In the so-called "Parks Attack," in which a group of British ministers to Japan were attacked immediately after the establishment of the new Meiji government, a saber presented by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom as a token of gratitude to Goto Shojiro, a Tosa clan member who protected the minister, was found in Tokyo.
What was found was a saber presented by Queen Victoria to Goto Shojiro, a vassal of the Tosa clan, along with richly decorated "pods" and belts and other accessories.
In 1868, shortly after the establishment of the new Meiji government, Harry Parkes, the British minister to Japan, who was heading to the Kyoto Imperial Palace to have an audience with the Emperor, was attacked by volunteers of the Tōyi faction.
The saber was given as a token of gratitude at the time, and is about 96 centimeters long, and the lion's head is carved in ivory, and the blade is engraved in English with the date of the attack and "Gift to Shojiro Goto".
It was also accompanied by a letter from Parks, which read, "I would like to commend you for your honorable acts of courage and high judgment in the attack."
The saber had been missing for a long time, but it was found in the library of the Seikado Bunko, a facility that stores antiquities.
It is believed that the wife of Yanosuke Iwasaki, the second president of Mitsubishi who established this storage facility, was Goto's eldest daughter.
The found saber will be exhibited at the Seikado Bunko Museum in Marunouchi, Tokyo next month (June).
Seikado Bunko Kono Bunko Director "I want many people around the world to see it"
Motoaki Kono, director of Seikado Bunko, commented on the discovery of the saber, "I had never heard of such a precious object left behind, so I was truly moved, admired, and deeply moved. It is also a symbol of friendship between Japan and the UK, so I hope that many people from all over the world will see it, not just Japan and the UK."