Japan Unk. Medal

[Obergefreiter]

Can anyone tell me what this is? It's about the size of a US fifty cent piece.

[Jktu]

岡中柔道部

柔道部 – Judo Club.

I think:

中 – middle school (grades 7-9),

岡 – the first character of the city name.

[JapanX]

岡 – the first character of the city name.

Could be

a) Fukuoka 福岡

b) Shizuoka 静岡

;)

[JapanX]

Or something like Oka school in Kyoto 岡中学校 ?

http://cms.edu.city.kyoto.jp/weblog/index.php?id=204309

[Rogi]

Very cool and interesting :D

[Jktu]

Or something like Oka school in Kyoto 岡中学校 ?

Most likely.

[Obergefreiter]

Thanks, Gents. A bit of history on this piece. In 1972 I bought an ice cream pail full of coins from a guy who needed the money for a tachometer. Nearly all the coins were from the south Pacific area, and they all were pre-war, or wartime minted. Except for this piece. I noticed that there had been a suspension ring for a ribbon on the top of the medal, and I just assumed that it was some sort of a Japanese military award. Now I'm wondering if it wasn't some award that some poor chump took with him for a keepsake when he was deployed, and then was KIA on some hellhole in the South Pacific, and it ended up in the hands of some GI, who's son needed a tachometer, and eventually ended up in my hands. Anyway, it's mine now, and I plan on hanging onto it. Thanks again for you help.