Missing Sacred Swords of Shōsōin Found After 1250 Years

On October 25, Tōdaiji temple and the Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property announced that two missing gold-and-silver-inlaid swords found under the sumeru altar (shumidan) within the Great Buddha Hall of Tōdaiji temple in Nara City during the Meiji period has been identified as the Shōsōin treasures sacred swords that had been missing for some 1,250 years. They were part of chindangu (votive objects buried beneath the altar) and were later designated as National Treasures. Those two swords are called ‘Yōhōken’ and ‘Inhōken’. This discovery was made during X-ray examinations conducted as part of conservation work, which revealed inlaid inscriptions reading ‘yōken’ and ‘inken’ on the blades. These swords are listed in the Record of the Nation’s Rare Treasures (Kokka chinpō chō), an inventory of Emperor Shōmu’s possessions donated to the Great Buddha by Empress Kōmyō, with a note stating that they were ‘removed items’. Records from other Shōsōin documents indicate that they were taken out in 759 (Tenpyō Hōji 3), yet their whereabouts thereafter had remained unknown. (Japanese)