Samurai Sword of Power

**Samurai Sword of Power** is the 11th episode of Season 1 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates heads to Japan to search for the missing Honjo Masamune sword. After learning about the legend of this katana, his search takes him to the back alleys of Tokyo and the city's red-light district, an ancestral burial ground, Imperial tunnels in Nagano, and an ancient mountaintop Shinto shrine in Togakushi.

## Historical Context

"It is the 13th century. Goro Nyudo Masamune is the finest swordsmith in Japan and the Honjo Masamune is considered his crowning achievement. Along with its lethal edge, it is said the blade has supernatural powers and cannot be used to kill an innocent person. In time, the Honjo Masamune becomes Japan's greatest national treasure. But in the chaos at the end of World War II, it vanishes."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh starts his journey in Tokyo, Japan at the Mejiro Police Station, where a man named Iemasa, of the Tokugawa clan who owned the sword, was forced to hand over the Honjo Masamune at the end of the war. The sword was signed over to a Sergeant Coldy Bimore but nobody with that name ever served in the US Armed Forces. Josh meets with Tsunenari Tokugawa, who the sword should've been passed to, and his grandson Iehiro. They visit the Tokugawa family mausoleum and Tsunenari believes a private sword collector may be holding on to it.

Josh goes to the Hamarikyu Gardens and meets with Adrian Schlemmer, a sword expert. He believes that the sword is still in Japan at a shrine or it was sold illegally to a collector. Josh heads to Kabukicho and the futuristic Robot Restaurant. From there, he goes to the Golden Gai neighbourhood and interviews an anonymous black market sword expert. The interviewee states all swords in Japan must have authentication papers when selling but sometimes that doesn't happen when swords are sold on the black market. Instead, they identify by looking at figures on the swords. He shows Josh figures like the Hamon which are unique to the Honjo Masamune.

Josh then goes to the town of Kamakura where the sword was forged. He meets Tsunahiro Yamamura, a descendant of Masamune, who is a sword craftsman. Josh helps make a sword with Tsunahiro and then goes into the courtyard and meets Kaoru Ohata, a sword expert. Josh tries tameshigiri, which is when samurais cut through rolled-up tatami mats with swords. From there he goes north to Nagano on a bullet train. He meets with Michael Gakuran and they go to the Matsushiro Tunnels where they search for the sword but only find 10 yen. Josh also meets Tetsuro Shimaguchi, a Japanese sensei. Tetsuro teaches him samurai movements and then has him fight one of his students. Tetsuro directs him to Togakushi Mountain to the Togakushi Shrine.

Josh meets Kuniki Imizuno, the high priest of the Shinto shrine. They honour the mountain spirits and Josh learns that the shrine does have a treasure. It is a go-shintai, an object that holds a God's spirit on Earth. The priest says that the treasure cannot be seen but it is not a sword. He goes on to say the real treasure is the natural beauty around them. For his final stop, Josh heads back to Tokyo and goes to an antique shop where a sword collector has gained possession of a supposedly sacred blade. He meets with Yashitaka Shimizu, the antique dealer, and Paul Martin, a British curator. They see the sword and find out that is a Masamune but not the Honjo.

## Final Words

"Japan has always felt to me like a place that exists out of time. The future is in the present, and the present is filled with the past - different eras blending together to create a dizzying and disorienting masterpiece. And the Honjo drifts between these worlds. Searching for it felt like grasping at wisps of smoke. It is everywhere and nowhere. An object that represents the distant heights of an empire, the humbling of a nation, and the promise of a future filled with honour and custom. The truth is nobody knows where the Honjo is, though many are looking. But it no longer seems lost to me. The sword is Japan itself - graceful, spiritual, ancient, and eternal, all balanced on an improbable edge. For many, the blade has a soul, and a conviction to decide its own fate. I hope that one day soon, the Honjo Masamune will decide to return and allow us all to admire with wonder."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "If this were New York City, there would be three guys drumming, two dudes panhandling, someone screaming, and somebody talking a whole lot about Jesus."
* "Is that a robot playing a saxophone you may be asking yourself. Answer - you bet it is."
* "I feel like you look like a very cool samurai and I look like a line cook at Benihana."
* "Note to self - conduct quests for mystical Japanese swords in the summer."
* "Just putting this on is a 2-hour special."
* "A rickshaw is very efficient but not much of an airbag situation."
* "Okay, we'll be underway shortly as soon as I power through this heart attack."
* "I will say the amount of toy poop in this country is totally out of control."

## Gallery

Photos shown in the slideshow are from Travel Channel's Samurai Sword of Power slideshow. If you hover over the images, their exact image address will appear.

* Matsumoto CastleGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-007.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491580750596.jpeg
* Josh and Paul Martin admire an authentic Masamune swordGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-001.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491580750460.jpeg
* Japanese Snow MonkeysGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-004.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491580750528.jpeg
* Tetsuro Shimaguchi and a student sparGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-006.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491580750576.jpeg
* Japanese Cemetery in TokyoGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-008.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1491580750616.jpeg
* Senso-ji ShrineGo to https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-003.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.suffix/1491580750505.jpeg
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## References

1. ↑ https://travel.home.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/travel/fullset/2015/03/16/expedition-unknown-111-ss/expedition-unknown-josh-gates-masamune-sword-japan-005.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.966.725.suffix/1491580750553.jpeg