Japanese Type 32 Cavalry Saber

[Neil Albaugh]

In 1948 my Dad worked in GHQ in the Di-Ichi Building. Our family lived in Tokyo from 1947 to 1950, a transitional period in Japan. My Dad visited a warehouse in Yokohama where there were piles of swords on the floor. Also there were stacks of rifles and pistols. The officer in charge told my Dad that he could choose any two souvenirs that he wanted. The remainder were to be loaded aboard a barge and dumped overboard in Tokyko Bay. He chose a nice old Samurai sword and this Type 32 cavalry saber. I now own both. This saber seems to be in better condition than many others that I've seen. I welcome comments. My video of our family's 35mm Kodachrome slides are here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHE-m0dFKc&t=14s&pp=ygUMbmVpbCBhbGJhdWdo

 

[ManInJapan]

On 2/11/2024 at 9:58 AM, Neil Albaugh said:

The remainder were to be loaded aboard a barge and dumped overboard in Tokyko Bay.

And everyone wonders what happened to the Honjô Masamune.

 

(By Guido Schiller:)

"The Honjô Masamune, along with 14 other swords, was submitted to the Meijiro 目白 police station in December of 1945 by Tokugawa Iemasa, following the order of the occupation forces to surrender all swords. It is reported that the swords were handed over to a Sgt. from the 7'th Cavalry Regiment on January 18, 1946. What happened to the sword thereafter is open to speculation, its whereabouts remain unknown until today.

Although quite a few swords were brought back to the US by American servicemen as souvenirs, those blades were usually collected on the battlefield, or simply bought. However, once they were officially recorded, their fate was usually sealed, and they were destroyed."

 

A great family story though, Neil!