Hunt For Missing $20 Million Samurai Sword

One of the world's most valuable and culturally important swords has been missing since early 1946, during the US occupation of Japan. If it can be found, it is worth over $20 million. Was it taken as a souvenir by a US soldier, or is it still in Japan, hidden away. Here is what is known today...

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Sources:
- 'Mystery of The Enigmatic Honjo Masamune Sword', Swords of Northshire

Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; University of North Florida; Kakidai; Underbar dh; SLIMHANNYA; Abasan

[jasonwomack]

It'll show up on Pawn Stars. The best Rick can offer them though, is $600 and he's going out on a limb at that price.

[mathematician]

When my father died, just over 10 years ago, his wife (second wife) found under the bed a wrapped package. It contained several German dress swords and an S.A. dagger. She knew nothing about them. My dad had shown me the dagger some years earlier. He had rubbed some special sort of thick brown grease on it back in about 1945, and he said nobody had touched he blade since WWII. It looked pristine and razor sharp when I saw it last. She sold them at auction. I now regret not buying the dagger.

[davidbere]

Mark, thank you so much for the extensive research you put into each video. Humanity owes a debt

[sullivanspapa]

Possibly the most intriguing video yet, thank you Mr Felton!

[jerryclark]

I knew a us navy veteran that was in japan at the end of the war and he said guys were throwing swords off the ship into the ocean! Celebrating the end of the war!

[nwlly]

It's incredible how beautiful and well preserved those katana blades are. Almost as if they were made yesterday

[gwcstudio]

I was at a garage sale once, and spotted a katana in scabbard on a table top, sidled over and asked if I could look at the blade. "Sure!"
As I picked it up and partly drew it, the guy said "it's messed up" and proceeded to tell me how they got drunk and tried to hack through a chain-link fence with it.
Intact it would have been worth about $150k. It was a fine muromachi period nambokucho style blade in military mounts.

[thEannoyingE]

Oh man, first Himmler’s SS helmet, now this incredible piece. Knocking it out of the park!

[Hyungnam]

For centuries it was customary for an artist to meticulously draw the unique pattern on the edge of a fine sword, the hamon. When in 1939, the Japanese declared the Honjo Masamune a national treasure, such fine detailed drawings of the hamon were made. If the Honjo Masamune ever appeared at an antique fair or auction, there could be no mistake. Its fingerprints have been taken. But any lucky finder in the U.S. would face a catch 22. For a collector to be certain and for its identity to be official, the Honjo Masamune would have to be sent to Japan for a rigorous examination by Japanese experts to be verified. So if anyone did find it, they would have every incentive to keep it secret for fear of losing it.

[cammobunker]

When I was a teen I went to the Sacramento California big gun shows at the State fairgrounds. I distinctly remember a group of Japanese men coming to a set up where a guy had a number of Japanese swords. They asked about one, pulled the grip off and paid for it with a large roll of crisp $100 bills. I asked and was told they were from a government museum in Japan and had arranged to meet the vendor ahead of time. I cannot help but think they were retrieving old and ancient blades that were circulating in collector circles. This was roughly 1980 or so, well before the internet of course.

[spitfire]

You should send D B Moores family a letter. I bet they have some great letter openers!

[rksando]

My father brought one back from Okinawa but it is a mass produced Type 95 with an aluminum handle. He carried it strapped onto his back pack as a weapon of last resort. That alone makes it an invaluable family heirloom.

[victorocallaghan]

Would you do a video on the Irish doctor, Dr Aidan McCarthy who survived Dunkirk, pulled two pilots from a burining bomber plane, then was captured in Singapore.
Survived the Japanese POW camps.
Survived his POW ship being sank on the way to Nagasaki.
Finalyy survived the Nuclear Bomb attack at Nagasaki.
He spared the prison guards life and in return he gave him his Samurai sword that is still in McCarrthys bar to this day.
Also Dr Mcarthys half cut canteen is there that he had at all times throughout the war to eat out of

[johnanon]

In 1991 (Toronto, ON, Canada) I saw a very old samurai sword with a rich blue silk ribbon/Hishigami wrapping on the handle and old scabbard. The blade's edge had non-symmetrical uneven two tones much like as seen at 1:08 and I assumed that meant it was some cheap knockoff even though it was priced at several hundreds of dollars. After some asking around and reading some books (all pre-internet back then) I realized it was some wakizashi that was likely very old and taken as a souvenir after WW2. I returned about a month later and it was gone. Location was a military surplus store in south end of a generalized toronto region and not far from lake Ontario between May-Oct 1991.

[seandelap]

To think that there might be someone out there that has this sword gathering dust in their attic

[MrDavkoz]

My late uncle brought home several WWII German trophies, and let his then young son play "army" with what we now consider high value collectibles. Another dear friend of mine that's now in his 80's found a civil war kepi in his grandfather's attic back when he was a little kid. Wore it till it fell apart then lost it. I pray such a culturally important sword didn't meet a similar fate.

[vinceely]

Hope you don’t mind. I’ll watch this in a minute - just off to check the attic first

[Rorr]

I'm of the opinion that whoever has the sword is aware of its value and significance. The thing you left out is that there is, and always will be an extensive underground antiquities trade, though in the case of this particular item I doubt it will ever see the light of day.

[davidduff]

Woohoo! Starting off the week with Professor Doctor Felton - can’t get any better!!!

[Ma]

My family checked both boxes.
My father spent the war fighting the Japanese in the Pacific and brought back an Officer's Shin Guntō, an Arisaka Type 99, a Nambu pistol and an autographed good luck flag.
My father-in-law was in a B-26 squadron in the ETO and brought back a DWM P.08 made in 1916.
His capture story is much more plausible than most: When the war ended there were big piles of surrendered firearms. The men were free to take one from the Luger pile and grab a holster from the holster pile. They were issued capture papers identifying the pistol and who had received it.