Tokyo Arsenal, Koshikawa, Tokyo, c. 1920.

Tokyo Arsenal (upper right), Koshikawa, Tokyo, c. 1920, alongside the Kanda River (canal) and the Chuo Line near Suidobashi Station. The arsenal, established early in the Meiji era, occupied the grounds of the former Edo era estate of the Mito daimyo. Here were manufactured the celebrated Murata and Arisaka rifles. The arsenal was considered to be the most tightly controlled and secure worksite in the nation before being heavily damaged by the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake.

“Imperial Japanese Army Tokyo Arsenal was an arsenal in the Koishikawa area of Tokyo, on the grounds of today’s Tokyo Dome City and the Koishikawa Kōrakuen Garden.

“The arsenal was inaugurated in 1871, soon after the Meiji restoration. One of its main early productions was the Murata rifle, the first locally produced Japanese rifle. As of 1893, it was producing about 200 rifles and 200,000 cartridges daily. The arsenal was especially active between the two World Wars, as the Arisaka rifle was produced there. The arsenal also produced licensed Mauser style rifles based on the German bolt-action rifle Gewehr 98 for the military of Siam (now Thailand).

Map: Tokyo Arsenal at Koshikiawa.

“The arsenal began producing airplanes after World War I for the Japanese army, and also for the Imperial Russian Army, which placed an order for 10 airplanes before 1916.

“The arsenal suffered considerable destruction during the Great Kantō earthquake on 1 September 1923. Complete reconstruction was deemed too expensive, so that the arsenal was transferred to the city of Kokura, Kyūshū, in October 1935, after 66 years of operation in the capital city.”

– Wikipedia

Tokyo Arsenal, c. 1920.