fukuoka

Wow to the first medal… Both item and final price...

Very desirable badge! Worth a few dollars...

Very desirable badge! Worth a few dollars...

A bit more info and other badges shown here: http://imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/armamentsbadge.html

The kanji in question is 白 (shiro), which means 'white' as in the white kiri leaves. Hard to read because it is stylized. On the second case shown, it is the top kanji on the second column from the right. Best, Rich

Related badges here: http://imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/navalinstitute.html

The medal is not always on display at the Shuseikan. I made a special trip down there thinking it was part of the permanent display, but they only had a photo. I asked to see the original (there were no other visitors at that time), but the lady told me it was 'difficult,' which means impossible in Japan.

Otani Buddhist organization badge. Check Wikipedia for Otani info. Best, Rich

'South Korea Hwarang Military Merit Medal.' Hwarang: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwarang Sorry but I know nothing about this medal. Just translated as I see it. I may be in error. If I am correct, this would date after 1948.

Cheers. Thanks for the kind words. Best, Rich

Check out my medals website. Lots of good pictures and assorted info throughout the site. The newsletters were pdf files and they are sold in my website store. http://imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com

There were three main private manufacturers of the orders up until 1929: Hirata Haruyuki (平田春行) Namikawa Sousuke (濤川惣助) Ohki Souho (大木宗保) The 'na' hallmark most likely belonged to Namikawa. If you have my medals newsletter of 2012, I wrote about this in issue #7 and included a short bio of Namikawa.

I can only speculate, but I think you're right. Not just the actual drafters of the document, but possibly extending to anyone on the team, so to speak.

In commemoration of the new 1947 National Constitution. Nice find! The constitution was officially approved in 1947, but it was drafted earlier. I wonder who would've received this… Because of the inscription, we can be sure that this would not have been awarded under the Medals of Honor system as I mentioned earlier. WIKIPEDIA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Japan

The imperial mum cups (both silver and wood) as well as the kiri leaves cups were officially awarded in the Medals of Honor category. There were 5 sizes of silver mum cups, and sets of 3 as well as single cups were given. Many specific details are in my ebook on Medals of Honor (shameless plug). Here is a section detailing some who received the silver mum cups: 1 Someone who has exhibited long years of public service, but has done nothing extraordinary that would merit a medal. For example, one who has been a priest in a temple for many years, one who has been involved in education for a long time, etc. 2 Someone who has received a medal and then done something afterwards that was distinguished but not special enough to warrant a step in rank to the next higher medal. 3 Someone who was involved in a special event. For example, Olympic gold medalists and Nobel Prize winners will receive a silver cup award. In addition, people involved in the contruction of major public projects (dams, bridges, tunnels, etc) often receive silver cups upon completion.