Tomoyuki Yamashita's sword
After the end of the Second World War, the swords of the Japanese military were confiscated by the victorious USA.
One of these swords belonged to the infamous "Tiger of Malaya" Tomoyuki Yamashita.
Unlike many other military swords, his sword was a historical Japanese blade. It was made by the famous swordsmith Fujiwara Kanenaga in the mid to late 17th century. The sword handle is said to be the only part of the sword to have been renewed in the 19th century. The rest of the sword is still in its original condition today.
At the end of the war, Yamashita handed over his sword to the Allies together with his troops on 2 September 1945.
Fortunately, his sword was not lost, like the legendary Honjo Masamune and many others.
General Douglas MacArthur accepted the sword and passed it on to the West Point Military Museum in New York, USA. It is still on display there today with other pieces from the period and can be viewed.
The life of Tomoyuki Yamashita
Born in 1885, Tomoyuki Yamashita was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War. He became famous because he and his troops managed to capture the British colonies of Malaya and Singapore in just 70 days. There, his 30,000-strong army took over 80,000 British, Indian and Australian soldiers as prisoners of war. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the conquest of Singapore the "worst disaster" and the "greatest surrender" in British military history. These circumstances earned him the nickname "Tiger of Malaya".
His execution
After the end of the war in 1945, Yamashita was charged as a war criminal by a military tribunal in Manila. He was the first Japanese to be sentenced to death for his war crimes and was executed by hanging in 1946. As it was the first trial of its kind, he received a lot of public attention. His conviction set a standard for international punishment for war crimes and goes down as a Yamashita standard into the history books.
His mysterious gold treasure
Yamashita's gold, or treasure, is the name given to a collection of gold that the Japanese army is said to have captured during the Second World War. The story goes that towards the end of the Second World War, Yamashita ordered his men to hide the captured gold in the Philippines so that it would not fall into the hands of the enemy. It is therefore said to be hidden in many caves, tunnels and underground complexes.
The story of the hidden gold has attracted many treasure hunters. They have dug up many areas of the Philippines in the hope of finding the mysterious treasure. However, most history experts doubt the existence of the treasure.
Has Yamashita's gold been found?
How the DailyMail reportsThere are rumours that divers found some of the gold at the beginning of 2017. The gold treasure is said to have been protected by underwater booby traps. At least there are pictures circulating on the internet showing divers armed with brushes uncovering gold bars on the seabed. However, it cannot be confirmed whether these pictures actually show Yamashita's gold treasure.
Would you like to find out more about famous swords from Japan? Then take a look at our category Famous swords over!
Info: The portrait of Tomoyuki Yamashita is in the public domain and comes from http://www.corazzati.it/personaggi_yamashita.htm
