TracA

Hi Farkas, Yours is a wonderful example. I also collect ancient Greek coins of the Thessalian city of Larissa and the condition of your medal reminds me of a numismatic phrase which I believe is applicable here: “honest wear”. Sadly I have no experience with detecting fakes but since this medal is, I believe, quite common, I would assume that there wouldn’t be much profit in producing fakes. I chalk up the “blobbiness” of the fish on your medal to worn dies. Always nice to keep together medals and such that you acquire together. All the best, Tracy

No One, Thank you for the post! What a great medal, especially since it wholly reproduces the banners from the obverse of the Taisho Enthronement Commemorative Medal. Also, very interesting poem. All the best, Tracy

I just picked-up an Order of the Sacred Treasure 7th Class with the mintmark M. Known time coordinates for this mark of the Japanese mint are March 1930 to April 1943. See Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/mark-m-on-japanese-orders-and-medals-who-and-when.14818/. I’m pretty sure that my decoration, case, and button rosette are a “Frankenstein”. The color of the rosette is a pale light blue while the ribbon color is a grayish white. The real clincher is the fact that the case does not have a clasp; it is spring loaded. The case also does not appear to be made of wood. It feels like plastic (bakelite?) and when I let it snap shut it sounds like plastic instead of wood. I believe that such cases were certainly not produced during the 1930s to the early 1940s. I note that the beveled edge on the lid of this case is much higher than all of the other cases with clasps that I own. Question: any known time coordinates for spring loaded cases? Nonetheless, the decoration is very pleasing to the eye, with a nice patina and with the gilt color inside the seal script kanji on the reverse intact. Enjoy. Tracy Obverse with button rosette: Reverse. My cell phone camera and the lighting fail to reveal the beautiful patina. In the photo below it just looks dark: Close up of the M mintmark: The case lid. Note the absence of a clasp on the bottom edge of the case:

Here we have a Taisho Enthronement Commemorative Medal. I believe that this medal is somewhat or fairly common. The simple description, per Peterson 3rd edition p. 56 and Rich Catalano’s The Imperial Ordinances for War and Commemorative Medals of Japan and Manchukuo (4th edition) p. 54, is as follows: The medal is 30mm in diameter, of silver color. The ribbon is 37mm of watered silk, a white background with a 12mm red stripe down the center and a 2mm red stripe 3mm from each edge. Peterson p. 56 states that “[i]t was designed from the drapes of the outdoor pavilion used in the Ceremonies.” The obverse design has a gilt Imperial chrysanthemum crest, attached as a separate piece, crossed branches of cherry and tachibana blossoms, two long Imperial banners, five fish above a water jug/vase at the top of each banner, and in the background two crossed staffs (?) [neither Peterson nor Catalano note the fish, water jug/vase, or staffs]. Reverse design: inscription only. Obverse inscription: under the water jug/vase on each banner are the kanji 萬歳 for “Banzai”. Reverse inscription: 12 kanji in four rows of two, three, four, and three (from right to left): 禮大 章念記 年四正大 月一十 for “Enthronement Commemorative Medal Taisho 4 [1915] November”. The simple box is made of wood with a gilt inscription on the lid: 大禮記念章 for “Enthronement Commemorative Medal”. The medalbed is recessed and of blue color. I have no idea if Catalano translated the entire Imperial Ordinance establishing this medal. If he did, then there is no mention of the fish, water jug/vase, or staffs. Some questions: Could it be that the five fish are meant to represent koi? What could be the meaning of the water jug/vase, if there is any? Meaning of the staffs, if any? If the fish water jug/vase, and staffs were not specified in the Imperial Ordinance, then I wonder how and why the designer of the medal came to include them. I find it to be an aesthetically pleasing medal. A bonus for me: my medal box came with a handwritten inscription on the bottom. All the best, Tracy Obverse: Close-up of the fish and water jug/vase: Reverse: Box lid: Inscription on the bottom of the box: right column is 大正五年三月六日 for “Taisho 5 [1916], March 6”. Left column is 陸軍少尉豊田徳市 for “Army Second Lieutenant Toyoda Tokuichi”

No One, Another great post. Your collection, knowledge, and language skills are amazing. All the best, Tracy

My final installment on this thread, for now, although I don’t think that I will obtain the highest two Post-2003 Reform OSTs anytime soon: The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. Formally the 3rd class in the pre-reform orders. The cravat is approximately 35mm wide with a 4mm gold stripe that is 3mm from each ribbon edge. I am not sure what the color is officially, but to me it looks like cornflower blue. The fastener has not changed. The central design is per the pre-reform medal: rays are enameled white, paste jewels and their connecting lines are red (not enameled; red glass?), and the mirror is polished silver on a dark blue enameled background. All other medal surfaces are gilt; nothing is silver in color. The width of the medal is approximately 55mm and given the new suspension the length is now approximately 78mm from the top of the 12h paulownia flower to the tip of either of the longest bottom two rays. The new suspension appears to be the same one used on the post-reform Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette and up, the only difference being the color of the enamel on the obverse leaves and flower stems. On the OST Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon the three paulownia leaves and flower stems are enameled white. The leaf veins are gilt. The configuration of the flowers is a 5, 7, 5 pattern and they are enameled light purple. The gilt colored medal fills in the spaces between the leaves and the stems. The entire reverse is gilt with a sandblasted looking finish. At approximately the midway point on the 3h and 9h arms is a phillips head screw, fasteners for the two piece construction. Like the pre-reform pieces, the four “order of merit” characters are arranged in a square in the center of the badge. Their recesses are gilt. The reverse of the leaves and flowers suspension device is flat and featureless; there is no detailed representation of the flowers and stems. My example has the hallmark E6 stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h. As of July 31, 2023 this hallmark is not listed on the wonderful Medals of Asia website at https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/. The case is lacquered black and, I assume, constructed of wood. There is no damage to the lacquer through which I can see the case material. However, given that the case for the Silver Rays is made of wood I would find it odd if the case for a higher award were not made of the same. The approximate dimensions of the case are: 85mm wide by 135mm long by 37mm high. The top and bottom are joined by a silver colored hinge at the back, fully visible when the lid is open. The hinge is fastened to the top and bottom of the case by three phillips head screws on each side. The lid is secured shut by a pin-and-hole silver clasp with a circle-next-to-circle design (pebbly?) bordered by a smooth edge, and the hinge plate for the clasp is of the same design. The inside top is of a purple colored satin like material, and the medalbed, recessed in the outline of the medal, is a purple colored velvet like material. The medalbed is hinged and lifts upwards for cravat storage. The button lapel rosette is the color of the cravat. It has eight pleats emanating from the center and a single gold circular stripe approximately halfway between the center and the edge of the rosette. There is a rectangular base of 10 textured rows colored very pale yellow or gold. Obverse with the cravat and the rosette: Reverse (an E6 hallmark is stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h): Close-up of the rosette: Lacquered case lid with the script 瑞寶中綬章, Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon: Detail of the lid clasp:

My third installment on this thread: The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette. Formally the 4th class in the pre-reform orders. The triangular ribbon shape on my example is approximately 45mm at its widest part by 42mm long. The ribbon color looks like cornflower blue, but I have no idea what it is officially. 3mm from each ribbon edge is a 4mm gold stripe. Affixed to the front of the ribbon is a 22mm rosette of ribbon color with 10 pleats radiating out from the center, a circular gold stripe around the center, and another circular gold stripe 1mm from the outer edge. The central design is per the pre-reform medal: the rays are enameled white, the paste jewels and their connecting lines are red (not enameled, but red glass?), and the mirror is polished silver on a dark blue enameled background. All other medal surfaces are gilt; nothing is silver in color. Like the pre-reform medal, the width of the new medal is approximately 46mm from ray tip to ray tip. Since the post-reform medal has a new suspension the length is now approximately 67mm from the top of the 12h paulownia flower to the tip of either of the longest bottom two rays. The new suspension appears to be the same one used on the post-reform Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette and up, the only difference being the color of the enamel on the obverse leaves and flower stems. On the OST Gold Rays with Rosette the three paulownia leaves and flower stems are enameled white and the leaves have gilt veins. The flowers are in a 5, 7, 5 configuration and are enameled light purple. The gilt colored medal fills in the spaces between the leaves and the stems. The piece on the suspension through which is threaded the metal ring attaching the ribbon is now shaped like a puck. The entire reverse is gilt with a sandblasted looking finish. At approximately the midway point of the 3h and 9h arms is a phillips head screw, fasteners for the two piece construction. Like the pre-reform pieces, the four “order of merit” characters are arranged in a square in the center of the badge. Their recesses are, of course, gilt. The reverse of the leaves and flowers suspension device is flat and featureless; there is no detailed representation of the flowers and stems. My example has the hallmark BZ stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h. As of July 29, 2023 this hallmark is not listed on the wonderful Medals of Asia website at https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/. The case is lacquered black and I assume that it is made of wood. Given that the case for the Silver Rays is made of wood I would find it odd if the case for a higher award were not made of the same material. The dimensions of the case are as follows: approximately 65mm wide by 130mm long by 30mm high. The top and bottom are joined by a silver colored hinge at the back, fully visible when the lid is open, and the hinge is secured to the top and bottom of the case by three phillips head screws on each side. The lid is secured shut by a pin-and-hole silver clasp with a circle-next-to-circle design bordered by a smooth edge (see above OST Silver Rays for a picture). The inside top is of a purple colored satin like material, and the medalbed, recessed in the outline of the medal, is a purple colored velvet like material. My example did not come with a button lapel rosette. However, zooming in on the picture of this order on the Wikipedia OST page it appears that the rosette is the same color as the ribbon, has eight “pleats” emanating from the center, and two circular gold stripes on the pleats: one around the center and one probably about 1mm from the edge. Obverse: Reverse (BZ hallmark is stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h): Lacquered case lid with the script 瑞寶小綬章, Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold Rays with Rosette (or Order of the Sacred Treasure, Small Ribbon?):

The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays. Formally the 5th class in the pre-reform orders. The triangular ribbon shape has been retained and on my example it is approximately 46mm (at its widest part) by 39mm long. Although I have no idea what the official color is, to me it looks like cornflower blue. There is a 4mm gold stripe that is 3mm from each edge on the ribbon. The central design is per the pre-reform medal: the rays are enameled white, the paste jewels and their connecting lines are red (not enameled, red glass?), and the mirror is polished silver on a dark blue enameled background. The front and side surfaces of the beaded inner and double raised outer rings, attachment to the paulownia leaf suspension, as well as the 12 short rays are all in gilt. The front outline and side surfaces of both the eight longest rays as well as the red jewels and their red connecting lines are in silver. Like the pre-reform medal, the width of the new medal is approximately 45mm from ray tip to ray tip. However, because the post-reform medal has a new suspension the length is approximately 64mm from the top of the 12h paulownia flower to the tip of either of the longest bottom two rays. The new suspension appears to be the same one used on the post-reform Order of the Rising Sun, the only difference being the color of the enamel on the obverse leaves and flower stems. On the OST Gold and Silver Rays the three paulownia leaves and flower stems are enameled white and the leaves have silver veins. The flowers are in a 3, 5, 3 configuration and are enameled light purple. Unlike the OST Silver Rays on which the silver colored medal fills in between them and the stems, on the Gold and Silver rays this fill-in is a blue enamel matching the color of the ribbon. The piece on the suspension through which is threaded the metal ring attaching the ribbon is now shaped like a puck. The entire reverse is silver with a sandblasted looking finish. At approximately the midway point of the 3h and 9h arms is a phillips head screw, obviously fasteners for the two piece construction. Like the pre-reform pieces, the four “order of merit” characters are arranged in a square in the center of the badge and their recesses are gilt. The reverse of the leaves and flowers suspension device is flat and featureless; there is no detailed representation of the flowers and stems. This is just like the reverse of the suspension device of the post-reform Orders of the Rising Sun. My example has the hallmark F5 stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h. As of July 29, 2023 this hallmark is not listed on the wonderful Medals of Asia website at https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/. The case in my example is lacquered black and I assume that it is made of wood. Unlike my OST Silver Rays, there is no damage through which the case material shows itself. However, given that the case for the Silver Rays is made of wood I would find it odd if the case for a higher award were not made of wood. The dimensions of the case are as follows: approximately 65mm wide by 130mm long by 30mm high. The top and bottom are joined by a silver colored hinge at the back, fully visible when the lid is open, and the hinge is secured to the top and bottom of the case by three phillips head screws each. The lid is secured shut by a pin-and-hole silver clasp with a circle-next-to-circle design bordered by a smooth edge (see above OST Silver Rays for a picture). The inside top is of a purple colored satin like material, and the medalbed, recessed in the outline of the medal, is a purple colored velvet like material. The round rosette is of the same colors as the ribbon, blue with eight gold stripes radiating from the center. There is no hallmark on the metal portion of it. Obverse with rosette: Reverse (the F5 hallmark is stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h): Lacquered case lid with the script 瑞寶双光章, Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold and Silver Rays:

I have seen many great Post-2003 Reform OSTs peppered throughout this forum, but I wanted to sort of bring them together under a single thread. My reason is to provide, to the best of my ability, detailed descriptions; measurements; etc. of these pieces. In this sense I hope to build on Nyle Monday’s “Recent Reforms in the Japanese Honor System” from 2005 (Journal of the Orders and Medals Society of America Vol. 56, No. 6), an article written 18 years ago and before he had the chance to examine in hand any of the Post-2003 Reform orders. His article can be found here: http://www.omsa.org/files/jomsa_arch/Splits/2005/387105_JOMSA_Vol56_6_25.pdf. I won't bother with a detailed description of the “core” part of the Post-2003 Reform OSTs that were carried over from the pre-2003 orders, as such a description is easily available in either Peterson’s Orders and Medals of Japan and Associated States, Third Edition or Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Sacred_Treasure. I will, however, have a thing or two to say about the lacquered cases. A note about the Wikipedia article: the article states that the OST represents all three of the Imperial treasures: Yata mirror, Yasakani jewel, and the grass cutting sword. The article claims that the enameled white rays represent the sword. This assertion is repeated on some other websites discussing the OST. Perhaps the author of this section of the Wikipedia article assumes (1) that the OST must by necessity represent all three of the Imperial Regalia instead of just two and (2) that the white enameled rays obviously represent the sword because the rays end in a point, like a sword would. This is the first time that I have seen such an assertion. On page 34 of the third edition of his book Peterson quotes from the Imperial Edict establishing the OST (No. 1 January 4, 1888) and his second quoted sentence is quite clear: “‘[t]he badge is decorated with the Mirror and Gems.’” If the Imperial Edict had mentioned that the grass cutting sword was also represented in the badge’s design, then I assume that Peterson would have quoted that. The author of the Wikipedia article cites no source for the claim that the OST represents all three Imperial treasures. A note about my measurements and photos: I used a digital caliper that is accurate to within .01mm and I rounded up or down as appropriate. The measurements are of the particular pieces that I own but I assume that they are very close to what the standard measurements should be. My pictures are from a cell phone and not taken in the best lighting, so the pictures might not represent the true colors with the highest degree of accuracy. My pictures of case lids are at an angle in order to minimize, to the greatest extent possible, the reflection in the lacquer. For now I only possess the lowest four Post-2003 Reform OSTs, corresponding to the pre-reform 6th, 5th, 4th, and 3rd classes (the pre-reform 8th and 7th classes having been abolished as part of the reform). Truth be told I do not foresee myself being able to obtain the top two, but one never knows. I hope that you find this thread interesting and by all means please add to it, improve it, and comment on it as you see fit. I will start this off with the OST Silver Rays, formally the 6th class, and then post again when my documentation and write-up for the next medal is ready. Thank you, Tracy The Order of the Sacred Treasure, Silver Rays. Formally the 6th class in the pre-reform orders. The triangular ribbon shape has been retained and it is approximately 47mm (at its widest part) by 40mm long. The color is a shade of blue, and after looking through 144 different shades of blue to me the ribbon color looks closest to cornflower blue but I have no idea what the official color is. On the ribbon is a 4mm gold stripe that is 3mm from each edge. The central design is per the pre-reform medal: white enameled rays, paste jewels and their connecting lines in red (on page 34 of the third edition of his book Peterson uses the term “red paste”, implying that the jewels and their connecting lines are a type of cut glass), polished silver mirror on a dark blue enameled background, all non-enameled medal surfaces in silver. Like the pre-reform medal, the width of the new medal is approximately 40mm from ray tip to ray tip. However, given the new suspension the length is now approximately 57mm from the top of the 12h paulownia flower to the tip of either of the longest bottom two rays. The suspension is new and appears to be the same suspension device used on the post-reform Order of the Rising Sun, with the exception of the enameling on the obverse leaves and flower stems. On the OST Silver Rays the three paulownia leaves and flower stems are enameled white and the leaves have silver veins. The flowers are in a 3; 5; 3 configuration, are enameled light purple, and the silver medal fills in between them and the stems. The piece on the suspension through which the metal ring attaching the ribbon is threaded is no longer in the shape of a ball, it is now in the shape of a puck. The entire reverse is silver with a sandblasted looking finish, in contrast to the smooth finish of the pre-reform OSTs. At approximately the midway point of the 3h and 9h arms is a phillips head screw, obviously fasteners for the two piece construction. Like the pre-reform pieces, the four “order of merit” characters are arranged in a square in the center of the badge. The reverse of the leaves and flowers suspension device is flat and featureless; there is no detailed representation of the flowers and stems, and this is just like the reverse of the suspension device of the post-reform Orders of the Rising Sun. My example has the hallmark J6 stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h. As of July 27, 2023 this hallmark is not listed on the wonderful Medals of Asia website at https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/. The case in my example is black lacquered wood. I know this for a fact because there is damage to the right, inside edge of the top of the case and the wood is clearly showing through. The case is approximately 65mm wide by 130mm long by 30mm high. The top and bottom are joined by a silver colored hinge at the back, fully visible when the lid is open and with three phillips head screws on the top and the bottom hinge plates. The lid is secured by a pin-and-hole silver clasp with a circle-next-to-circle design bordered by a smooth edge. The inside top is of a purple colored satin like material, and the medalbed, recessed in the outline of the medal, is a purple colored velvet like material. The round rosette is of the same colors as the ribbon, blue with six gold stripes radiating from the center. There is no hallmark on the metal portion of it. Obverse with rosette: Reverse (note the J6 hallmark stamped on the bottom leaf at 6h): Lacquered case lid with the script 瑞寶単光章, Order of the Sacred Treasure Silver Rays: Close up of the clasp:

My second post is also of a Post-2003 Order of the Sacred Treasure. This time it is what was formerly known as the Third Class, but now known as the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. It is a beautiful piece and it has the hallmark E6. Tracy Obverse: Reverse: Hallmark E6:

I have finally come back to this thread as I now have two more pieces to post. My first one is a Post-2003 Order of the Sacred Treasure Gold Rays with Rosette, formerly the 4th Class. This one has BZ as the hallmark. The hallmark strike was very weak, so it was difficult to get a picture of it with my cell phone camera. Enjoy. Tracy Obverse: Reverse: BZ hallmark:

Farkas, More great postcards. This is a wonderful thread. All the best, Tracy

It has taken me a while but I have finally acquired a Women’s Patriotic Association 2nd Class Merit Badge. This badge looks the same as the Third Class Merit, except that it is gilt. This was awarded for recruiting more than 150 new members. All the best, Tracy Obverse: Reverse. Inscription 愛國婦人會有功章 for Women’s Patriotic Association Merit Badge: Box lid. Central column 貮等有功章 for Second Class Merit Badge and right hand column 愛國婦人會 for Women’s Patriotic Association: Left hand corner of the box bottom: left column is 東京玉寶堂謹製 for Made by Tokyo Gyokuhō and right column is 官内省御用達 for something like “official purveyor”:

Dear No One, The download works. If only I could read French. 😃 All the best, Tracy.

This is my example of the 1st Class Additional Merit Badge. The badge is approximately 30 mm in diameter. The obverse is enameled in olive green, yellow, white, and red with lighter silver colored (1) un-enameled edging and (2) what could be two smooth leaves at 12h and 6h. Above the badge is an attachment 22 mm in diameter in the design of a wreath of leaves (?) enameled olive green, with an enameled white center and lighter silver colored edging. The ribbon is a brownish double bow and on the bottom of the badge hangs a knotted cord of the same color with two tails. The box is wooden (balsa?) and it measures 75 mm wide x 102 mm long x 18 mm high. The top edges are slightly beveled. Another relatively simple, but beautiful badge. Tracy Obverse with the single inscription 法 for “teachings of Buddha”: There is a two row inscription on the reverse. Top row: 一等附加有功章 for First Class Additional Merit Badge. Bottom row: 大谷婦人會 for Otani Women’s Association: Box lid. The inscription is the same as on the reverse of the badge except that it is in two columns: Finally, the alignment stamp (thank you, JapanX!) and possibly a maker’s mark:

Nick, Thank you as always. I never thought of the kanji as a way to ensure proper alignment of the lid. Fascinating. All the best, Tracy

I have begun to branch out into Otani Women’s Association Merit Badges. I would never have known that these beautiful badges existed if it weren’t for JapanX’s wonderful Medals of Asia site. See https://asiamedals.info/threads/otani-womens-association-merit-badges.22933/. From Wikipedia: “Ōtani-ha (真宗大谷派, Shinshū Ōtani-ha) is a Japanese Buddhist movement. It belongs to Jōdo Shinshū, also known as Shin Buddhism…The headquarters of Ōtani-ha are in Kyoto, the mother temple is Higashi Honganji. The historic Shōman-ji, Nagoya also belongs to it. Otani University in Kyoto belongs to Ōtani-ha.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ōtani-ha). Although this was sold as a 3rd Class Additional Merit Badge I believe that it’s actually a 3rd Class Merit Badge. Explanation below, although I could be missing something. I always welcome corrections and edification by others. I am merely a novice. The badge is approximately 30 mm in diameter and silver colored. The obverse is enameled in light blue, green, and red with silver colored un-enameled edging and what could be two smooth leaves at 12h and 6h. The reverse is silver colored, pebbly looking but actually smooth to the touch, with a three row inscription. The ribbon is a purple double bow. The box is made of (balsa?) wood and is 75 mm wide x 80 mm long x 15 mm high. I hope that you enjoy this simple, but beautiful badge. Tracy Obverse with the single inscription 法 which my rudimentary research tells me is best translated as “teachings of Buddha”: Reverse pin fastener: Reverse inscription in three rows. Note that the kanji are read the traditional way from right to left. First row: 章功有等三 for Third Class Merit Badge. Unless I am missing something, if this were truly an Additional Merit Badge then I would expect to see 附加 in the inscription, like I do for the three classes of the Patriotic Women’s Association Merit Badges with Attachment. Second row: 派谷大宗真 for Otani School of Shinshū (Buddhism). Bottom row: 會話法人婦 for Ladies Buddhist Sermon Association. Box lid. The inscription is the same as on the reverse of the badge except that it is in two columns. Again, in the right column I see no kanji (附加) indicating that this an Additional Merit Badge: Finally, there is what I take to be a manufacturer’s mark on the top edge of the box. Unfortunately after going through all 10 “pages” I could not locate this mark on Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/marks-and-labels-of-manufacturers-of-japanese-medals-badges-and-watch-fobs.16816/. Anyone know who the manufacturer is?

Nick, Thank you, as always. Now that I find my way back to the Special Supporter Member Badge variations on your website, courtesy of the link above, and I see the stamp I realized that I already have a WPA badge with the same stamp on the underside of the box lid. I need to be careful about checking all of my sources, even the ones that are in my possession. All the best, Tracy No One, Thank you for providing a clearer picture of the kanji. It can sometimes be difficult to read the printed kanji off of a box. Have a great day. Tracy

I have tried but I have failed. On the bottom of the wooden box for a Women’s Patriotic Association Third Class Merit Badge with Attachment is what I believe to be the manufacturer’s mark. I am confident that the first two kanji in the left column mean Tokyo, and I am somewhat confident that the kanji in the right column mean “official purveyor”. I just cannot get the rest of the kanji after Tokyo in the left column. I assume that it is the manufacturer’s name, but I am stumped. Any translation assistance would be appreciated. I’ve included the badge obverse and reverse, as well as the kanji on the bottom of the box. Thank you. Tracy Kanji on the bottom of the box. Tokyo ??? / Official Purveyor (?): Badge Obverse: Badge Reverse:

Farkas, What a wonderful thread. These are very interesting, especially the scenes of battle. All the best. Tracy

My latest addition is a Japan Red Cross Society Membership Medal with a ス (su) hallmark on the “paw”. These are by no means uncommon, but I do like the obverse design. Anything with a “ho-o” catches my eye. Per Peterson, p. 75, the Empress Meiji was asked to suggest an emblem and she offered her hairpin, which is decorated with bamboo, the paulownia, and the ho-o. Of course the International Red Cross Society’s ubiquitous emblem of the Geneva Cross was also incorporated into the design. For a discussion of marks on Japanese Red Cross Medals see Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/marks-of-the-japanese-red-cross-society-medals.15270/. Tracy Obverse: Reverse with two horizontal inscriptions. The top is 年一十二治明 for “Meiji 21st year” and the bottom is 社字十赤本日 for “Japan Red Cross Society”. The 21st Year of Meiji is 1888, the year that Red Cross awards were first established by the Emperor Meiji. The hallmark ス (su):

Hello Nick, Thank you, it is indeed a nice example. The color of the ribbon is really beautiful, which of course does not come out in my photo. Yes, when looking closer at the order it is indeed suffering from the "sickness" documented on your wonderful website. I think that it's the only order that I currently own that is in such a condition. Thanks, as always, for the estimated date of manufacture. All the best, Tracy

Greetings, This wonderful Order of the Sacred Treasure 6th Class for a female just came into my possession. The ribbon is what looks to me as a very pale blue, almost slightly greenish. The lighting and my cell phone camera completely wash out the color, making the ribbon look white. On the reverse are two phillips head screws at the halfway point on both the 3h and 9h arms. For information related to dating such Treasures with two screws see this discussion board at https://gmic.co.uk/topic/58229-sacred-treasures-with-flat-reversetwo-screws-reverse-when-this-change-occurred/. I hope that you enjoy this beautiful order. Tracy Obverse: Reverse: Hallmark DF:

No One, Thank you very much for the translation of the bottom of the box and the correction of my kanji (from simplified to traditional). I will make a note of the kanji and change my documentation accordingly. I will have to pay more attention in the future regarding such things. All the best, Tracy

Thank you, as always, Nick. Tracy