1945: Japan's Surrender and the GHQ Sword Confiscation — The Shock to Japanese Sword Culture and the Resistance It Inspired

August 1945 — The Sudden Disarmament Order

On August 15, 1945 (Showa 20), the defeat of Japan was announced through the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. Just eighteen days later, on September 2, the Instrument of Surrender was signed on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. From that day, Japan entered the occupation period, and disarmament under GHQ (General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) began in earnest.

GHQ's "General Order No. 1" and subsequent memoranda required immediate surrender of firearms and swords from both military personnel and civilians. At reception centers established in each prefecture—police stations and U.S. military facilities—people carrying ancestral swords formed long lines day after day. There were also reports of people being arrested merely for carrying swords on the street or on trains, and in urban areas, military police and U.S. soldiers coordinated surprise inspections. House searches were also conducted in rural areas, and even swords hidden deep within barns and storehouses were confiscated.

The order targeted "all bladed weapons" without distinction—military swords, wakizashi, tanto, or naginata were all treated equally. People were bewildered, unsure how to handle the swords remaining in their homes. Even without precise records, the number of swords confiscated and destroyed during this period was enormous.

"Cultural Property" or "Weapon"?—The Classification Dispute That Determined Their Fate

Facing this crisis, Japanese intellectuals, sword enthusiasts, and museum professionals sprang into action. Their argument centered on a single point: "The Japanese sword is a unique cultural property and work of art, fundamentally different in nature from a weapon."

The Tokyo National Museum (then the Imperial Museum) petitioned GHQ for the protection of its collections and engaged in repeated negotiations with the officials in charge. Sword researchers such as Inagaki Tsunekichi and curators from the Imperial Museum prepared petitions in English, presenting the artistic value of Japanese swords—the smelting technique of tamahagane, the formation of hamon, and the craftsmanship of polishing and koshirae—with concrete evidence.

Opinion was also divided within GHQ. The hardline disarmament faction insisted that "a blade is a blade," while some officials in the Culture and Education Division (CIE) showed understanding of Japanese culture. Negotiations were difficult, but by around spring of 1946 (Showa 21), a policy was established: "Swords registered and certified as works of art would be exempted from confiscation." This became a historic turning point that would become the origin of the later Japanese sword registration system.

Confiscation, Destruction, and Dispersal—The Number of Lost Swords

Nevertheless, the vast majority of swords were not protected. According to post-war investigations by the Cultural Agency and estimates by multiple researchers, the total number of swords lost during this period exceeded one million, with some suggesting it reached several million. No precise records remain.

The confiscated swords went in several different directions.

• Destruction and Melting: The majority of swords were melted down as scrap iron. While industrial and military swords mass-produced during the Showa period were the main targets, masterpieces of koto and shinto forged from traditional tamahagane were reportedly unable to escape this fate. No record-keeping was conducted before destruction.
• Removal by U.S. Servicemen: U.S. soldiers involved in confiscation repeatedly took swords overseas as "war trophies" and "souvenirs." Many swords that went abroad in this manner remain overseas today, though some have been returned to Japan through repatriation efforts since the 2000s. It is not uncommon for swords equivalent to meito or swords of historical importance to have ended up in the hands of private collectors.
• Transfer to Institutions: Some are said to have been transferred and stored at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and U.S. military facilities, but the full extent remains unclear to this day.

The Birth of Preservation Movements—The Precursor to the NBTHK and Popular Resistance

While GHQ confiscations were ongoing, organized movements to protect swords were also beginning to take root.

The "Japan Sword Preservation Association," which began operations in 1946 (Showa 21), systematically undertook the record-keeping of swords with cultural value, support for possession applications, and petitions to GHQ. By the following year, 1947 (Showa 22), through accumulated negotiations, an exception clause recognizing private ownership of swords registered as cultural properties was legally codified.

As a culmination of these efforts, the Japanese Sword and Art Preservation Society (NBTHK) was established in 1948 (Showa 23). Subsequently, the organization became Japan's largest specialist institution dedicated to the authentication, preservation, and promotion of swords, and continues to handle thousands of appraisals and registrations annually. The technical transmission of related craftspeople—togishi, saya makers, lacquerers, tsuka makers, and others—has also been maintained on the basis of the NBTHK's activities.

Popular Ingenuity—Hidden Swords and Deception

Though difficult to trace in official records, the various stratagems employed by the populace to escape confiscation represent an important aspect of this era.

Farmers hid swords beneath tatami mats, under earthen floors, and in the depths of storehouses. Some unsheathed the blades and disguised them as farm tools; others placed them in household altars and declared them "religious ritual objects." Many swords escaped confiscation by being registered as temple or shrine furnishings, and it is said that among those preserved today as shrine sacred swords, some include blades "entrusted" during this period.

In urban areas, intellectuals, scholars, physicians, and others served as nominal owners, with multiple swords grouped together and filed as cultural property registrations. It was, in a sense, "proxy custody" of swords. The fact that such persistent popular resistance and ingenuity preserved many of the celebrated swords that have come down to us today deserves far greater weight than official records alone can convey.

Revival—The 1953 Legalization of New Sword Production and the 1958 Firearms and Swords Control Act

With the conclusion of the San Francisco Peace Treaty in 1951 (Showa 26), Japan recovered its sovereignty, and the development of sword-related legislation proceeded rapidly.

In 1953 (Showa 28), the manufacture of new swords was formally legalized. Sword smiths broke their long silence and resumed forging with tamahagane and traditional techniques. 1953 marks the de facto "founding year" of contemporary Japanese sword culture.

Subsequently, the current "Firearms and Swords Control Act" (Juto Ho) was enacted in 1958 (Showa 33). This law, which clearly defined the legal status of the Japanese sword, legalized private ownership of swords registered with prefectural boards of education as "art swords," and established institutional frameworks for their manufacture, sale, and inheritance.

From defeat to revival: approximately eight years. In the face of countless swords burned, melted down, and carried across the seas, the unwavering determination of those who fought to preserve the Japanese sword as an art form and cultural property became the foundation of Japanese sword culture as it continues today. The assertion presented during negotiations with GHQ—"art, not merely a blade"—was no mere expedient, but words that struck at the very essence of the Japanese sword.