The Honjo Masamune is perhaps the greatest Japanese sword ever made. Forged in the 13th century by the great swordsmith Masamune it became the ceremonial sword of the ruling Tokugawa shoguns for 250 years. After their fall from power in 1868 the great sword continued to be passed down the generations into the 20th century, but in the aftermath of the Second World War it disappeared.

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