Artillery of Japan

Artillery in Japan is recorded in the 13th century.  It was not used widely before the Sengoku period in the 16th century.Perrin, Noel. (1979). Giving up the Gun, Japan's Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879, p. 93.

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.National Diet Library, "Acceptance of Western Military Science at the End of Edo Period, Land Wrfare Tactics"; retrieved 2012-2-22.  Powerful conservative factions in the shogunate resisted change.Akamatsu, Paul. (2001). Meiji 1868: Revolution and Counter-revolution in Japan, PP. 50-51.

During the 1864 Bombardment of Shimonoseki, European naval guns were shown to be superior to Japanese cannon on shore.Perrin, p. 76.

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 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

Related pages
 List of field guns
 List of heavy mortars
 List of howitzers

References

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 

Other websites

Category:Military of Japan
Category:Artillery