The Honjo Masamune
Masamune is widely regarded as Japan’s finest ever swordsmith. Between the late-thirteenth and early-fourteenth century, his workshop, located in the Sagami Province, crafted countless weapons for discerning samurai. None, however, quite matched the Honjo, believed to be one of the finest swords ever crafted, not just in Japan, but anywhere in the world. Quite how remarkable a weapon it is, however, is hard to tell, since it’s been missing for more than half a century.
Due to a lack of historical records, it’s not known who the sword was originally made for. What is known, however, is that one of the first men to wield it was a samurai warrior called Honjo Shigenaga, for whom the weapon is named. But, according to legend, he wasn’t the first. Indeed, the story goes that Honjo was engaged in battle and at the mercy of another warrior. His enemy hit dealt him a normally-fatal blow to the head, slicing his helmet clean in two. Miraculously, Honjo survived, got back up and killed his foe, taking his weapon for himself.
Over the centuries, the Honjo passed through many hands. Sometimes it was taken as a spoil of war, at other times it was simply sold by warriors needing some short-term money. Eventually, it became a prized possession of the Tokugawa Shogunate, who ruled over Japan for 250 years. Even after their rule came to an end, the sword continued to be passed down through the generations, the weapon’s reputation growing all the time. By the twentieth century, the Honjo had come to be seen as a symbol of the nation’s past greatness and it was declared a Japanese National Treasure in 1939.
This status didn’t save the sword from being taken from the country. With the end of the Second World War, the victorious American forces declared that all Japanese families surrender their weapons, including historic samurai swords. The Tokugawa family duly complied with the decree, perhaps hopeful that the unique and priceless nature of the Honjo would be recognized and respected. The sword, however, was simply taken and lost for good.
Researchers believe that the Honjo was taken as a souvenir by an American soldier, unaware of what treasure he was taking home with him. To complicate matters, Masamune was one of the few master swordsmiths who refused to put his signature on the hilt of his weapons. As such, the Honjo Masamune could be lying in an attic somewhere in the United States. Should it be found and identified, it will become just one of a handful of his weapons to be known today. What’s more, it will be worth a small fortune, though whether the money would go to the Tokugawa family or the family of the American solider who took it out of Japan is another matter.