[3] Miyata claims to have been the first Japanese manufacturer of flash-butt welded frame tubes (1946) and the first to use electrostatic painting (1950).

Eisuke's second son, Eitarō, apprenticed in a local munitions facility and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Kyoto University.

The factory produced guns for the Imperial Japanese Army including the Murata rifle, and knives for the Navy.

Nonetheless, Miyata halted production of bicycles to focus exclusively on arms manufacture during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.

Miyata's entire production of Asahi bicycles was purchased by the Imperial Army until the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.

[3]: 33 Motorcycles gained popularity in Japan in the early years of the 20th century as foreigners began bringing British and German machines to the country.

[6] However, at the time motor vehicles were a luxury item and imported motorcycles were seen as fashionable and desirable over locally made machines, and the Asahi sold fewer than 40 units before production was discontinued in 1916.

[3]: 55  However, after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937 resources and materials for motorcycle construction became increasingly scarce, and in 1939 Miyata's Kamata plant was converted by the government to produce components for military aircraft.

[12] Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.

Late 1970s to mid-1980s Miyata bikes have high-quality Japanese lugged steel frames and Shimano or Suntour components.

[18] Each custom-ordered frame was to be hand-built and made with Miyata's traditional chromoly steel process, featuring Campagnolo components, at its Chigasaki factory.