Ousted Myanmar Leader Suu Kyi’s Japanese Sword Restored, Ready to be Returned

A group of craftspeople in the western Japanese prefecture of Okayama has finished restoring a Japanese sword owned by Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who was taken into custody when Myanmar’s military seized power from her civilian government on February 1.

The Nippon Foundation, which entrusted the group with the task on her behalf, will keep the sword until it becomes possible to return it to her.

Before the takeover, Ms. Suu Kyi approached Japanese Ambassador to Myanmar Ichiro Maruyama, asking for help in getting the badly rusted sword refurbished. The envoy then asked The Nippon Foundation to help.

Responding to Ms. Suu Kyi’s request, the foundation consulted the city government of Setouchi in Okayama Prefecture, an area famed for its sword craftsmanship, and arranged for a workshop in the Bizen Osafune Sword Museum in the city to handle the restoration work.

The blade was created by Mr. Sadatsugu Takahashi (1902-1968), a master swordsmith of Okayama Prefecture, who was designated by the Japanese government as a holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property known as a “Living National Treasure.”

In 1942, during World War II, it was donated by a major Japanese national daily, the Asahi Shimbun, to Imperial Japanese Army Lieutenant General Shojiro Iida, who had been appointed commander of Japanese forces that occupied the country then known as Burma.

The sword subsequently changed hands to General Aung San, who was a hero of the country’s independence movement－first against British rule and later Japanese occupation. He was Ms. Suu Kyi’s father.

Before he was assassinated in 1947, the general told his daughter it was “a gift from a Japanese officer.”　The sword was believed ever since to have been in Ms. Suu Kyi’s possession as a treasure from Japan. Over the years, however, the sword’s condition had deteriorated considerably, probably due to the conditions under which it was stored.

It took the Okayama craftsmen about a year to finish repairing the sword and they did an excellent job. Now that it has been handed it back to the foundation, I made it known at a press conference in Yangon on November 18 during a private visit to Myanmar that we will keep the sword for the time being, ready to return it to Ms. Suu Kyi whenever it becomes possible.

An artisan who worked on the project said he wished the sword will “serve as a bridge between Japan and Myanmar.” I sincerely hope that peace returns to the Southeast Asian country at an early date so we can give the sword back to Ms. Suu Kyi.