My Jpn Badge Treasure: The Bukosho (medal for bravery)

[kaigunair]

This is my first post here, and as jpn awards and badges are not my primary collecting area, please be kind . I've been thorougly enjoying this forum for the past few months, getting to see a Marshall's Badge and a Formosa Expedition medal, as well as bunch of high orders I've never known about. Though not in the same league, this is was my first japanese badge/medal which I figured would be "worthy" to post up. I am very grateful to have been able to pick it up.

This is the B-class bukosho award. I've been scouring the internet for info, but it seems it few and far between. I've also gotten some slack on another forum for referring to this as a japanese medal of honor, but I've heard that attached to this medal also. Per Henry Sakaida's research, the records for the bukosho were destroyed at the end of the war, but he was able to confirm that many pilots had received this. As I'm primarily a collector of japanese flight gear, this was my interest in this particular medal/award.

I'm not even sure if I should be calling this a medal or an award or a badge. Construction-wise, to my untrained eye, it looks closer to naval proficiency badges than army ones based on the rear catch, although it was primarily awarded to army personnel. Anyone know who produced this badge (was it a private manufacturer or the gov't)? The marshall badge's catch is closer, but definately in a totally different class. My example does react to a magnet, and when I handle it, I do get a very distinct metal smell on my hands. I've read that the center part should be silver colored with the kanji in gold. I'm thinking silver-coated area in mine has tarnished with age, hence it blends in with the kanji. Based on the quality of the strike, mine is also probably a later strike. The rear also has slight traces of certain vertical lines, which seems to be shared by many of the known bukosho examples. I don't have an original box for mine.

Well, looking forward to your comments. Anyone know of anything written in japan about it?

[Dieter3]

Cool! My only area of interest is actually Japanese medals and orders, I don't think I have time, space, or money to collect a wider variety of items like the one you have - but I definitely like seeing what other people have and enjoy collecting. I did find this on another website:

http://cb1198f.web.infoseek.co.jp/bg.htm

Scroll down towards the bottom and you'll see your item pictured and discussed there. The black and white picture seems to depict the two classes. The text below the color picture seems to depict a "copy" - whatever a copy might be - no clue as to the background or details of such copies or why they were made. The bottom picture of text is from the Asahi newspaper and does discuss the award but is beyond my capacity to otherwise read or explain. Looks like the award was created in Showa 19. Interested to see what others come up with or if somebody can translate the newspaper item.

[kaigunair]

Cool! My only area of interest is actually Japanese medals and orders, I don't think I have time, space, or money to collect a wider variety of items like the one you have - but I definitely like seeing what other people have and enjoy collecting. I did find this on another website:

Thanks Dieter3. I've actually seen that website. I've been trying to find a clearer picture of that copy, but no one seems to have one. I've seen what a current reproduction looks like: it this very very shiny finish, and it is marked on the underside of the catch with big kanji indicating it is a reproduction. If any one had any copies or reproductions for sale, I'd love to buy it for reference.

I'm guessing from your post that this doesn't appear to fall either into the Medal or Order category. However, I know that certificates were issued to soldiers who received the buko chosho. Both the pre-printed type, as well as full hand written version. In the OMSA, it is listed in the "badges" section, but is labeled as the Distinguished Military Service Medal. I'm alittle confused as this is a new area to me, but would appreciate it if someone could explain what make one a medal vs a badge vs an order.

Thanks in advance.

Edited June 1, 2009 by kaigunair

[Dieter3]

Yeah, I'm pretty clueless on these items. Hopefully somebody else can chime in on this. That article we've both seen is a bit tough to read - have you tried contacting the owner of that website??

[kaigunair]

Just in case anyone is interested, here's an example of a handwritten certificate for a bukosho award. It was issued for actions during the battle of mindanao in the philippines. Unlike most of the ones I've read about, this wasn't issued to an aviator. Seems like a great example of a field award. Issued only 15 days before the war ended. I've been told there was a printed version, so any pics of that would be much appreciated.