An empress gave her dead husband's treasures to a temple in 756, took back two swords, and they were found under the Great Buddha

Emperor Shōmu built the Great Buddha at Tōdai-ji. After he died in 756, his widow, Empress Kōmyō, gave more than 600 of his possessions to the Buddha, in several gifts over a number of years. They were stored in the Shōsōin, a log storehouse finished before 759. An inventory, the Record of the Nation's Rare Treasures (Kokka chinpō chō), lists every object. Two swords on the list, Yōhōken and Inhōken, carry a note marking them as removed. Other Shōsōin documents say they were taken out in 759. During the Meiji period two swords were dug up under the altar of the Great Buddha Hall. They were made national treasures in 1930 without being identified. In 2010 X-rays taken during conservation showed inlaid inscriptions reading "yōken" and "inken." Tōdai-ji and the Gangoji Institute announced on 25 October 2010 that these were the missing swords, after about 1,250 years. A news report says they were likely removed at the empress's request and buried where they were found. The Shōsōin survived the siege of Nara and now holds about 9,000 items. Its northern section has long been sealed by the imperial family. A selection is shown at the Nara National Museum each autumn.