Japanese Awards - The "Sen Sho" Wound Badge

[kunsho]

Here an example of the Japanese wound badge for those wounded in battle, the "Sen Sho" (according to Peterson, Type II)

Matthias

[kunsho]

...

[kunsho]

..and the reverse.

[Guest Rick Research]

Was this only for war invalids after discharge from the military?

I've never seen a photograph of any Japanese soldier WEARING one. I would think that they should be quite common if awarded for ordinary wounds and handed out to every wounded serviceman, but these badges do not turn up very often.

Curious about any further details on who got this, when, and why.

[Gordon Williamson]

Very nice Matthias. I have looked for one for some time, but all I ever see are the Ko'Sho type.

[Gordon Williamson]

Here are the Sen Sho and Ko Sho together with a German Wound Badge for size comparison. Most book illustrations don't convey a sense of how small these are, but beautifully executed.

[Gordon Williamson]

Reverse

[Gordon Williamson]

The only difference is the upper centre Kanji for Sen (Left) or Ko (Right)

[Gordon Williamson]

Was this only for war invalids after discharge from the military?

I've never seen a photograph of any Japanese soldier WEARING one. I would think that they should be quite common if awarded for ordinary wounds and handed out to every wounded serviceman, but these badges do not turn up very often.

Curious about any further details on who got this, when, and why.

Rick,

Here is a photo of the badge being worn that appeared in the E-Bay auction I got it from (from Johnny Lofgren of Gunjinantiques).

[Dave Danner]

A friend of mine found one of these once for $5 in a box of costume jewelry in an antique mall in Lake Worth, Florida. Because of the design, they had no idea it was a military award.

[Paul L Murphy]

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

[naoki matsumoto]

Here an example of the Japanese wound badge for those wounded in battle, the "Sen Sho" (according to Peterson, Type II)

Matthias

GOOD! MINT collections Perfect MINT.

[kjh]

Can someone please answer a question for me regarding the japanese wound badge? From what I understand, there are 2 classes: The gold colored "Sen-Sho" for wounds received in battle and the silver "Ko'Sho" for non-combat realated situations. Apparently the difference is also determined by the "characters" located on the back.

My question is this: Are these awards color specific along with the character on the back? That is, does only the gold badge have the "Sen-Sho" character on the back? I have located one of these badges that is gold, but has the "Ko'Sho" character on the back. Is this possible? Is this an original badge? or is this a scam? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanking anyone who may be able to answer this. With Respect!

Kyle

[Paul L Murphy]

Kyle,

In short, the colour and the characters go together; ie the sen sho is always gilt and the ko sho is always silver. if it appears gold and has ko sho on the back then it is either due to tarnish/toning of the silver or else it has been tampered with. if you post a picture of the item in question I can give a more detailed opinion.

Regards,

Paul

[kjh]

Hi Paul,

Thank you very much for the information. I will get a hold of the badge and send you a picture. Thank you very much for the information! It is very much appreciated!

Respectfully,

Kyle

[naoki matsumoto]

Here an example of the Japanese wound badge for those wounded in battle, the "Sen Sho" (according to Peterson, Type II)

Matthias

Hi,MINT badge ! I like KIRI of BOX very much :cheers: