No one

Dear Gentlemen, "...the horseshoe is irritating or confusing..." Why? A 100% Japanese horseshoe: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, There is a 1st class, a 2nd class and a 3rd class all with "grand cordon". - 1st class: - 2nd class 【Great Dane's picture】 - 3rd class: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, If I may: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Aniki, Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, There is a new decree (May 3, 2021): Décret n° 2021-547 du 3 mai 2021 modifiant diverses dispositions du code de l'éducation relatives aux Palmes académiques Decree No. 2021-547 of May 3, 2021 amending various provisions of the Education Code relating to Academic Palms Décret n° 2021-547 du 3 mai 2021 modifiant diverses dispositions du code de l'éducation relatives aux Palmes académiques - Légifrance (legifrance.gouv.fr) Translation of the "Section 2": - The knight's cross consists of a double palm of 35 mm in silver, enameled in purple, suspended from a purple moire ribbon of 37 mm in width. - The officer's cross consists of a 35 mm double palm in gold, enameled in purple, suspended from a 37 mm wide purple moiré ribbon with rosette. - The Commander's Cross, whose palms are 60 mm, in gold, enameled in purple, is suspended from a purple moiré tie; the palms are surmounted by a crown formed by two small palms. - The ribbon may be worn without decoration. Officers wear a rosette. Commanders wear a rosette placed on a silver lace. Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, A few postcards, photos, drawings, depicting the native units of French Somaliland (lit. 'French Coast of the Somalis') and their insignias. September 1900 creation of an Indigenous Rural Militia, a Meharist platoon was set up in 1928. Later called Militia of the French Somali Coast / Milice de la Côte Française des Somalis: - 1913 Garde Indigène : - 1916 Brigade Indigène: -1931~1937 Militia: - 1939 Meharists: - 1959 -11-11: The insignias: - Milice CFS type I Arthus Bertrand: - Milice CFS type II Arthus Bertrand: - Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment of the French Somali Coast / Régiment de Tirailleurs Sénégalais de la Côte Française des Somalis: - 1919 Tirailleurs Sénégalais : - 1939: - 193?: The insignia: - RTS CFS Drago Paris 25 r. Béranger: - 1942 creation of the Bataillon de Marche 24 which joined the Free French: - BM 24 Augis: Military Identification Tags (I do not like "dog tag") / Plaques d'identité militaire: - Fareh Issa: In the Official Journal of April 30, 1930, mention is made of Fareh Issa, sergeant, number 66, 1st Mixed Regiment of Madagascar, in the table of advancement for the year 1930 to the rank of warrant officer (adjudant in French). He was appointed to the rank of warrant officer by ministerial decision on 30 September, effective 1 October 1930. In the 1937 Official Bulletin of the Colonial Office, there is a man named Fareh Issa, warrant officer of the Senegalese Tirailleurs Regiment of the French Somali Coast, appointed to the Order of the Star of Anjuan at the rank of knight. - Hussein Direh: Born the 1st January 1915. Engagement in Free France on August 1, 1942 at the Bataillon de Marche 21. Grade reached during the war: sergeant. Yours sincerely, No none

Dear Gentlemen, Here is the patch of the "Thu Duc Reserve Officer School". On July 1,1963, the school was renamed "Thu Duc Infantry School". Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, Very beautiful First class Order of the Sacred Treasure! Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, " Regarding the red stamped surname Iwaki, I assume that is the surname of the official (?) who actually certified that this was medal No. 4261. " Yes, I think so. This seal is the equivalent of a signature and makes the text official. As for the last kanji "𭈹" it is more often/commonly written "號". Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, It's only in 1955 that the "Palmes Académiques" became an order. Prior 1955 it was called "Palmes Universitaires and/ or Palmes Académiques". Interesting reading: Ordre des Palmes académiques - Wikipedia Translation of part the French page (Ordre des Palmes académiques — Wikipédia (wikipedia.org)😞 "The insignia of this order have evolved over time: Originally, the badge represented an olive branch and a laurel branch intertwined. The laurel branch is reminiscent of the laurel wreath worn by victors in Antiquity, but also by poets; as for the olive branch, it evokes peace, but the winners of the ancient Olympic Games also wore an olive crown: -under the First Empire (1808), the palms are woven in purple thread on a black felt background about 10 cm high, sewn onto the robes of professors of imperial and then royal universities (three variants listed); - under the Second Empire, the palms are woven on a ribbon of black or purple moire — which still earns them their name of purple decoration and in the order that of the purple Legion — about 5 cm high, many variants exist ; they are in silver or gold wire for officers of public instruction and in polychrome wire for academy officers; from 1866 the palms were made of metal and suspended from a plain purple ribbon for Academy officers and a ribbon with a rosette for Officers of Public Instruction. They are then in silver for the officers of the academy and in vermeil, even in gold, for the officers of public instruction. Generally the olives are represented in red enamel, more rarely in green enamel. - under the Third Republic, the model adopted in 1866 was maintained. Since 1955, the badge has been made up of two identical branches, rather laurel (the olives have disappeared), based on a model designed by Raymond Subes. The ranks of knight, officer and commander were then created: - knight's insignia are usually silver (sometimes bronze or silver vulgar metal) suspended from a plain purple ribbon; - officer's insignia are generally in vermeil (more rarely in gold or even in bronze or vulgar gold metal) suspended from a purple ribbon fitted with a rosette; - Commander's insignia are generally in vermeil (more rarely in gold or even in bronze or vulgar gold metal) suspended from a tie worn around the neck." Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, First, all informations and drawings are from "The National Archives Collection / 国立公文書館蔵 / Kokuritsu kōbunsho kanzō". "I assume that the five banners and staffs referenced in your post above were not specific to the Emperor Taisho, but I do assume that the were specific to, and used only for, the Emperor. Is my assumption correct?" Actually, those banners posted above were specific to Taishō. The banners used for Shōwa were identical, but with minor design modifications. "Where might I go to learn more about the history and use of the five banners/staffs?" As mention above here: "The National Archives Collection / 国立公文書館蔵 / Kokuritsu kōbunsho kanzō". Let's try a shorten history (I join the links). It's the 42nd Emperor, Emperor Monmu (文武天皇 もんむてんのう 697–707) who seems to have introduced them. These were heavily influenced by the symbols used by the Chinese emperors and Bouddhism. They were used without any change in shape until the reign of Emperor Komei. 礼儀類典図会 2巻 - NDL Digital Collections At the time of Emperor Meiji's accession to the throne, an attempt was made to abolish Chinese-origin decorations in response to the Restoration of Imperial Rule, and to restore traditional Japanese designs. ４高御座幣旗等図 (archives.go.jp) Here, Boshin Gosokui zakki fuzu (archives.go.jp) , you can see the Meiji celebration image 3 (one click) and image 7 one of his predecessor. At the Heisei Enthronement Ceremony (1990), with the separation of state and religion, the designs derived from Shinto were removed. The sweetfish and jar that had been in Banzai ban disappeared and the two birds of Shinto origin were replaced with gold chrysanthemum crests. The banners used for Reiwa were identical. Wikipedia: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, The medal issued for women: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, Thank you, it a pleasure to share knowledge. Here is another medal on this subject, and it's both attractive and well-crafted. The purpose of the event was to commemorate the ceremonies that were held at Ueno Park, where the people could acclaim the new emperor Taishō. On this medal one can see two other banners shown above. Here is a postcard of the entrance: 都市・東京の記憶_御大禮記念國産振興東京博覽會繪葉書_上野公園入口誘導塔 (tokyo.lg.jp) Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracyA, As for the staffs, as there are five banners (旛 / ban) there are five staff, one staff specific for each banner: ・霊鵄形大錦旛 / Reishi Keidai Kinban = A golden kite that saved Emperor Jimmu with a flash of light. ・月像纛旛 / Gesshō Tōban = moon embroidered on white brocade ・萬歳旛 / Banzai ban = 5 sweetfish, Itsuhe, and the word “banzai” ・日像纛旛 / Nisshō Tōban = The sun embroidered on red brocade. ・頭八咫烏形大錦旛 / Yatagarasu Daikinban = The Yatagarasu that guided Emperor Jinmu to Kashihara in Yamato. Yours sincerly, No one

Dear TracA, - The fishes are " ayu / 鮎 / アユ / sweetfish": Ayu sweetfish - Wikipedia - The jug is " itsuhe / 厳瓮 / いつへ": a sacred bottle for libation. The story linking both: The fish ayu is written as "ayu" in Chinese characters, which means "catfish" in Chinese. "Ayu" is a Chinese character created in Japan and literally means "fortune-telling fish". In the Nihon Shoki, fish that are thought to be ayu often appear. In Nihon Shoki, there is a famous scene of ayu fishing. "Emperor Jinmu performed fortune-telling on the Nyu River in present-day Nara Prefecture. When he made a jar called "Itsuhe" out of the soil of Mt. Tenkogu and declared, "If I submerge this jar in the river and large and small fish float on the surface of the river, I can rule this country" then the ayu emerged. There was alcohol in it, which means that the fish got drunk." Thus, in Japan mythology, ayu and sake jars have a very great meaning. In fact, in the past, when the emperor ascended to the throne, this pattern was drawn on the banner (旛 = ban) that was displayed. Yours sincerely, No one

Dear TracA, Here is a small medal related to the this topic. On the reverse the Three Sacred Treasures and on the obverse a poem written by Hiromichi Takatsukasa " Hōso Mukyō". (I leave it to members to interpret) Takatsukasa Hiromichi - Wikipedia The Japanese page is more explicit : 鷹司煕通 - Wikipedia Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, Some maps to illustrate: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, A badge of the sect "Hòa Hảo" (based on Buddhism) " Q.Đ.’N.T.T.' / Quân Đội 'Nguyễn Trung Trực' / Army of 'Nguyễn Trung Trực' " . Hòa Hảo - Wikipedia Nguyễn Trung Trực - Wikipedia Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Tracy and Farkas, Thank you. Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, Presentation of the insignia of the Thủ Đức Reserve Officers School / Trường Sĩ quan Trừ bị Thủ Đức (École d’Officiers de Réserve de Thủ Đức 1951~1955): The three flames represent the three "Kỳ / 圻" (provinces / "Bắc Kì 北圻 Tonkin - Trung Kì 中圻 Annam - Nam Kì 南圻 Cochinchina”) and the dragon the ancient coat of arms of Vietnam (Annam). - the miniature: - both: It became later on the "Trường Bộ binh Thủ Đức / Thủ Đức Military Academy". Keeping the same insignia but slightly modified. Thủ Đức Military Academy - Wikipedia - Thủ Đức (Northeast of Saigon): Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, Creation around 1952 of the Corps of Female Assistants to the General Staff of the Vietnamese Armed Forces. The bird is a phoenix (feminine entity). In the 1960s, the Women's Armed Forces Corps (WAFC) of the Republic of Vietnam (South), would modify this badge. The ecu will be simplified, green background and without inscription. Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, If I may: Yours sincerely, No one

Dear Gentlemen, "La Monnaie de Paris - Boutique en ligne officielle" still called it "Insigne des blessés militaires". Insigne des blessés militaires Ordonnance | Monnaie de Paris Yours sincerely, No one

Dear 100yardsovertherim, You are welcome! Yours sincerely, No one