The Honjo Masamune — a 700-year-old blade by Japan's greatest swordsmith, declared a national treasure in 1939 — was surrendered to police in Dec 1945, then transferred to a 'Sergeant Coli Bmore' with no military record. The world's most important missing sword.
Honjo Masamune sword vanishes after surrender to US occupation forces in Japan
Key facts
- The Honjo Masamune was forged roughly 700 years earlier by Goro Nudo Masamune, considered the greatest swordsmith in Japanese history
- Masamune worked during the late 1200s, layering different steels to create blades that were both strong and flexible
- The sword got its name from a 1561 battle when samurai Hanjo Shiganaga was struck in the head but survived
- The blade passed through powerful warlords and eventually to the Tokugawa family, which ruled Japan for over 250 years
- The Japanese government officially declared it a national treasure in 1939
- After Japan's surrender in 1945, Allied authorities confiscated roughly 81,000 firearms, 172,000 swords, and 14,000 spears within the first 6 months
- Tokugawa Yamasa, head of the Tokugawa family, voluntarily surrendered the blade in December 1945 at a Tokyo police station
- The sword was transferred to someone recorded as Sergeant Coli Bmore, but no US military records contain that name
- The Honjo Masamune is considered the most important missing sword in the world; Masamune rarely signed his blades, so it could exist today unidentified
Sources
Mystery of The Enigmatic Honjo Masamune Swordswordsofnorthshire.com
In 1939 in Tokyo, it was designated a Japanese national treasure, a survivor of 700 years of turbulent history. It was only in the upheaval of the second ...
Masamune - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Gorō Nyūdō Masamune was a medieval Japanese blacksmith widely acclaimed as Japan's greatest swordsmith. He created swords and daggers, known in Japanese as ...
Katana Swords: Japan's National Treasures & Samurai Artjapanhousela.com
Discover the legendary katana swords of Japan, crafted by masters like Masamune and preserved as National Treasures.
The Honjo Masamune: Japan's Legendary Sword | Tokyo Nihontotokyo-nihonto.com
The only real evidence authorities have is when Tokugawa Ieamasa surrendered it to the Meijro police in December 1945. One month later, the ...
The Legendary Honjo Masamune Sword - Katana Swordkatana-sword.com
The only proof authorities have is that Tokugawa Ieamasa surrendered it to the Meijro police in December 1945. A month later the sword was ...
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