RichC

The first was awarded to Army Infantry Sergeant Goshi (?) Hidekazu. Awarded 7/10/1936. The second was awarded to Akada Daisaburou (or Tasaburou) on 11/10/1940. This gentleman has no military rank noted, but he had achieved the Junior 5th Rank (Colonel if an Army soldier) and had received the 4th Class ST or RS and the 5th Class Golden Kite. Cheers, Rich (imperialjapan)

That medal has not been faked. IMHO, keep checking ebay for a good example. Prices there are often fairly low, and you should get a case anyway since they are not that much more expensive. A medal without a case? I wouldn't pay more than $30 (USD), and even that seems high...

You know, this guy wrote to me asking for advice on the badge and offered his theories detailed in the description. I clearly stated that none of these could be right--yet he writes all of his wild imaginings anyway. In one of his auctions he called a badge 'bug warfare' because it has a beetle in the design. Sheesh...

These are not official, as stated in the item description. They look a lot better in the pictures, since I have bought minis from this seller before. The reverses (not shown in the auction) are plain and flat, and the depth of the enamels is not even close to those made by the Japan Mint. If these were originals, the price would be far higher than the 55,000 yen price. That being said, they still would look nice in a collection.

Dieter, I didn't see both medals, but the seller is Mike Quigley, the gentleman who owns most of the medals you see in Peterson's book. I've dealt with him before, and I'm sure he is trustworthy. Cheers, Rich

You're welcome, Mervyn. Not sure if it is the same artist, but anyway that gives you a start. Love to see the pictures when you have time.

It says 'Made by Miyao.' Miyao Eisuke (宮尾栄助) was a famous artist who worked in bronze. Tokyo area, Meiji era. Not sure if it is the same artist since you didn't post other pics...

I got it. I think there is plenty of official documentation to answer those questions. I'll make sure to address them in my book. Thanks again. Rich

Thanks for your input, Tim. I'll try and address the different changes over the years to the boxes and the medals themselves on the decorations, but again, without documentary evidence, it will be difficult. Finding the documents would mean having access to the various companies that made the medals prior to 1928, and that may prove to be impossible. However, I may find directives from the Japanese govt regulating the various styles. That would be fantastic, so I'll concentrate on those. Rosettes will be covered. Your last idea confused me a bit. Are you asking about the metal bars that connected the medals? Or the order of wearing medals? Or how to spot a put-together set? Rich

Thanks for the replies and ideas. A few of what you all mentioned I will include: who was eligible for medals, how many of each were minted (I hope to get official numbers on each war and commemorative medal), case inscription history (if I can find official documentation), and assorted oddities of medals, like how much each medal, ribbon, case, etc cost the gov't to produce (yes, I have those numbers!). Richard, if you are interested in post-war medals, the official numbers of each class of decoration have been published--as well as the names and addresses of each recipient! There are heavy tomes dedicated to this. Similar books exist for merit medals. These all date from 1964 (the year medals began being awarded again) so pre-war info is not readily available. I think the older info was kept in the official Mint rolls, which allegedly were destroyed during the WW2 firebombing. Dieter, you are expecting some answers that may never be found. I think minor variations of medals (like a rounded suspension bar) were not duly recorded. Each Imperial Rescript (all of which I'll include in my book) details what the different parts of the medal looked like, but I think smaller variants were just done on the fly. I'll keep looking, though. And as for mintmarks, well, I'd love to solve that mystery. I'm not sure I can, but it is one of the topics I've placed under my HARD TO DO heading. Still, I have lots of stuff to read and translate here, so it is possible. Claudius, I don't think foreigners were held to a different standard for the decorations and medals. And I wouldn't think there would be a separate list for them, but since there is currently a separate ceremony for awards to foreigners, perhaps I'll find something. Jeff, I'll keep my eyes open for Chinese medal info. I cannot read Chinese well, so I am limited to my Japanese sources. The book is really aimed at all medal enthusiasts. Along with the obligatory history of Japanese decorations, I'll have all the rescripts (as mentioned), details of ceremonies, details on making of medals and documents, various stories about recipients, military badges--oh, the list goes on. I hope to back up everything with primary & secondary documentation so the source will be authoritative. Well, if I mean to do well, I guess I shouldn't be writing such long posts. Thanks for your comments and if you have any other questions, please post them. I'll jot them down in my notebook and get to work. Cheers, Rich

Hello all, I am currently writing a book on Japanese medals that I hope will be the definitive source. I have been collecting books and ephemera over the years, and I have quite a few original documents and books written in Japanese with information never seen before in English. The scope goes far beyond anything I have posted on my site. It should be at least 400 pages of text (not including pics--and the text is in regular font). I should have the ebook ready to go by next spring (summer at the latest) if my three kids cooperate with my plans. Anyway, this post is not a shameless plug for an upcoming book. It is a query: What pressing questions do you have about Japanese medals? I know there are tons of issues that many would like to be resolved. I'm not sure if I can address every one, but I'll try. If you have any questions that have never been answered to your satisfaction, perhaps I can find the answer. At the least, I'll look into the matter. Thanks for your cooperation. Cheers, Rich

Maybe you should have bought the women's version of the 1940 Manchukuo Shrine Foundation Medal (lower right). That is certainly a medal you rarely see... Rich

That's right. Those boxes are still rectangular, but they appear almost square. They have a different interior with a removable rest for the main medal. You can see examples on my site of those (http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/meijicases.html). The latch is different as well, as you noted. I've only held examples of the two lowest classes of the Rising Sun. I've never held one of the Hirata cases, though.

It's an early medal. 7th Class Rising Sun, dated Meiji 10 [1877], March. Since the medal was established in 1875, this is about as early as you can get. Note that the seller inadvertently switched medals. He stated this in the auction and re-switched the 7th & 8th medals back to their original boxes. The 8th Class medal & box he had went for a high price, too, but it wasn't as early. The almost square box was still quite early, though.

I believe this was given to someone who worked to get blood donors (that is, worked in the blood donor department) rather than one who donated a lot of blood...