Arisaka Rifle

The First Model of the Arisaka Rifle was designed by Colonel Nariakira Arisaka in 1897. It was the official service bolt action rifle for the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces from 1897 to 1945. There are Five major variants - the Type 30, 38, 44, 97 and the 99. Of all these rifles, the Type 38 and Type 99 Rifles were the most common and were the rifle most likely to be encountered during the war in the Pacific. There were various sub types, like the 7.7 Sniper or the 6.5 Take Down Paratrooper model, but these rifles were rare specialty rifles and only several hundred were made of any of the rare versions.

The two most common rifles - The Type 38 was chambered in 6.5x50mm Arisaka and the Type 99 was chambered in 7.7x58mm Japanese.

Arisaka Type 38

Used by Japanese Soldiers in the following:

Films

• Pearl Harbor by Imperial Japanese soldiers in Mainland China who shoot Captain Danny Walker

Arisaka Type 99

Used by Japanese Soldiers in the following:

Films

• Hell in the Pacific
• Flags of our Fathers
• Letters from Iwo Jima
• Windtalkers
• Empire of the Sun
• The Bridge on the River Kwai
• Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence
• The Great Raid
• Attack Force Z : A movie about Australian Soldiers in the South Pacific during WW2

Television

• Baa Baa, Black Sheep
• Hiroshima: Out of the Ashes
• Used by American Commando Arlen Dregors, played by Ricco Ross, as a sniper rifle in the 1985 Television movie The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission despite being completely inaccurate for the Waffen SS in Europe.