Hino-Komuro M1908
- Category
- Pistol
- Barrel
- Not recorded
- Weight, empty
- Not recorded
- Introduced
- 1908
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Hino-Komuro M1908 was a Japanese semi-automatic pistol notable for its rare blow-forward operating system, in which the barrel is driven forward on firing while the breech and a fixed firing pin remain stationary. Designed by inventor and aviation pioneer Hino Kumazo and patented with Yujiro Komuro, it was produced in small numbers in .25 ACP, .32 ACP, and 8mm Nambu chamberings, the last of which was dropped as too powerful for the mechanism. Only around 1,200 were built, making surviving examples highly collectible.
Designer Kumazo Hino was also an aviation pioneer, credited with making one of Japan's first powered flights; his rare blow-forward pistol pushes its barrel away from the shooter on firing rather than cycling a slide toward them.
The blow-forward design is one of very few production pistols to use this mechanism. Most production records were lost when Hino's Tokyo home was firebombed during World War II. In 1992 a cache of 17 unused .32 ACP examples was reportedly discovered in a warehouse after decades of storage.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Komuro Juhou Seisakusho
- Category
- Pistol
- Country
- Japan
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1908 to 1912
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blow forward
- Firing mechanism
- Fixed firing pin
- Trigger
- Single action
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Effective range
- 25 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Blow forward action
Fixed firing pin
Detachable box magazine
Standing
How it compares
This record has too few measurements to compare with others yet.
Answers
Questions about the Hino-Komuro M1908
What caliber is the Hino-Komuro M1908?
The Hino-Komuro M1908 is chambered in .32 ACP, .25 ACP, and 8x22mm Nambu.
Who makes the Hino-Komuro M1908?
The Hino-Komuro M1908 is made by Komuro Juhou Seisakusho (Japan). It was designed by Kumazo Hino.
When was the Hino-Komuro M1908 introduced?
The Hino-Komuro M1908 was introduced in 1908 and discontinued in 1912.
How does the Hino-Komuro M1908 operate?
The Hino-Komuro M1908 uses a blow forward action, and its firing mechanism is fixed firing pin.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
Provenance
Confidence in this record
62%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/hino-komuro-m1908' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "hino-komuro-m1908", "name": "Hino-Komuro M1908", "manufacturer": { "id": "komuro", "name": "Komuro Juhou Seisakusho", "countryCode": "JP", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "updatedAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "version": "62d23c044642add2b63c9175ef12ae65d1431c6a1922af88d4d4749677a25c04" }, "category": { "id": "pistol", "name": "Pistol", "description": "Handguns designed to be fired with one or two hands" }, "country_of_origin": "JP", "year_introduced": 1908, "barrel_length_mm": null, "weight_empty_g": null, "action_type": "blow_forward"}