Paul L Murphy

Picture 2 shows the wings of a Showa period award. There are many small differences but the key difference to note is the position of the longest wing feather. On early awards, the third feather from the top is the longest feather. On later pieces the second feather from the top is the longest. This is what makes the earlier wings appear to droop. This is probably the most obvious difference between the two pieces.

The Order of the Golden Kite was imperial Japan?s highest award for military bravery. It could only be awarded to Japanese servicemen with the class of award based on the rank of the recipient. After April 1940 it was decreed that the order would only be granted posthumously until such time as Japan achieved victory in The Great East Asian War. Reference books regarding Japanese medals, in particular Peterson?s book Orders and Decorations of Japan and Associated States make reference to the fact that early examples of the Order of the Golden Kite have a kite with a more pronounced ?droop? in the wings. Unless you have compared various examples it can be difficult for the collector, especially the new collector, to determine which variety he holds. The intention of this thread is to point out a number of specific differences between the earlier Meiji/Taisho Golden Kites, and later pieces.

The first point that should be made is that the earlier awards are far scarcer than later pieces. In terms of numbers awarded, there were more posthumous awards made between 1940 and 1945 than in the history of the order up to that date.

Most of these awards were of the 7th class with the 5th class being the next most common. The 6th class was awarded to NCOs and is actually scarcer than the 5th class, which was normally awarded to junior officers. Unfortunately it is not possible to specify how many were awarded in each class since the records were destroyed in the bombing of Tokyo during the war.

Points to Note on 6th and 7th Class Orders

There are many small differences between the earlier and later Golden Kites but my intention here is to focus on three main differences which do not require the use of measuring equipment, or the need to memorise small differences in shape.

1) Wings

The description normally used to describe the earlier pieces is that they have a drooped wing. Picture 1 shows the wings of an early Meiji period 7th class award.

The exact date on all of these certificates is 29th April 1940. The lowest number certificate I have seen is 147,437 and the highest 3,201,849 and all were the same date. Also, the bravery and meritorious service awards handed out for the China Incident (ie. Golden Kite, Rising Sun and Sacred Treasure) were also given out on the same date of 29th April 1940. Hence, if you get a certificate with this date you can be pretty sure it is for this conflict.

Best regards,

Paul

The cut off date for this award is actually April 1940. All of the award certificates I have handled for this, and I must have handled over 100 of these, were awarded in April 1940. There were no awards made after that date as far as I am aware.

I think the Japanese considered the "Incident" over at that stage, then it became a straightforward occupation !

The photo shows it being worn by a policeman. I believe you had to be invalided out of the military in order to qualify for this. They are a lot more difficult to find than people realise. The sensho was for wounds received in action while the kosho was for sickness or ilness, eg. catching a good dose of malaria and dysentery while on active service and being medically discharged as a result !

Regards,

Paul

Some more comments to add, the small document is indeed a document appointing a Census Official in August 1940. The large document is a certificate of appreciation from the Imperial Time Expired Soldier's League in 1939. The first name on the small document is Chiyo which is a lady's name. On the large document the first name is different, I believe it is Hiraji but I may be wrong on the second character. In other words it is a husband and wife group.

None of these documents have anything to do with the Golden Kite and they do not include the normal titles that were used in the name of somebody who held an order. I suspect that the Golden Kite is not from this group, unless it was a posthumous award after 1940.

Regards,

Paul

The paper wrapper was used to protect the medal when it was sent from the Mint until it was presented. It is NOT a cheaper from of presentation despite what some dealers will try to tell you. It is a protective wrapper, that is all. They normally have the name of the medal written on them and the characters wil match the name on the award box lid, the written style of the characters may be a little different but the characters will be the same.

Laurence,

Send me a PM about getting a copy of my book "In the Name of a Living God" if you have not already got it. There is a whole chapter of these badges. The Patriotic Womens Association had 13 different national level member's badges and a whole range of branch level badges.

Once you have all of those you can start on the other female organisations ........... There is no end to it, isn't it wonderful !

Paul

This ribbon bar is a complete fabrication. The ribbons are the Order of the Auspicious Clouds, Order of the Golden Kite, China Incident War Medal (awarded 1940), Order of the Sacred Treasure, Medal for 2,600th Anniversary of Imperial Dynasty (awarded 1940), Taisho Enthronement Medal (awarded 1912), Manchurian Border Incident War Medal (1938) and Red Cross Members Medal. You sometimes come across bars like this that were made up with correct pieces but put together in impossible combinations.

It is a privately produced commemorative badge from July 1935.

Regards,

Paul

The 7th Class shown here is a Showa era award. I will post some earlier awards later (after I get home) which will enable you to see the difference between Showa and Meiji/Taisho pieces since the latter are much more scarce.

Regards,

Paul

Excellent thread. Just to add some comments .......

In Japan now anything below US$1,000 would be reasonable for an unboxed Sacred Treasure 2nd Class. You can find them cheaper in UK or US from time to time. For a boxed example it will depend on the period but a nice Meiji award could easily set you back US$2,000.

Regarding some of the earlier posts, the 6th class box shown in post 9 is a Showa era box. That shown in post 11, and the box in post 38, are Meiji/Taisho period boxes. Based on groups that I have had I think it correct to say the change of seal style was made in the late 1920's at about the same time as the change in reign.

On the subject of 7th class Rising Sun, you need to be aware that more recent post war 7th class orders are also only enamelled on the obverse, the reverse is silver.

Regards,

Paul

Bill,

There are two different types of waistcoat for this, a black one and a white one. I am fortunate in that I have both with my uniform. One way of keeping them which will stop further deterioration is to put them in a pawlonia wood box (kiribako). The wood acts like ceder and keeps away insects. Use some of the water absorbing packets for drawers & wardrobes that you can buy in the supermarkets in Japan in order to remove the humidity, but even with the box closed you will need to change it every two or three months.

Regards,

Paul

Yippee ! ! ! Now to do some serious posting.

Don,

It that lights your fuze stay away from Moscow or you will suffer from spontaneous combustion, especially in the summer !

Paul

I will try to post some more tonight, I will be at home babysitting !

Bill,

I already have one of the China Commemorative Medals, I bought one a number of years again in FJP's auctions. The Order of Culture is not illegal to own, I have seen two for sale in Japan quite openly. As with other Japanese orders it is the personal property of the recipient and they can do as they wish with it.

I will not disclose my best sources, they took me years to find ! However if you are in Tokyo at the right time Togo Jinja has a decent flea market with a few dealers (I think ti is the 1st, 4th and 5th Sunday each month). Also, in Kyoto they have a good market on the 1st Sunday and 21st and 25th of each month. The venues are Toji (the first two) and Kita-no-Tenmangu Shrine (the 25th).

Best regards,

Paul

Being a bank manager I never find it vulger to talk about money (which probably shows how vulger I am!). The Meiji 25th Wedding Anniversary is about US$700-800 in Japan and the Constitution Promulgation Medal is about US$850-1,000, depending on who has it. If you get them in the boxes of issue you can add about an extra US$300 and US$500 respectively.

For me the Holy Grail of the medals is an original Great East Asian War Medal, it is the only Japanese medal I do not have. Others that are very rare are the 1874 War Medal (in Japan they fetch about US$4,500 now so I was very pleased to get the one in FJPs last auction) and the China Incident Commemorative Medal (this is the one with the design of cherry blossoms on the front that was given to collaborators). The latter is particularly difficult to find (I will post a pic at some stage).

Regards,

Paul

Two questions, firstly how come he did not have a rhomb from the Frunze Academy ? Was he on a lower level course and hence not eligible for one of the white higher academy badges ?

Secondly, I thought that veterans who had been awarded decorations received a 1st class OGPW in 1985, but he has the 2nd class. This is not the first time I have seen this, which seems to go against the written regulations. Anybody able to shed some light on that ?

Regards,

Paul

ps. Beautiful group, it would look wonderful in my collection !

Steen,

There is a book published in Japan (and in Japanese) called "Nippon Rikugun Shokan Jiten". There is also a list of admirals called "Nippon Kaigun Shokan Jiten". The ISBN number of the army book is 4-8295-0273-8 and for the naval book is 4-8295-0272-x. They are entirely in Japanese so unless you can read that language they would be of no value to you. The admirals' list is 421 pages and the generals' is 817 so getting it translated is not an option.

Best regards,

Paul

I have always found the different 3rd Reich police units to be very confusing, this post is clearer and more precise than most books on the subject. Excellent.

Hi Bill,

Many thanks for the compliments, you are making me blush !

Regarding cloth, I only dabble in it. I like the full dress uniforms but that is about as far as it goes. Apart from the general's I also have a very nice dress uniform for an ambassador level diplomat (covered in embroidered pawlonia leaves) and a nobleman's court uniform. They are very impressive and rare. I also have a few other army officer full dress uniforms and one naval full dress uniform. Unless I come across something else unusual my cloth collection is pretty much as big as it is going to get.

There are still a few Japanese orders I do not have which I need to add so they, and the various certificates I am still chasing, will blow my budget for the next few years !

Cheers,

Paul

Bill,

As a foreigner living in Japan you are allowed to own the type of sword that went with these full dress uniforms. The ban on sword ownership only relates to swords with a hand forged blade since that is how a sword is defined in the Japanese civil code. The parade swords that went with these uniforms have a blunt machine made blade and do not fall within the ban. I have purchased a number of them in Japan, for company and field grade officers, and brought them out of the country (including customs checks) with no problems at all.

This is an excellent example of the uniform, I have one in my own collection and it is one of my favourite pieces. Given how attractive they are I never understood why they were not more popular. Still I suppose that leaves more for the likes of you and me !

Regards,

Paul

Another recent purchase, the Excellent Worker badge of the Ministry of Culture. It is heavy bronze and paint pinback badge and mintmarked on the reverse.

Alexandre,

The rank of Field Marshal did not exist in Japan, it was an honorary appointment. It was bestoyed 32 times, 31 on Japanese and once to a foreigner (Lord Kitchener). There was no baton but the awardee received a badge and a sword. I do not have a photo of the sword but I have posted a photo of the badge in my collector's showcase within this forum.

Best regards,

Paul