German archaeologists have unearthed a rare 17th-century Japanese samurai sword in the remains of a basement that was destroyed during World War II.
The team found a badly corroded short sword, known as a wakizashi, during excavations at Berlin's oldest square, Molkenmarkt. Initially, archaeologists thought the weapon was a military parade sabre, but further analysis determined that the sword dates to Japan's Edo period (1603-1868). According to a translated statement from the State Museum of Prehistory and Early History Berlin, the weapon's blade may be even older, possibly dating to the 16th century. Archaeologists say the sword may have been brought to Germany as part of a diplomatic mission in the 1800s.
“Who could have imagined that such long-used and richly decorated weapons would end up in Berlin at a time when Japan was closed to the outside world and there were few European travelers?” Matthias Wehmhof, Berlin's state archaeologist and director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, said in a statement.
Archaeologists from the Berlin State Monuments Service discovered the sword in the winter of 2022 while excavating the basements of residential and commercial buildings in Molkenmarkt, a district that was reduced to rubble during World War II and covered by roads and intersections in the 1960s. The basements were filled with war-related artefacts, such as reins, stirrups, curbs and horse tack that had been disposed of at the end of the war, according to a statement. But the discovery of a Japanese sword in one of the basements was unexpected.
A close-up of Daikoku, one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan, holding a mallet (right) and a sack of rice (left). (Image credit: © Staachliche Museen zu Berlin, Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Anica Kelp)
Restoration efforts revealed the weapon to be a fragmentary wakizashi, a sword that “was once carried only by high-ranking officials as a status weapon,” Wemhoff said. Historically, wakizashi were carried by samurai as a backup weapon in case they had to fight in small rooms or close to a target where it would be difficult to draw a long sword, called a katana, according to the Samurai Museum Shop. Also known as a “companion sword,” wakizashi were always carried by men of the samurai class, according to the British Museum.
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The newly discovered sword's wooden hilt had been damaged by heat, but wood splinters and the cloth that had wrapped the sword remained intact, according to the statement. Further restoration revealed that a 0.4-inch (1-centimeter) wide ferrule, or metal ring, at the base of the hilt near the blade, features a painting of Daikoku, one of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods, who was identified as Daikoku because he is holding a hammer and a bag of rice.
The back of the hilt and the ferrule of the sword. (Image credit: © Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Anica Kelp)
The team also found a now-damaged decorative painting of chrysanthemum flowers and water lines on the tsuba (hand guard) of the sword, whose style dates it to the Edo period.
X-rays revealed that the blade was shortened and the hilt was not original. Researchers noticed two holes in the hilt, the hidden part that holds the blade together. These holes should have held two wooden pins that secured the hilt in place. However, the current hilt only has one of these holes attached.
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The guard plate (tsuba) features a chrysanthemum and water line motif. (Image credit: © Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Anica Kelp) An X-ray of the sword shows two visible holes that were attached to the tang wooden handle. However, the current handle only has one hole, indicating that this is not the original handle for the blade. (Image credit: © Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte / Anica Kelp)
Museum officials said in a statement that because the handle is not original, the blade may be older than the Edo period, possibly dating to the 1500s.
It's unclear how the sword ended up in Berlin, but Wemhof had a few ideas.
“The sword was probably a gift from the Takeuchi Mission of 1862 or the Iwakura Mission that followed 11 years later, Japanese ambassadors who visited Europe and other Western countries to build relationships and gather impressions,” he said. “The spatial proximity of the Molkenmarkt, surrounded by the palaces of the nobles, to the Berlin Palace suggests this.”
German King Wilhelm I met with the Takeuchi Mission to Japan at his palace during his reign, and Wilhelm I hosted the Iwakura Mission in 1873 while he was emperor, Wehmhof said. But it's unclear what those who disposed of the sword at Molkenmarkt during World War II did with it.
