DavidS Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 2 classes of Labour Badges. The Labour Merit Badge is the rarer - apparently only 553 were awarded. See Richard Catalano's great site for other examples & historical notes. First, both together 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidS Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Labour Merit Badge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidS Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Labour Badge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Really grate items! What about dimensions? Is there any data - how many Labour Badges were awarded? What is the meaning of the central medallion? Are there any other versions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 2 classes of Labour Badges. Boxed! Quite rare and impressive David! :beer: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) Really grate items! What about dimensions? What is the meaning of the central medallion? ? http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/laborbadge.html P.S. Russian names become more and more tricky every day :lol: Edited June 6, 2013 by JapanX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) The Labour Merit Badge is the rarer - apparently only 553 were awarded. Looks like the author of japanese wiki article devoted to this badge got this number by combining these numbers February 11, 1943 approximately 80 awardings 236 awardings in 1944 237 awardings in 1945 Although looks like he (or she? ) is not quite sure about this number :whistle: Edited June 6, 2013 by JapanX 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/laborbadge.html Thanks, JapanX! Dark brown enamel Labour Merit Badge and the same of orange colour: what is the difference? Why boxes differ? Which one is rarer? Are there any other badges, nicknamed "The Golden Kite for..."? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Dark brown enamel Labour Merit Badge and the same of orange colour: what is the difference? Simply enamel shades.Why boxes differ? Balsa boxes for lower classes - lacquered ones for higher classes. Usual story with japanese badges.Which one is rarer? Personally I see 2nd class (the badge with simple "labour badge" inscription on reverse) more often then 1st class ("merit badge")Are there any other badges, nicknamed "The Golden Kite for..."? Not to my knowledge Cheers, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Simply enamel shades. Balsa boxes for lower classes - lacquered ones for higher classes. Usual story with japanese badges. Personally I see 2nd class (the badge with simple "labour badge" inscription on reverse) more often then 1st class ("merit badge") Not to my knowledge ;)y Cheers, Nick I really appreciate your answers, Nick! http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/laborbadge.html - It is not just shades, I think. Really two versions, different by colour. The boxes for BROWN enamel and ORANGE one also differ. Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 It is not just shades, I think. Really two versions, different by colour. The boxes for BROWN enamel and ORANGE one also differ. Cheers, Peter Well, there are only two versions of boxes. Balsa with dark blue interior and with three golden kanji on the lid "labour badge" and stamp "Japan Mint" (on the back side). Black lacquered with two-color (yellow/dark blue) interior and with five silver kanji on the lid "labour merit badge". The box on the Rich site is simply a wrong one (a replacement that was made either by the owner of the badge or by its seller on the YahooJapan) As for the "brown" and "orange" enamel. I think "brown" looks like more transparent "orange" on these photos because they were made with direct photoflash Regards, Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fukuoka Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 I agree with Nick. All are brown-red enamel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Well, there are only two versions of boxes. Balsa with dark blue interior and with three golden kanji on the lid "labour badge" and stamp "Japan Mint" (on the back side). Black lacquered with two-color (yellow/dark blue) interior and with five silver kanji on the lid "labour merit badge". The box on the Rich site is simply a wrong one (a replacement that was made either by the owner of the badge or by its seller on the YahooJapan) As for the "brown" and "orange" enamel. I think "brown" looks like more transparent "orange" on these photos because they were made with direct photoflash Regards, Nick OK, thanks a lot, Nick. "...The central figure is a small girl holding a bag or something. I believe I read that she is offering a gift to the gods. The circular device around the girl looks like a gear or some sort of machine part..." (http://www.imperialjapanmedalsandbadges.com/laborbadge.html). So, is there more exact explanation of that kind of Labour Merit Badge (Labour Badge) design? "A smаll girl", "a bag or something", "а gift to the gods" - What does it mean and why? Sorry for asking too many questions, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fukuoka Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 (edited) Peter, sorry there are not clear concise answers to all of your questions. No exact description that I know of. If I had one, of course I would have put it on the site. That being said, it seems clear that the person is a goddess of some sort, based on her hairstyle. I do not know what she represents nor do I know what she holds.The larger badge was awarded by the national government; the smaller one by the local authorities.Watch some footage of Hideki Tojo himself awarding this badge. This is Feb. 1943 news footage and it takes up the first 3 minutes of this clip. You can see an award document towards the end of the section. The very fact that this award ceremony was shown on the news points to the importance of the badge, which was to be worn on civilian clothes. You can also see the honor cord in the close-up.ENJOY:http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/shogenarchives/jpnews/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001300526_00000&seg_number=001 Edited June 8, 2013 by fukuoka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fukuoka Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Just looked at the 1942 ordinance establishing this badge, and the design description just says '神像' or 'god figure.' Those with a good knowledge of Japanese folklore and tales may be able to identify it better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 Peter, sorry there are not clear concise answers to all of your questions. No exact description that I know of. If I had one, of course I would have put it on the site. That being said, it seems clear that the person is a goddess of some sort, based on her hairstyle. I do not know what she represents nor do I know what she holds. The larger badge was awarded by the national government; the smaller one by the local authorities. Watch some footage of Hideki Tojo himself awarding this badge. This is Feb. 1943 news footage and it takes up the first 3 minutes of this clip. You can see an award document towards the end of the section. The very fact that this award ceremony was shown on the news points to the importance of the badge, which was to be worn on civilian clothes. You can also see the honor cord in the close-up. ENJOY:http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/shogenarchives/jpnews/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001300526_00000&seg_number=001 Just looked at the 1942 ordinance establishing this badge, and the design description just says '神像' or 'god figure.' Those with a good knowledge of Japanese folklore and tales may be able to identify it better. fukuoka, I deeply appreciate your information. And the Feb. 1943 news footage is magnificent. Enjoyed it! So, the person is "a goddess"... If only 553 items of Labour Merit Badge were awarded, what is it like in comparison with the number of awardings of other rare japanese orders, medals and badges? How often Labour Badges are on sale? The level of price in general? Sorry again for asking too many questions. The badges worth it, I beleive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 ...Watch some footage of Hideki Tojo himself awarding this badge. This is Feb. 1943 news footage and it takes up the first 3 minutes of this clip. You can see an award document towards the end of the section. The very fact that this award ceremony was shown on the news points to the importance of the badge, which was to be worn on civilian clothes. You can also see the honor cord in the close-up.ENJOY:http://cgi2.nhk.or.jp/shogenarchives/jpnews/movie.cgi?das_id=D0001300526_00000&seg_number=001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 Sorry for incorrect quoting of fukuoka! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 10, 2013 Share Posted June 10, 2013 ...Speaking of the number of awardings. Around 460 of 3rd Class Golden Kite were awarded during the whole Meiji-period. Yep. 463 if I remember correctly. I wonder if this unofficial title "Golden Kite for Industrial Labour" can be equaled with good old "Golden Kite" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 How often Labour Badges are on sale? The level of price in general? We'll see http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Silver-merit-Medal-Militariy-weapon-product-WW2-Orden-/370831738359?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56574b45f7#ht_206wt_1141 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Although this specimen is not in very good shape ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Although this specimen is not in very good shape ... And no box... OK, check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaguyahime Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 Yep. 463 if I remember correctly. I wonder if this unofficial title "Golden Kite for Industrial Labour" can be equaled with good old "Golden Kite" Of course, can not. At the same time, even unofficial title "Golden Kite for Industrial Labour" sounds powerlul as soon as JapanX, such a respected person, can't remember other badges, nicknamed same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 ... as JapanX, such a respected person... That's a good one! :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanX Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Well, the seller finished his auction before the appointed time http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Silver-merit-Medal-Militariy-weapon-product-WW2-Orden-/370831738359?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item56574b45f7#ht_206wt_1141 No wonder ... There was only one bid ... $1 bid But now this badge is back ... but now it comes together with cased 1st class! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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