choosing to focus on Japanese weapons for this series of videos? I really love hearing about Japanese weapons because the gun that inspired my interest in firearms history was a Type 38 my Great-Grandfather brought back from the war (I want to say it was the Philippines or Saipan.)

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+AussieFanXCIV They got a large collection of military arms, which included most of these Japanese items, plus a whole lot more.

[@dposcuro]

+Forgotten Weapons And when you get a chance to display rare, and unusual Japanese firearms, you take every opportunity you can get :D

[@ahmadshasha3632]

If only this gun can talk....lobe to hear his story....history...

[@rnabo031]

At first I was thinking this was Japanese handmade pistol but it would probably be even more precise

[@gunfuego]

I love the simplicity of this pistol. It's my fave next to the Yovanovitch m1931....

[@MAG3_Hiromachi]

Very interesting finding. Nothing outstanding, just couple of new features and overall looks like a solid and most likely reliable handgun. Personally I'd feel a lot more safe with this one than with Type 94 Nambu and would expect it to work far better than Type 14.

[@Autobotmatt428]

Its interesting how compared to most Japanese Pistols this one looks the most modern.

[@darkest2000]

The marking behind the date code is actually the Japanese kangji character abbreviation for "Showa", it's not an arsenal mark or logo.

[@vmerkwurdigliebe3751]

At 10:10 , the character there is 昭（Shou）which is the initial of 昭和（Shou Wa）, the reign title of 昭和天皇（"Shou Wa Ten Nou, who was the emperor of japan during that time, Hirohito）. It does not represent the Tokyo factory.

[@kennyvancleave2422]

Thanks for the lesson. When is the test?

[@geoffedwards-tb4kp]

Can't beat that pp type shape and system.

[@zackstephenson911]

Im here from the reddit post where a guy found one in his basement.

[@si_vis_pacempara_bellum4906]

If I remember correctly, the unit that responsible for Nanking Massacre was later sent to Iwo Jima... And basically all dead. So maybe some of pistols belonged to them.

[@RaDeus87]

I bet that there are a few of these guns in Russia, since they invaded China at the end of the war.

[@damiangrouse4564]

Does anyone know the earliest striker fired pistol? From Ian's manipulation of the trigger I think the trigger is probably excellent! Am l correct Ian? That rotational barrel removal blew my mind...No hammer/punch or cross pins needed in the field.

[@QuellicheilMarza]

+Damian Grouse I thought the same

[@kotarouasagi9022]

すごいレアな銃だね。 Cool!!

[@rwmitchell8068]

A Japanese Ortgies.

[@ronmartin3755]

I think there is too much resemblance in some of the parts of this pistol to the Browning FN 1910 that this is a copy of sorts of Browning's designs! The trigger group looks just like a 1910 trigger group! The firing pin on the 1910 isn't captive and can drop out the back of the slide! Now there are several differences but I will bet my life Hamada took a 1910 and made his pistol with some differences!

[@iwaya2010]

Recently, Japanese guns are picked up. So, I!m happy !

[@HarmJW77]

Does the fun never stop?! Great video Ian!

[@peterthinks]

11:24 oddly pornographic......

[@jonwright8777]

Does anyone know the mag capacity of this gun? Will it fire modern .32 ACP? Is this particular gun operable?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+Jon Wright Sure, it will run modern .32 ACP just fine.

[@jonwright8777]

+Rod 1984 Thx, somehow I missed it.

[@rich7787]

I love the simplicity of a .32 blowback and the clean lines of the ones from this era

[@sentero1856]

I'm sad Japan doesn't really get to manufacture guns. I really always like there simple utilitarianess like Russian guns, but with a bit more class

[@howardmaryon]

Superficially it reminds me of a PPK or Makarov design

[@Pillowcase]

that dovetail element is very nice

[@lanetaylor7496]

Looks like a Sauer 38h

[@aceriley4740]

looks like a 1920's german 7.65 cal pistol i have

[@2sleeze]

Who the hell dislikes these videos?

[@ewa690]

Hamada and son is still a gun shop in Tokyo. They must sale shotguns and rifles now.

[@chrissinclair8705]

OMG! A wwII Japanese pistol that doesn't scare the hell out of me? It's bizarre they wouldn't take these instead of their other more goofy designs. While .32 ACP is not the best, It's at least reasonable.

[@rozniyusof2859]

I wonder how Nambu's crappy pistol got approved for use, over so many better Japanese designs. I particularly like the old pre ww1 blowforward pistol with so few moving parts to jam. I forget its name.

[@michaelm9975]

Probably close ties to high ranking military and possibly political officials perhaps it was lobbying and the fact that said officials were maybe bribed; to approve the contracts with Nambu. That produced such an inferior handgun model

[@giraffeheavyfactory]

10:10 It's not a marking of factory.I think it is Kanji "昭",abbreviation of"昭和",so means Showa.

[@lvj778]

Couldn't take the slide off with the safety on huh? Wish you would have left that in lol.

[@dycantos]

it seems like it would be very easy to make it full auto by disabling the catch that prevents chain firing, not practical in the least as it would be just 1 long burst until the mag was empty but easy nonetheless.

[@chimitjunior4336]

thats cool gun the hamada pistol from the japanese world war 2

[@Goldberg1337]

Very cool. I have an old book on WWI and WWII pistols, probably written in the 70s or 80s, that talks about a lot of the pistols seen on this channel (Mauser broomhandle, Nambu, Mars, etc), but I never saw anything about this pistol before. I'm guessing that so few ended up in US hands that it was unknown during the time the book was published, since so many obscure firearms were included. Nice to see that the Japanese could make a rather nice looking pistol instead of the crappy Type 94.

[@johncostello6284]

That's one nice pistol

[@JoggingWithForks]

Gun-Jesus brings us the goodies once more.

[@parrotraiser6541]

7.65 mm converts to slightly over 0.30 - even if the .32 ACP bullet is supposed to be .0.312", that seems a bit undersized. (Even 8mm is only 0.314.)

[@comptesecondaire.8739]

very interesting. one thing, I think americans often mistake that: japanese eras (年号 nengō) aren't dynasties, since 1868 each era last the whole reign of the emperor. So, Meiji, Taishō, Shōwa, Heisei, and the current Reiwa are just the name of the era, and also the posthumous names for the corresponding emperors. for example, a Japanese wouldn't talk about "'Hirohito", he would talk about "Shōwa emperor".

[@feicheng7022]

the first kanji is 昭， which is short for showa(昭和). that is showa 18. not tokyo factory marking!

[@donjulio5045]

Hamada was a Japanese character in *Test Drive 2001*

[@TheGearhead222]

I buddy of mine bought a beautiful Beretta Pocket pistol in .32 and good lord that ammo is hard to find! Fascinating to learn that John Browning invented the .25, .32 and .380 when it was realized that the rimmed .22 caliber created too many feeding issues for a small automatic pistol. John in Texas

[@EuropeYear1917]

Are you sure that's a factory mark next to the 18? I'd assume that that was Emperor Hirohito's monogram/cipher as Showa Emperor. P.S. - Japan is no longer in the Showa Era. Since Emperor Hirohito's death in 1989, Japan has been in the Heisei Era (or the reign of Hirohito's son Akihito).

[@ForgottenWeapons]

+HM The Tsar of Russia Nope, it is Showa. My mistake.

[@argoshikan]

Why not Japanese numbers in serial numbers?

[@Pappy_1775]

Is it me or does it look very much like an Ortgeis? Even down to the 90° dovetailed barrel. That would mean the Ortgeis preceded it.

[@fumitakahayashi]

the symbol on the bottom of the clip looks a bit like the Japanese Kanji for the second part of the name Hamada, and it's slightly distorted so you can also imagine it as representing an "H". Seems like a cool logo mixing Kanji and Alphabet.

[@tetu3217]

素晴らしい拳銃ですね。ZEKEさん、これ創ってよ！この方に取材申し込んで精巧な複製を安全な機構で是非！是非！

[@later2672]

Great information as always. Interesting to hear all the particulars about all the fire arms, from any generation. I have family that lives in Az., it is why better than Ca. For purchasing Fire arms. Thanks Ian I enjoy every video.

[@Reckec]

Idea on the over stamping of the serial number. Maybe the weapon failed its first inspection with a bad barrel or for some reason the barrel was replaced with a new one. But instead of trying to over stamp the hardened steel they over stamped the rest? Also might explain it having the inspection mark, as then it had to pass to see service.

[@mr.gunzaku437]

The front reminds me of a Walther or Makarov. Though a more current example would be the Cobra arms .380 pistols.

[@WorldEagleKW]

Ian, the symbol in front of the "18" is the first of the two Kanji characters "昭和", meaning "Showa".

[@saxandphone6440]

looks like a Sauer 38H and a PP had a baby.

[@keithlarsen7557]

This is way, way better than any of the Nambu series of guns. Shame the Japanese didn't use it more often.

[@si_vis_pacempara_bellum4906]

I think that mark on the top of the grip was 昭和18 means Showa year 18. Which is 1943.

[@FORP1337]

finally first :D

[@102819921]

where would you find something like the details of stamp replacement? what book is that in?

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

That's a nifty Japanese pistol I have not seen before

[@albertwindes2895]

im really enjoying the daily videos, i look forward to a video when i get back from class everyday and im glad you make such great content so consistently, keep it up!

[@arthurneddysmith]

11:00 How many times has Ian said the phrase, "flying across the room"?

[@JackSmith-fs9cz]

Do you think you'll be able to get your hands on a Neostead 2000 shotgun?

With a few differences it looks like and disassembles like my Sterling M-302. I'm starting to think the Sterling M-300 (25acp) and M-302 (22 lr) were based on the Hamada.

[@wingracer1614]

+talon55130 Most small blowback pistol disassemble in a similar way. Walthers and Brownings and everything else are quite similar.

[@ozzypascal7210]

I love the way barrel is removed. Awakened simplicity.

[@SPS-MOTOP]

for some reason he imagined that the horns were starting to grow on the leading video ...