At a shooting range hidden away in a corner of the Higashiyama Campus, members of the Nagoya University Rifle Shooting Club were busy training for their next event. Competitive air rifle shooting is a precision sport where participants take aim at targets 2.5 centimeters in diameter from 10 meters away. At the Chubu Students Shooting-Sport Tournament held in September 2024, Ryūki Kukisaki (Class of 2025, School of Science) won the air rifle division, while Mai Shinohara (second year, School of Health Sciences) claimed victory in the beam rifle division. Both students received the Nagoya University Athletic Association President’s Award for their outstanding achievements.
A Sport Where Mental State Makes All the Difference
During rifle shooting competitions, athletes fire 60 shots within a 75-minute time limit in pursuit of the highest score. The target has a 0.5-millimeter point at its center, with a bullseye shot earning 10.9 points and scores decreasing in 0.1-point increments. Since even the slightest movement, such as a heartbeat or minor hand tremor, can significantly affect the score, maintaining composure becomes the key to victory. Shinohara emphasizes the mental aspect: “Physical strength and muscle power are not necessary, and there is no gender difference. What matters is performing at your best when it counts.” Club captain Kyōya Hiraoka (third year, School of Engineering), who admits to being naturally prone to nervousness, revealed his personal strategy: “For about the first 10 minutes of competition, I barely shoot at all and wait for my heartbeat to calm down.”
A member of the Rifle Shooting Club firing rounds at a small target
Paper targets used in practice and lead bullets (pellets)
From Detective Conan to the Shooting Range
Each member had their own reason for joining the club. All members are beginners who started rifle shooting in university. Hiraoka explains, “I was interested in target sports like archery. When I tried beam rifle shooting at the new student orientation, I found it interesting and decided to join.” Meanwhile, Mizuki Nakanishi (second year, School of Informatics) was inspired by a character named Akai from the manga and anime franchise “Detective Conan.” “I thought the way he shot rifles looked cool, and I wanted to try it myself,” she says, showing off her keychain attached to her gun case. She placed third at the Chubu Students Shooting-Sport Spring Tournament held in May 2025. During her two years in the club, she has steadily improved her skills and is expected to become a driving force for the Nagoya University team.
Owning an Air Rifle Is Not Easy
A special license issued by the Public Safety Commission is required for anyone who would like to use an air rifle. Earning this license can take almost six months; applicants must attend training sessions, pass written examinations, and undergo a series of background checks. These checks involve interviewing family members, friends, and neighbors to ask about the applicant and whether it would be safe for them to possess a gun. “Asking for cooperation from everyone for the investigation was tricky,” Shinohara said.
Potential owners are also required to install a gun safe that is bolted to the wall for security. Hiraoka lives in a rented apartment and could not get permission from the building’s landlord to store his rifle at home. Instead, he keeps it at a shop that provides gun custody services. “I have to pick it up every time I want to go to the range, but that is part of what helps me take practice seriously,” he said optimistically.
Wearing sturdy jackets and pants is also characteristic of competition rifle shooting. Made from canvas and leather so rigid they can stand on their own, these garments help suppress body movement and unnecessary motion.
Mastering the Basics with Beam Rifles
Until they can obtain a license, students start by learning proper shooting posture using beam rifles, which do not require the same procedures. Beam rifles work by firing visible light beams at electronic targets when the trigger is pulled, with scores displayed on a screen. While beam rifle is also practiced as a competitive sport with the same rules and scoring system as air rifle, it features a shorter shooting time of 45 minutes. Shinohara won the beam rifle division at the Chubu Fall Tournament in 2024. The competition was close, with many skilled first- and second-year students who had not yet received a license vying for the top spot. She reflected, “I was able to maintain a stable stance during the competition, which helped boost my scores.”
Beam rifle practice session, where the display shows the trajectory of the gun barrel
Shinohara (left) receiving last year’s Athletic Association President’s Award. This year’s goal is to exceed her personal best with “590 points or more”
A Small Club with Big Goals
The club has 30 members, with seven to eight students per grade level. Due to limited shooting range space and the number of guns owned by the club, they set an annual membership cap. This year, they reached capacity by the end of April and are currently not accepting new members. The Nagoya University Rifle Shooting Club’s goal this year is “team victory at the Chubu Tournament.” At the tournament held in May 2025, they finished second, falling just short of their rival Meijo University. While Meijo University is one of the region’s top competitors, Hiraoka expressed his determination: “The skill gap has narrowed over the past few years. We want to settle the score at the fall tournament.”
Although rifle shooting is an individual sport, members learn from each other and work together as a team to improve
Related Links:
- Nagoya University Rifle Shooting Club website and X (formerly Twitter)
This article was originally written in Japanese by Tatsuhiko Maruyama for the “Public Relations Meidai” web magazine and published on June 30, 2025. Unless otherwise stated, photos were taken by the author. The Nagoya University International Communications Office has translated and edited it for clarity while preserving the original content’s intent. Certain information might be outdated. For the original Japanese version, please see here.