Japan Some interesting line drawings of medals never made circa 1871

[fukuoka]

Before the establishment of the orders and medals, there was some discussion about what the medals would look like, as you would imagine. Here are some line drawings from the official records of the Decorations Bureau, dated Meiji 4 [1871], fours years before the Order of the Rising Sun was established. The following medal probably became the RS. The measurements I include here are sun (寸), one sun being approx. 3.03 cm. The medal was labeled with a general name of 'award medal' (shouhai 賞牌). There are six classes listed. They are labeled about the same as the later medals, with first class being ittou (一等). The later medals had the kun (勲) prefix attached (e.g., 勲一等).

Note that the reverse of the medal was to be inscribed with the date and the recipient's name.

Edited February 1, 2014 by fukuoka

[fukuoka]

First Class. 2 sun diameterhttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-44921200-1391237624.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-87263800-1391237652.jpg

[fukuoka]

2nd Class. Same design as 1st, but smaller. 1.8 sun diameter.

Here is the 3rd Class. Kiri leaves instead of mum. 1.5 sun diameter.

Edited February 1, 2014 by fukuoka

[fukuoka]

4th Class. Return of the mum. 1.5 sun diameter.

[fukuoka]

5th Class. Kiri leaves suspension. 1.5 sun diameter.

Strange but this is exactly identical with the 3rd Class, even the dimensions. I guess this was a rough draft and a mistake was made in the numbers.

Edited February 1, 2014 by fukuoka

[fukuoka]

6th Class. Cherry blossom suspension. 1.5 sun diameter.

[fukuoka]

Here is the photo of the planned war dispatch medal. You can see that the reverse will have the date, recipient's name, and the place name of the conflict. The obverse has the date of the conflict. So I suppose they had planned for each war medal to have the same design.

Diameter: 0.8 sun

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-87637800-1391238297.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-61530100-1391238319.jpg

Edited February 1, 2014 by fukuoka

[fukuoka]

And finally, from the same document, are the first Medals of Honor. These, too, would undergo a drastic revision before their unveiling.

In this 1871 version, there are 3 classes. I think there may be a misprint with the sizes, as the 3rd Class is the largest. I think it would have been the opposite order, but I will just tell you what it says. 1st Class: 1 sun; 2nd Class: 1.5 sun; 3rd Class : 2 sun.

The award now called houshou (褒章) was then titled houhai (褒牌). The design was the same for all three classes, so I will just post one set so as not to bog down the topic.

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-42167800-1391238736.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2014/post-11730-0-88298400-1391238754.jpg

[fukuoka]

I am not sure how much value this information has, but I find it quite interesting.

[JapanX]

Sweet!

Nice addition to these drawings from same year http://gmic.co.uk/index.php/topic/55308-phalerae-incognita-first-hirato-rising-sun-orders/page-4 (posts # 62-64)

Guess now we have our explanation why very first RS orders had paulownia leafs directly affixed to its medallions ;)

[Brian Wolfe]

I am not sure how much value this information has, but I find it quite interesting.

Very interesting and quite valuable information thank you for posting them.

Regards

Brian