# Howa

Howa Machinery, Ltd. (豊和工業株式会社, Hōwa Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese machinery manufacturer known internationally for their production of military and civilian firearms. They also manufacture products such as machine tools, sweeping vehicles and windows and doors.

## History

Toyoda's Loom Works, Ltd. (豊田式織機株式会社) was established by Sakichi Toyoda in February 1907. In 1941, Toyoda's Loom Works merged with Showa Heavy Industries (昭和重工業株式会社, established in 1936 to produce rifles, artillery shells and airplane parts) and was renamed Howa Heavy Industries, Ltd. (豊和重工業株式会社). The company was renamed to its current name at the end of World War II and restarted manufacturing textile machinery.

### Weapon manufacturing
#### Military use

Toyoda's Loom Works began manufacturing armaments in 1932.

##### During World War II

Since 1940, Howa has been heavily involved in the Japanese armaments industry, and was involved in manufacturing the famous Arisaka rifle series including Type 99 rifle, parts of Type 38 rifle, artillery pieces, airplane parts, and ammunition. Many of their World War II-era weapons are highly sought after collectors' items.

##### Post WWII

Howa created copies of the US M1 Garand and the M1 carbine for the Japanese Self Defense Forces during the early days of the Cold War.
Howa also designed and manufactured firearms for JGSDF use, including the following types (models):
* Howa Type 64
* Howa Type 89
* AR-18 (licensed production for Armalite Inc.)
* Howa Type 96
* Howa Type 20
* Howa 84mm Recoilless Rifle (licensed copy of the Swedish Carl Gustaf 84 mm Recoilless Rifle)
* 12.7mm Spotting rifle mount for Type 60 recoilless rifles.
* Mortar mount for Type 96 mortar carrier
During the early 1970s, Howa produced the AR-18 and AR-180 5.56mm assault rifle as a license from Armalite Inc. of Costa Mesa, California, which marketed the rifle to various military forces. Japanese government restrictions on the sales of military small arms to foreign countries eventually forced Howa to cease production of the AR-18/AR-180, moving production back to Armalite.

#### Civilian use

Howa has produced a long line of civilian hunting and target practice rifles in a range of calibers. Howa has also manufactured products or components for other firearm companies, such as Mossberg, Smith & Wesson, and Weatherby. The Smith & Wesson Model 1000 shotgun of the 1970s and 1980s was designed and manufactured by Howa.
* Howa M300: Based on the M1 / M2 carbine military automatic rifle designed in the United States, it was developed for hunting and sports. Produced between 1960-1996.
* Howa Golden Bear: A bolt-action rifle that was once manufactured by Howa Industries between 1967-1979.
* Howa M1500: A bolt-action rifle, is produced in sporting, varmint and heavy barrel configurations, which are sold in the U.S. via Legacy Sports International. In Canada, various retailers stock Howa rifles, including Prophet River, Cabela's, and North Pro Sports. In the United Kingdom, Highland Outdoors imports the Howa rifles.

## Sources

* ↑ "Company Information". Howa Machinery. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
* ↑ "About the company". Financial Times. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
* 1 2 "Company Profile". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei Inc. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
* ↑ Stephen Martin (July 16, 2014). The Economics of Offsets: Defence Procurement and Coutertrade. Taylor & Francis. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-317-83665-0.
* ↑ "TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION GLOBAL WEBSITE | 75 Years of TOYOTA | Part1 Chapter1 Section2 | Item 1. Establishment of Toyoda Loom Company".
* 1 2 3 "Our History (Howa Machinery Firearms Dept.)".
* ↑ "Howa Machinery LTD. M1 Carbine".
* ↑ "The National Interest: Blog".
* 1 2 David Westwood (2005). Rifles: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. pp. 369–370. ISBN 978-1-85109-401-1.
* ↑ "Howa Type 64 7.62 mm automatic rifle (Japan), RIFLES". Archived from the original on September 16, 2008. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
* ↑ "Howa Type 89 - Infantry Weapons". Retrieved July 29, 2008.
* ↑ "Armalite AR-18". October 27, 2010.
* ↑ "Exhibision (sic) of Equipments". Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces. Archived from the original on March 13, 2012. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
* ↑ "60式 106mm無反動砲".
* ↑ "The 5.56 X 45mm: 1967". Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
* ↑ "The 5.56 X 45mm: 1968-1969". Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
* ↑ "Smith & Wesson Model 1000 Shotgun". American Rifleman. July 19, 2010. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
* ↑ "Legacy Sports' Howa Page". Legacy Sports. Archived from the original on December 26, 2008. Retrieved January 27, 2009.