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Yamashita’s Gold: 70 years of Wish-Fulfillment, Treasure Hunting, and a Controversial Lawsuit

2/1/2019

1 Comment

 
Yamashita's Gold
​Realizing their gradual defeat by U.S. forces during the closing months of World War II, General Tomoyuki Yamashita hid his war loot throughout multiple underground tunnels in the Philippines. Almost 70 years later, treasure hunters, conspiracy theorist and even government officials continue to search for its existence.
Tomoyuki Yamashita–a general in the Imperial Japanese Army–and his forces spent over 8 years pillaging through Southeast Asia riches, simultaneously committing war crimes of mass murder and gang rape. Items were stolen from banks, museums, temples, and depositories, with items ranging from gold, jewelry, to ancient religious figurines. Initially, the war loot was said to be have been held in Singapore, but when General Yamashita assumed command of Japanese forces in the Philippines in 1944, the treasures were later transported there for his supervision. 

Yamashita’s goal was to ship the treasure from the Philippines to Japan using the Philippines Sea, a route which gave Japan access to the Dutch East Indies as well as other lines of supply and communication between the Japanese islands to conquered territories in Southeast Asia. The remaining loot would then be transported after the end of the war.
Map of Luzon Island
Map of Japanese Conquer in WW2
By 1945 U.S. forces were closing in on Japanese forces in the Pacific Theatre. Multiple navy submarines and airplanes sunk a large number of Japanese merchant ships, some which were alleged to have contained a majority of the loot.  In response, Emperor Hirohito tasked his brother, Prince Yasuhito Chichibu, to head a secret organization called Kin No Yuri (translated to ‘The Golden Lily’). The organization’s name was later synonymous to the mission itself, a mission which involved building a system of complex tunnels beneath various Japanese-occupied islands in the Philippines. Over 175 tunnels were said to have been built during this rushed time frame by allied POWs and enslaved Filipinos (coined ‘Romusha’ by the Japanese).
Prince Yasuhito Chichibu
Prince Yasuhito Chichibu
Emperor Hirohito
Emperor Hirohito, the 124th Emperor of Japan
While experts argue that the treasure was a mere myth, two authors Sterling Seagrave and Peggy Seagrave, have written books to support the treasure’s existence. The Seagraves, both American historians, write in their book The Yamato Dynasty: The Secret History of Japan's Imperial Family (2000) and Gold Warriors: America's Secret Recovery of Yamashita's Gold (2003), that many who know the treasure’s whereabouts either died during the war or executed for war crimes in Allied courts. Yamashita himself was convicted of war crimes by the U.S. Army and then executed in the Philippines on February 1946.
Sterling and Peggy Seagrave
Sterling and Peggy Seagrave
movie Gold Warriors
In addition, the Seagraves also claimed that American Military Intelligence were well aware of the war loot prior to Yamashita’s execution. Knowing that a public demand for the loot’s whereabouts during a wartime trial would seem unfavorable to an international audience, the Seagraves argued that American operatives, lead by Edward Lansdale, colluded with Hirohito and other Japanese authorities to conceal the treasure’s existence and instead, use it to finance U.S. covert efforts during the Cold War.
Edward Geary Lansdale
Edward Geary Lansdale served as a U.S. Air Force officer in both the Office of Strategic Services and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
CIA
In March 1988, a major lawsuit in the state of Hawaii, U.S.A was filed by treasure hunter Rogelio Roxas against the president of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda Marcos. Roxas argued that he met the son of a former member of the Japanese army in Baguio City in 1961 that helped him map the location of the loot. Assisted by a man who was said to be Yamashita’s translator and interpreter, Roxas visited an underground chamber in Baguio City in 1971, where he claimed to have found Japanese remnants such as samurai swords, bayonets, and skeletal remains in Japanese uniforms. Digging deeper, he found a golden Buddha statue (estimated to have weighed 1,000 kilograms) along with stacked crates containing gold bars. Roxas claimed to have resealed the chamber until he was able to find out how to transport the crates and hid the statue at his home in Aurora Hill.
Rogelio Roxas
Ferdinand Marcos
Rogelio Roxas (left) and Ferdinand Marcos (right)
Shortly after this, Roxas noted, President Ferdinand Marcos learned of Roxas’ discovery and ordered him beaten and arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Criminal Investigation Service. The statue was also seized. In tangent, Marcos later called for martial law in the Philippines in 1962, further solidifying his power. When Roxas was freed in 1974, he went into hiding and later resurfaced to file his lawsuit in the United States. Although Roxas died a day before his trial in 1993 under suspicious circumstances, his family along with his company, The Golden Budha Corporation (created for the purpose of asserting his rights to the treasure) won the lawsuit three years later winning them $22 billion in compensatory damages, later increasing to $40 billion dollars after interest, then-largest judicial judgment ever awarded in history. 

However, in 1998, the Hawaii Supreme Court revoked its initial award, arguing that there was insufficient evidence of the overall treasure and instead, ordered a new hearing on the value of the Buddha statue itself and the 17 bars of gold hidden at Roxas’ home previously. Several years later, the final judgment was made against Imelda Marcos, (who, in 1992, claimed that the Yamashita treasure accounted for a majority of her husband’s wealth) and the family along with their estate was awarded $6 million dollars on account of human rights abuse. 
Rogelio Roxas
Ang Lihim ng Golden Buddha
Roxas’ story was made into a 1989 movie titled ‘Ang Lihim ng Golden Buddha’ starring Jestoni Alarcon.
Roxas’s story would be the closest event in history that historians have for the validation of the existence of Yamashita’s gold. Whether or not this story or anecdotes from anyone for that matter was the truth, the mystery behind a 74-year-old treasure has yet to be uncovered. For now, the story has adopted legendary status, putting it alongside the El Dorado the City of Gold and the Crown Jewels of England.
References:
  1. The Unredacted. “The Legend of Golden Lily: Yamashita's Gold.” Theunredacted.com, The Unredacted, 9 May 2018, theunredacted.com/the-legend-of-golden-lily-yamashitas-gold/.
  2. Seagrave, Sterling, and Peggy Seagrave. Gold warriors: America's secret recovery of Yamashita's gold. Verso, 2003.
  3. Seagrave, Sterling, and Peggy Seagrave. The Yamato dynasty: the secret history of Japan's imperial family. Random House Digital, Inc., 2001.
  4. "Supreme Court of Hawaii, Roxas v. Marcos, November 17, 1998". Uniset.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-26
  5. Cabreza, Vincent. “Yamashita Treasure' 70 Years After.” Inquirer News TRANSCRIPT Dutertes 2nd State of the Nation Address Comments, Inquirer News, September 8, 2015, newsinfo.inquirer.net/720070/yamashita-treasure-70-years-after.
  6. Press, From Associated. “Firm Awarded $22 Billion From Marcos Estate Over Stolen Treasure.”, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 1996, articles.latimes.com/1996-07-21/news/mn-26520_1_treasure-hunter.

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  • Home
    • About >
      • FAQ's - Frequently Asked Questions
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        • Presenting at 112th Annual Meeting of Pacific Coast Branch
        • Summer Research Relocation Fund
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      • Black Hearts (2021)
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    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute