Kusanagi – Legendary Japanese sword of the Gods

 

The Claim
Kusanagi, a legendary sword made by the gods is in the possession of the Japanese government

 

Kusanagi is a legendary sword that has its origins in folklore and mythical tales, but the odd thing about this story is that the Japanese government claim to have it in a temple somewhere guarded by Shinto priests. They have refused all outside requests to verify or even see the sword, and the last time it apparently appeared in public was when Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne in 1989, though the sword was kept in packages and not displayed publicly.

 

The origin of the sword comes right out of mythical tales, which speak of a warrior named Susanoo who killed an eight headed monster, and after he lopped off the heads he started to cut through the tails for some reason. During the cutting of the 4th tail he came across the sword within the monsters body and named it Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, which means heavenly sword of gathering clouds.

 

He later gave it to a goddess he had previously pissed off to make amends, and this goddess later gave it to a warrior named Yamato Takeru who used the sword to defeat a warlord who ambushed him. Yamato Takeru was in a tall grass field which the warlord set on fire to trap him, but after finding out the sword had the ability to control the wind he used it to sweep the fire towards the bad guys and kill them all.

 

He later ignored his wife’s advice to take the sword with him on a later trip and was killed by a monster, so, yeah. After this the sword disappears from the book of legend these stories come from, though it is mentioned numerous times within other folklore type texts, non of which are considered historical documents.

 

After the sword was somehow found again, it came into the hands of one of the soldiers of Emperor Antoku who was defeated during a sea battle in 1371, which is when it was finally lost for good beneath the waves.

 

Another tale of how it was lost includes someone stealing it during the 6th century and losing it at sea when their boat was wrecked in a storm. The sword apparently washed up on the beaches of Ise where it was found by Shinto Priests and has been safeguarded ever since in their temple.

 

Normally storeys like these are always “just another legend” but the odd thing about this one is the Japanese government has publicly admitted they are in possession of the sword, which seems like an odd claim to make it they weren’t, but the refusal to let anyone even see it does make things suspicious.