Growing up in Azabu and Mita in Tokyo, and later in Kamakura, my father was deeply involved with a Japanese sword museum called “Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai.” At that time, the organization’s heads were Dr. Honma and Dr. Sato.
Initially, Dr. Honma and Dr. Sato worked in the sword department at the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno. Later, a separate non-profit organization for the Japanese Sword Museum was built in Yoyogi, Shibuya. Although its address was in Yoyogi, Shibuya, it was nearly in Shinjuku. To construct this museum, my father, Mr. Watanabe (owner of Wataki, an apparel company), and Mr. Suzuki Katei (owner of a construction company) were heavily involved. Those two friends used to come to our house all the time (literally all the time), spending hours talking and gossiping. Currently, the museum has relocated to a new location, in Sumida-Ku (Sumida Ward), Tokyo, near the Sumo Arena in Ryogoku. Please refer to the website below.
Dr. Honma, Dr. Sato, and all the other people involved at that time passed away many years ago, but they were in their prime then. I am talking about the late 1960s to the 1970s. I was in my teens back then.
Many people told me that Dr. Honma, Dr. Sato, and several other prominent figures visited General MacArthur’s headquarters during the occupation after World War II, and they convinced MacArthur that Japanese swords were not weapons but art objects. They did this because MacArthur had ordered all Japanese to turn in their swords and forbidden them from owning any. After considerable effort, Dr. Honma, Dr. Sato, and other high-ranking individuals changed MacArthur’s mind. Yet, many swords had already been turned in at Akabane (a place in Tokyo), though some people hid valuable ones. Those turned-in swords are called Akabane swords.
Many swords were taken by American soldiers and brought to the U.S. as souvenirs from Japan. Those soldiers didn’t know whether they had taken a valuable or ordinary one. About 25 years after the war, in the late 1960s and 1970s, Japanese sword dealers traveled to the U.S. to buy back many Japanese swords. I have a few sword-dealer friends who did this. They advertised in local newspapers that they would buy Japanese swords. As you can imagine, many of those swords were in poor condition. Some people used the wrong chemicals to remove the rust. Only a few swords were found in good condition.
Among those recovered was one of the famous missing national treasure swords that Dr. Compton found. He was the chairman of the board of Miles Laboratories in Elkhart, Indiana. Miles Laboratories was a pharmaceutical company that produced a range of products, including Alka-Seltzer. He had extensive knowledge of Japanese swords. When he saw this sword in an antique store in Atlanta, he realized it was more than an ordinary sword. He contacted Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (日本美術刀剣保存協会) for consultation. During this process, my father became close friends with him. My father and I visited his house several times, and they visited ours. Dr. Compton returned this sword to the Terukuni Shrine (照国神社) in Kagoshima Prefecture without compensation. The story of Dr. Compton continues in the last part of Chapter 45, Part 2 of — 11 Ikubi Kissak (猪首切先). Although Japanese sword dealers bought many swords and brought them back to Japan, it seems many Japanese swords still remain in the U.S.
Nonprofit organization: Nihon Bijutsu Token Hozon Kyokai (日本美術刀剣保存協会) 1-12-9 Yokoami Sumida-Ku Tokyo Japan 〒130—0015 Tel: 03-6284-1000
*The above website explains access to the museum.
Study of Japanese Sword 