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Nambu Model 60
Background
The Nambu Model 60 is a double/single-action, solid-frame, swing out cylinder revolver. The Model 60 was adapted from the Smith & Wesson Model 36 to be the standard-issue handgun for Japanese police officers. Nearly 60 years on, the Model 60 is still performing this role, as regular uniformed police in Japan simply do not need a more powerful handgun. For situations when more firepower may be required, Japan's Special Assault Teams have a wide range of modern semi-automatic firearms available, such as the Smith & Wesson 3913, Heckler & Koch USP, Glock 19, SIG-Sauer P226 and Beretta 92FS Vertec.
In typical Japanese fashion, the Nambu Model 60 was produced with precision and attention to detail. This makes it very accurate for such a short-bareled revolver, being able to achieve 50-mm (2") target groupings at 25 meters in single-action operation. Its accuracy was such that a sporting model called the New Nambu Model 60 Sakura was planned. This would have had features like a weighted 153-mm (6") barrel and adjustable rear sights for more accurate target shooting, but the Sakura never progressed past the prototype stage.
When distinguishing a Model 60 from the S&W Model 36, things to look for are the distinctive Bakelite butt, which has a flare to accommodate the user's pinky, behind which is a lanyard ring. As an aside, the butts on airsoft replicas are usually made out of more modern plastics, which helps to distinguish them from genuine Model 60s. There is also the barrel, which has a very distinctive taper towards the point where it meets the frame. Compare this to the Model 36, whose barrel only has a slight taper that is constant from muzzle to frame. The Nambu's front sight is also shorter than that of the Model 36; while the snub-nose Model 36 has a front sight that goes back almost to the frame, the snub-nose Model 60's front sight is truncated around the middle of the barrel's exposed section. It should never be assumed that just because a piece of media is set or even filmed in Japan, a Model 60 is being used by Japanese police characters. Genuine Model 60s are very hard to get hold of as movie props, and thus the S&W Model 36, or even bigger six-shot revolvers like the Colt Detective Special are used as substitutes.
Specifications
(1960-1999)
Type: Revolver
Caliber: .38 Special
Overall Lengths: 198 mm (7.80 in); 300 mm (11.8 in) (Sakura)
Barrel Lengths: 51 mm (2.01 in); 77 mm (3.03 in); 153 mm (6.02 in) (Sakura)
Weight: 685 g (24.2 oz); 850 g (30.0 oz) (Sakura)
Capacity: 5-round cylinder
Fire Modes: Double/Single-Action
The Nambu Model 60 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger on the Beat | Chow Yun-Fat | Inspector Francis Li | Snub-nose | 1988 |
| Conan Lee | Michael Tso | Snub-nose | ||
| Cure | Denden | Oida | 1997 | |
| Eyes of the Spider (Kumo no hitomi) | Policemen | 1998 | ||
| Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack | police officer | 2001 | ||
| Muscle Heat | Ikkei Watanabe | Asakura | Snub-nose | 2002 |
| Cutie Honey | Ryo Iwamatsu | Officer Tokimura | Snub-nose | 2004 |
| Scrap Heaven | Ryô Kase | Shingo Kasuya | 2005 | |
| Jô Odagiri | Tetsu Katsurai | |||
| Death Note | Police | 2006 | ||
| Death Note 2: The Last Name | Takeshi Kaga | Soichiro Yagami | 2006 | |
| Heaven's Door | Tomokazu Miura | Insp. Hasegawa | Seen only in holster | 2008 |
| Policemen | ||||
| Blood: The Last Vampire | Huang Yonggang | TMPD Officer | In holster | 2009 |
| As the Gods Will | Police | In holster | 2014 |
Television
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sailor Suit and Machine Gun | Ken Izawa | Det. Michio Inaba | 2006 | |
| police | ||||
| Boss | officers in the Metro Police Department | 2009 | ||
| Kamen Rider Wizard | extras | Police Officers | Airsoft replica | 2012- |
| Kamen Rider Amazons | Ryo Tanaka | The officer/Amazon | "NEO" (s02ep01) | 2017 |
Video games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond and the Sound of a Gunshot | 2009 | |||
| Yakuza: Dead Souls | 2011 | |||
| Persona 4: Arena | 2012 | |||
| Yakuza 5 | Double Action Revolver | Incorrectly holds 6 rounds | 2015 | |
| Yakuza 0 | 2017 | |||
| Yakuza Kiwami | Double Action Revolver | Street model incorrectly has 6 rounds; car chase model holds 15(!) | 2017 | |
| Yakuza Kiwami 2 | Double Action Revolver | 2018 | ||
| Judgment | 2019 |
Anime
| Film Title | Character | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dream Hunter Rem. - Rem Appears Violent Dream! Dr. Death Resurrected | Police | 1985 | |
| Violence Jack: Evil Town | Det. Kawamori, Blue Kid, Aira Mu | 1986 | |
| Kochikame | Ryotsu | 1996-2005 | |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Police | |||
| Case Closed | Tokyo Metropolitan Police | 1996- | |
| Hyper Police | 1997 | ||
| Psycho Diver: Soul Siren | Security Guard | 1997 | |
| Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target | Conan Edogawa | snub nose | 1998 |
| Kogoro Mori | snub nose | ||
| Jo Murakami | snub nose | ||
| Ninzaburo Shiratori | snub nose | ||
| Japanese Police officer | snub nose; holstered | ||
| Kochikame, The Movie | Police | 1999 | |
| Oni-Tensei - The Demon Collection | Detective Reiko Kure, Man, Police | 2000 | |
| WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 | Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department officer | 2001 | |
| Digimon Tamers | Police | 2001 - 2002 | |
| The Twelve Kingdoms | Asano, Youko Nakajima, Police | 2002 - 2003 | |
| Burn-Up Scramble | 2004 | ||
| Madlax | 2004 | ||
| Elfen Lied | Security guard | first and tenth episode | 2004 |
| Karas | Shinjuku Police | 2005-2007 | |
| Case Closed: The Private Eyes' Requiem | police officer | 2006 | |
| Death Note | a few characters | 2006 | |
| When They Cry | Detective Ooishi | 2006/2007 | |
| Case Closed: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure | Officer Miwato Sato | snub nose | 2007 |
| Yozakura Quartet | Nadeshiko Matsudaira, Police | 2008-2014 | |
| Case Closed: Full Score of Fear | Officers Miwato Sato and Wataru Takagi | 2008 | |
| Hell Girl | Tsuzuki Kinya | 2009 | |
| The Skull Man | Otomo Police Department | 2009 | |
| Case Closed: The Raven Chaser | Officer Miwato Sato | snub nose | 2009 |
| Future Diary | Yuki | 2011 | |
| Un-Go | Japanese police officers | 2011 | |
| My Ordinary Life | Mr. Yasuzou | 2011 | |
| Shiki | Mr. Yasuzou | 2011 | |
| Persona 4: The Animation | Toru Adachi | 2011 - 2012 | |
| Case Closed: Private Eye in the Distant Sea | Miwato Sato, Wataru Takagi, jmsdf members | 2013 | |
| Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie | police officers | 2013 | |
| JoJo's Bizarre Adventure | Japanese police officers | S2E1, "A Man Possessed by an Evil Spirit" | 2014 |
| Jotaro Kujo | |||
| Ryohei Higashikata | Non-firing replica; S4E2, "Josuke Higashikata! Meets Angelo" | 2016 | |
| Sword Art Online II | 2014 | ||
| Brynhildr in the Darkness | police officers | 2014 | |
| Persona 4 Golden: The Animation | Toru Adachi | 2014 | |
| Terror in Resonance | police officers | 2014 | |
| Tokyo ESP | Tokyo Metropolitan Police officers | 2014 | |
| Magic Kaito 1412 | Police Inspector Nakamori | Ep. 04 "A Great Detective Steps Into the Light" | 2014 - 2015 |
| Police Inspector Juzo Megure | Ep. 06 "Black Star" | ||
| Shinichi Kudo | Ep. 06 "Black Star" | ||
| Daily Life with a Monster Girl | Japanese Police officer | 2015 | |
| Aoharu x Machinegun | Tōru | 2015 | |
| Assassination Classroom | Terasaka, Hayami, Chiba | 2015 | |
| Triage X | officers | 2015 | |
| Gate: Thus the JSDF Fought There | Tokyo Metropolitan Police officers | 2015 | |
| Ace Attorney | Reiji Mitsurugi | 2016 | |
| Ajin | Japanese police officer | 2016 | |
| Zombie Land Saga | Japanese Policeman A | Ep. 01, 02, 11 | 2018 |
| Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka | Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department officers | 2019 |
See Also
- Minebea - A list of all firearms manufactured by Minebea.