Excavation during construction of a Tokyo elementary school uncovered a large amount of rifles, swords and other arms. Believed buried at the end of the war in 1945, live munitions were deactivated and the remaining arms will likely be disposed of.
WWII Japanese weapons cache discovered
- Thread starter ron 57
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OutAtTheEdge
Member
I'd say the condition appears consistent with late war production.
Very cool, but this may be an old news story...?
1,400 guns, 1,200 swords found buried at Tokyo elementary school
1,400 guns, 1,200 swords found buried at Tokyo elementary school
OP
It sure is! The article I read was current (Feb, 2025) and didn’t mention when the arms were found. Thanks for updating.
Your link has better pictures too.
what a waste of precious samurai swords.......shameful
Alk8944
US Veteran
They didn't want the swords to be surrendered to the US, so they were hidden. Poor choice of location obviously.
Maybe those weapons were buried at the elementary school because they were low grade.
I had a friend who told me during WWII, his unit took a bulldozer and covered over hundreds of Japanese weapons on an island after the fighting was over. I imagine there is tons of that stuff buried or in the ocean in the South Pacific.
forindooruseonly
Member
My grandfather was in occupied Japan and he would tell of all the stuff getting dumped overboard. He was a captain and had a translator, so he told the translator to pick a good sword out from the pile as a souvenir. We still have it, along with some other bring backs. I don't know if the translator picked a good one, or if he picked the worst he felt he could get away with, or he simply grabbed a close easy one. But apparently, the amount dumped overboard while he was there astounded him.
Filipinos are slowly cleaning out 'spider holes' on Corregidor Island as they appear through erosion and soil subsidence. They always find arms and ammo.
The Japanese placed a memorial to their soldiers near the mass grave they were buried in after reconquest in 1945. The next night Filipinos removed the word 'brave' from the monument, likely with a chisel. A famous wartime photo of Jap soldiers tossing a Filipino infant around on bayonets is standard fare on the Corregidor tour.
The Japanese placed a memorial to their soldiers near the mass grave they were buried in after reconquest in 1945. The next night Filipinos removed the word 'brave' from the monument, likely with a chisel. A famous wartime photo of Jap soldiers tossing a Filipino infant around on bayonets is standard fare on the Corregidor tour.
RM Vivas
US Veteran
Back in the 1980's I was at school ,i Alaska and I had a buddy who went out to Kiska and Attu and they found crates of japanese mortar shells that had been buried. They were in surprisingly good condition ut covered in a reddish-purple rust that made them look like bif radishes. Big explosive radishes.
Best,
RM Vivas
Best,
RM Vivas
Some enterprising should take that load, strip off the stocks and sell the barrels as premium rebars.
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
They didn't want the swords to be surrendered to the US, so they were hidden. Poor choice of location obviously.
They were not hidden. They complied to the Victors and they were just buried by bulldozer because the ocean was not close enough.
My Dad and my Uncles were there and you could pick up what souvenirs you wanted. After all the choice pieces were taken what do you do with thousands of rifles and swords? Bury it, burn it or drop it in the ocean.
SGT ROCK 11B
Member
This an interesting read from last year.
"During the brutal Battle of Okinawa in Japan, in the final months of World War II, a group of American soldiers took residence in the palace of a royal family who had fled the fighting. When a palace steward returned after the war was over, he said later, the treasure was gone."
World War II Artifacts Found in a Massachusetts Home Are Returned to Japan - The New York Times
"During the brutal Battle of Okinawa in Japan, in the final months of World War II, a group of American soldiers took residence in the palace of a royal family who had fled the fighting. When a palace steward returned after the war was over, he said later, the treasure was gone."
World War II Artifacts Found in a Massachusetts Home Are Returned to Japan - The New York Times
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SGT ROCK 11B
Member
Now this is a creepy story.
"His father picked up the skull as a sort of gruesome war trophy and brought it back to the U.S. In a further grisly twist, he used it as a biology teaching aid when he assumed a post-military life as a high school science teacher."
Read more at: WWII "souvenir" turned over to Okinawa officials | Stars and Stripes
Source - Stars and Stripes
"His father picked up the skull as a sort of gruesome war trophy and brought it back to the U.S. In a further grisly twist, he used it as a biology teaching aid when he assumed a post-military life as a high school science teacher."
Read more at: WWII "souvenir" turned over to Okinawa officials | Stars and Stripes
Source - Stars and Stripes
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OP
That story is reminiscent of this wartime photo of a young woman writing a note to her Navy boyfriend who sent her the skull of a Japanese.
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