 The Type 94 Nambu pistol was designed by Kojiro Nambu after he retired from the Japanese Army and founded the Nambu Rifle Manufacturing Company.Design for the Type 94 Nambu pistol commenced in 1929 with the goal of reducing the bulk and price of previous Nambu designs.The Imperial Japanese Army felt a smaller pistol of domestic design that could accommodate the standard 8×22mm Nambu cartridge was needed to substitute the larger, heavier, and only official military pistol, the Type 14 Nambu.