So Do We Have A Sacred Treasure Or Not?

The Lush Greenery of MacRitchie Reservoir

I was in the office reading news off the net when I came across the following:

World War 2 relic found at Clementi Ave 1 construction site

Channel NewsAsia - Wednesday, March 4

SINGAPORE: There was plenty of police and military activity around Clementi Avenue 1 and Commonwealth Avenue West on Tuesday. The cause for the alarm was an unexploded World War 2 relic.

The war relic was discovered at about 6pm on Monday at a construction site near Block 411 Commonwealth Avenue West.

Experts from the Singapore Armed Forces said it was a Japanese aerial bomb dating from the Second World War.

Usually, when a war relic is discovered, it is taken to a military live firing range to be disposed of. But bomb disposal specialists decided it was actually safer to carry out the operation at the site itself this time around.

That was because the fuse had already been activated, so transporting the 50—kilogramme bomb could be risky.

To be safe, SAF personnel moved the relic to another part of the site, away from the residential block.

The plan was to cut open the relic’s steel casing and gently burn away the explosives. But in the process the bomb went off as planned at about 5:30pm. Fortunately sandbags ensured that no harm came about.

Earlier in the day, police had diverted traffic away from nearby Clementi Road and construction work on the site had to be halted.

Students from neighbouring NUS High School of Mathematics and Science were also asked to leave their campus as it was used as an operations base by the police.

Experts said war relics are a relatively common find in Singapore, but this was one of the rare occasions where a public disposal was necessary. The last occasion was in 2004. — CNA/vm

Ever since the Japanese Occupation in World War 2, people have been finding unexploded bombs and even skulls of individuals who died during the occupation in various parts of Singapore. To my knowledge, no one has ever been endangered by an unexploded bomb, although kids playing along Changi Beach may have been traumatized when they do unearth a cache of old skulls. Since an estimated 50 000 chinese men were led away and never seen again during the Occupation, I suppose that some of those skulls are still lying around somewhere.

Reading this article has reminded me of something that has circulated in the cyberways around Singapore for at least a few years now. Apparently, there are some who believe that there is a hidden treasure on this island, most likely from the time of the Japanese occupation. Now, mention treasure and the Japanese period in this region, and you will likely hear someone say "Yamashita's gold!" For those not familiar with local history. General Yamashita was the supreme commander of the Japanese army in these parts. Apparently, when they occupied the then Malaya and Singapore, the Japanese army confiscated lots of gold and valuable stuff from some of the rich Chinese families living in this region.

Now, this looted treasure has allegedly never been found and today is the source of the legend of Yamashita's gold. Treasure hunters have speculated that this treasure is likely hidden somewhere in Southeast Asia, and may likely be found wherever the Japanese were based, either in Singapore, Malaya or even in the seas off Philippines.

Now, most people, who have a passable knowledge of local/regional history have heard of Yamashita's gold. Sometimes, the occasional news report will pop up about intrepid treasure seekers who claim to have found the treasure. The last time that happened, was when Filipino fishermen pulled up something odd from the seabed off the coast of the Philippines. While it was NOT the fabled treasure, it was nevertheless a historic relic from the Second World War.

However, some 1 to 2 years back, I came across a claim of a fantastic treasure of great spiritual significance that might possibly be found on this island country. The source of the claim was from the then Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI)website. (They have since renamed themselves) The story of this claim can be read at the following URL:

The Ultimate Secret of Syonan Jinja

To cut a long story short, one of the guys from SPI was in Japan and chanced upon the son of an officer in the Japanese army in World War 2. This officer was allegedly in charge of building the Syonan Jinja, a shinto shrine that was constructed at a patch of land near the water of MacRitchie Reservoir during the Japanese Occupation (1942 - 45). In order to consecrate the land/shrine, the Japanese government allegedly had some precious artefact of great spiritual significance transported from Japan and it is supposedly burried under the shrine.

Now, bear in mind, even the SPI guy admits that the individual who told him this story had too much sake to drink. In addition, this enigmatic individual claims that the Japanese recognised Singapore as a land with spiritual potential and thus named it Shonan-to or Syonan-to (昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Island of the Light of the South" - source from Wikipedia article URL : Japanese Occupation of Singapore).

This artefact, apparently something that was bulky, was allegedly buried in the belief that when its power matured, it would bring the Japanese victory over the entire Asian region as far downwards as Australia and New Zealand. However, according to the informant, some shinto priests had warned that the artefact required a period of 20 years for the power to fully mature. Not heeding that warning the Japanese went ahead with their conquest. And you all know what happened after that.

Well, supposedly this same artefact is still today hidden somewhere in MacRitchie because the Japanese apparently didnt take it with them when they surrendered. It was probably because they didn't want it to fall into foreign hands.

So what IS this artefact? Well, some have speculated that it is a giant sized diamond... some kind of sacred rock... Others have said that it is a legendary rosary, possibly made of 72 diamonds. The last possiblity was based in part on the claim made by the informant. In his semi-drunken state, he mentions the "seed of the Amatsu Tatara ". The "Amatsu Tatara" is a term from a legend that originates with some kind of Japanese spiritual sect. I think it refers to some sacred scrolls, but interestingly, this legends does make mention of an ancient king who came from a faraway land (allegedly Babylonia) who brings with him a necklace of 72 jewels with fabulous mystic powers.

Now, based upon excavations by the local authorities, this shinto shrine actually existed because of the foundation stones and other stone sculptures that have been unearthed. However, there is no mention in the media at all of the finding of any fabulous treasure or diamond rosary or diamond anything.

It might be that the "bulky treasure" might just be some rock that looks really ordinary to the untrained eye. I've been to Japan a long time ago and have had the opportunity to visit some shrines. Some of the sacred rocks do actually look like...erm.... rocks.

Of course, if you are a conspiracy nut, you might be inclined to believe that "the Old Man" (Singaporeans, you know who I am talking about), had somehow found the treasure and its now in a very safe place, guarded by tons of security personnel.

If you don't believe the story which the SPI guy got from a drunk Japanese stranger... think about this... the stranger claimed that the object DOES take 20 years to "mature"... don't you think its pretty strange that exactly 20 years from the years marking the japanese occupation the following thing happened?

"... [Singapore] declared independence from Britain unilaterally in August 1963, before joining the Federation of Malaysia in September along with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak as the result of the 1962 Merger Referendum of Singapore. Singapore left the federation two years after heated ideological conflict between the state's PAP government and the federal Kuala Lumpur government. Singapore officially gained sovereignty on 9 August 1965. Yusof bin Ishak was sworn in as the first President of Singapore and Lee Kuan Yew remained prime minister."
taken from Wikipedia URL : Singapore

Now, assuming the Japanese took some time to build the shrine after driving the British from Singapore, the shrine itself would have been finished somewhere in 1943 and would have been in service till 1945... exactly 20 years later, Singapore became independent.

At that time, not even the "Old Man" believed Singapore could survive on its own. I think some of you might recall that archived footage of him announcing the independence of this country and he was crying. Well, it wasn't tears of joy... he himself admits in his biography that he was worried about the survival of this country. I mean this place has no natural resources and little land... the only thing it does have is people... too many in fact...

However, as we know it today, Singapore has become the financial, trade and travel hub in this region. Large part of the credit for this success has been attributed to its hardworking citizenry and efficient government. But... just think about it for a moment, how many small countries the size of Singapore ever gets to dominate the trade and finance on a regional basis? Monaco comes to mind, but I think it is more famous for its high class beaches and casinos than for its political, financial and commercial power.

Remember what the drunk stranger claimed... that the treasure will allow whoever owns it conquer the entire Asian region.

So is there any truth to this? Or is it just a myth? Honestly, I don't know. Despite my enthusiasm for anything magical or supernatural, I find myself at an impasse. I don't know whether I want this legend to be true or not. Part of me does, and part of me doesn't. I guess as a Singaporean, it is much nicer for me to think that our success is due to the tenacity of our people... and if we DO find a sacred treasure... well, its just icing on the top... I suppose it would be an object that would make a good tourist attraction... if the Japanese government doesn't want it back... heh