The Post-2003 Reform Order of the Rising Sun

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

I thought that it would be time to start a general thread about the Post 2003 Order of the Rising Suns, a “companion” to my thread here on GMIC about Post 2003 Order of the Sacred Treasures (see https://gmic.co.uk/topic/81482-the-post-2003-reform-order-of-the-sacred-treasure/#comment-723971). 

 

For some generalized information see the above referenced thread. Note that when he authored his article for OMSA, Nyle Monday did not have access to actual examples of the orders about which he was writing; he was referencing pictures found at the time on the relevant pages of the Japanese Cabinet Office’s website, and those pictures were only of the obverses. Therefore, at the time he was unaware that the reverse of the revised Orders of the Rising Sun were quite different from their pre-2003 predecessors. 

 

For now I only possess the lowest two post-2003 Rising Suns. I must admit that I do not find these on the market very often, but I am always on the lookout.

 

I hope that you enjoy this for now relatively brief thread.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

The Order of the Rising Sun Silver Rays is the post-2003 reform version of the former 6th Class. The ribbon is approximately 35 mm wide with a 20 mm white stripe between two 8 mm red striped edges. The dimensions and configuration of the ribbon are the same as the former 6th Class. 

 

The obverse design of the Silver Rays is generally the same as the former 6th Class (color of enameling; all metal, including leaf veins, in silver) with the exception of the piece attaching the badge to the ribbon ring. That piece is no longer a ball or knob. Rather, it is a disc that has a larger diameter than its thickness. The order itself measures approximately 39 mm wide by 59 mm long (from the longest point of the 6h ray to the top of the 12h paulownia flower) by 2 mm thick. A feature that the Silver Rays shares with, and retains from, late Showa/early Heisei pre-2003 reform orders is a higher “standing” red cabochon “sun”. See Medals of Asia at https://asiamedals.info/threads/6th-class-rising-sun-order-awarded-in-1995.27419/.

 

The reverse of the Silver Rays is quite different from the former 6th Class. It is no longer an enameled mirror of the obverse, with the “Order of Merit” seal characters on the reverse of the paulownia leaves. Rather, the reverse is pebbled silver with no enameling and no red sun cabochon, but the “rays out from the center” design is retained. The reverse of the paulownia leaves and flowers are now simply flat and featureless. The seal characters are no longer on the reverse of the paulownia leaves, they are now located where the red sun cabochon was located on the pre-2003 orders.

 

Finally, I would like to note another major difference as well as a similarity between the Silver Rays and its former 6th Class counterpart. The former 5th and 6th Classes shared the same exact dimensions, the only distinguishing feature was gilt metal on the former and silver metal on the later. Over time tarnishing would eradicate the gilt vs. silver difference, making it next to impossible to distinguish the 5th Class from the 6th Class simply by looking at the obverse. So, in about 1938 or 1940 there was a design change to the 6th Class: the short rays were shortened even more, thereby resulting in an observable difference in the shapes of the 5th and 6th Classes. A major difference between the Silver Rays and the former 6th Class: the Silver Rays now has smaller dimensions than the Gold and Silver Rays. A similarity between the Silver Rays and the former 6th Class: the Silver Rays retains the “shorter short rays” design of the post-1938 or 1940 former 6th Class. 

 

Silver Rays obverse and rosette:

 

 

Silver Rays reverse, on which there is a ZF hallmark at the 6h. The hallmark is so lightly impressed that I cannot get a picture of it with my cell phone, although it shows up below as a very slight imperfection.

 

 

Silver Rays case lid. The stylization of the kanji is certainly different from that for the pre-2003 reform orders, but it is no less appealing.

 

Edited October 12, 2024 by TracA
word addition; spacing; thickness

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

Here is my "Order of the Rising Sun Silver Rays" CX hallmark.

 

 

 

 

Now for comparison between an Order of the Rising Sun, Sixth Class and an Order of the Rising Sun Silver Rays:

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing you notice with the case is that there is no more class, just the name of the order.

 

Here for comparison:

 

 

And now it's also attributed to women.

 

 

This reform was quite democratic, almost revolutionnary, no more classes and open to women!

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Thank you, No One, for contributing the additional important information and very illustrative pictures. Indeed, in his OMSA article Nyle Monday briefly refers to some of these points.

 

There is an article about the call for reform in the English language Japan Times, dating from January 11, 2000. Unfortunately it is behind a paywall of at least $30 for an unlimited, monthly subscription. I have to admit that I have been unwilling to pony up the $30 for the ability to read this single article.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[TracA]

Next up for me is the only other Post 2003 Reform Order of the Rising Sun currently in my possession: a Gold and Silver Rays, formerly the 5th Class.

 

Just like its pre-2003 counterpart and the post-2003 Silver Rays, the Gold and Silver Rays has a ribbon that is approximately 35 mm wide with a 20 mm white stripe between two 8 mm red striped edges.

 

Compared to the former 5th Class, the Gold and Silver Rays generally has the same obverse design: enamel coloring; all metal, including leaf veins, in gilt with the exception of the three longest rays between the 12h, 3h, 6h, and 9h, which are in silver. One exception is the piece attaching the badge to the ribbon ring. That piece is no longer a ball or knob, it is a disc the diameter of which is larger than its thickness. The dimensions between the Gold and Silver Rays and the former 5th Class are also the same with the exception of the thickness. Both are approximately 45 mm wide by 67 mm long (from the longest point of 6h ray to the top of the 12h paulownia flower) but the Gold and Silver Rays is approximately 2 mm thick while the former 5th Class is approximately 1 mm thick. As with the Silver Rays, a feature that the Gold and Silver Rays shares with, and retains from, late Showa/early Heisei pre-2003 reform orders is a higher “standing” red cabochon “sun”. See the Medals of Asia link above in my first post.

 

As with the Silver Rays, the Gold and Silver Rays’ reverse is different from the former 5th Class. No longer is the reverse an enameled mirror of the obverse, with the “Order of Merit” seal characters on the reverse of the paulownia leaves. Instead, the reverse is pebbled silver with no enameling and no red sun cabochon. The “rays out from the center” design, however, is retained in a raised outline. The reverse of the paulownia leaves and flowers are flat and featureless. Thus, the seal characters are now located where the red sun cabochon was located on the pre-2003 orders.

 

Given the different dimensions between the Gold and Silver Rays and the Silver Rays, the fact that neither of the items in my possession are tarnished, and the fact that the Silver Rays has the shorter short rays design, the contrast between the two side-by-side is obvious.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

Close-up of the I5 hallmark at the 6h. I note that as of October 12, 2024 Medals of Asia has a single dated reference to this hallmark: a Post 2003 Reform Order of the Sacred Treasure with award certificate, dated March 11, 2013.

 

Case lid, with nicely stylized kanji. As No One mentioned above, no more ranked class designation:

 

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[No one]

Dear Gentlemen,

 

"Case lid, with nicely stylized kanji." The small seal scripts (小篆 / しょうてん / shōten) are very stylized indeed.

 

 

An award document:

 

 

How it is displayed:

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Greetings,

 

I came across a Post 2003 Reform Order of the Rising Sun Small Ribbon (former 4th Class) and Middle Ribbon (former 3rd Class). I thought that I would post pictures of the case lids and medal obverses and reverses. 

 

The Small Ribbon, just like its two predecessors in “grade”, has no enamel on the reverse. The reverse of the Middle Ribbon, however, has the “sun” enameled but the paulownia leaves and flowers are not.

 

Please note that I do not own these medals, and so I did not take the pictures. All credit is to the seller J-TrendHub.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

Small Ribbon obverse and case lid:

 

 

Small Ribbon reverse:

 

 

Middle Ribbon obverse and case lid:

 

 

Middle Ribbon reverse:

 

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Nice ones, it's the fisrt time I see those two. The hallmarks of both of them can provide information about the date of manufacture.

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Hello No One,

 

Yes, first time that I have seen them as well. I could not blow the pictures up enough to see the hallmarks.

 

I agree about the hallmarks and date of manufacture. Are you aware of a master list of these? The only one that I am aware of is on Medals of Asia, here: https://asiamedals.info/threads/two-letter-and-letter-digit-marks-on-japanese-orders-and-medals.13720/. It only gives "points in time" and I would assume that the hallmarks would be for a range of time. It is a massive database of these that Nick has put together and continually updates. 

 

I have read very old posts here on GMIC that contacting the Japan Mint gets you no where. Either no response or "we do not know." In the past six months someone on WRF contacted the mint for me regarding an Order of the Precious Crown that I have marked PF. He received no response.

 

A mystery yet unsolved.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

"Are you aware of a master list of these?" No, I'm not. 

 

I'll try to contact the Mint as well, we'll see.

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

Hello No One,

 

Thank you for trying. It will be interesting to see if you get anywhere.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

I found three other women with "旭日小綬章":

 

旭日小綬章の画像

 

桃井かおり「もうちゃんと生きねばなりません」旭日小綬章の受章を報告　お祝いの声相次ぐ（ザテレビジョン）

 

旭日小綬章を受章し、賞状と勲章を見せる朝丘雪路 ― スポニチ Sponichi Annex 芸能

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

No One,

 

Thank you for finding and posting those. Very interesting. I wonder how many females have been awarded the ORS since the 2003 reform.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[TracA]

Well, that picture above of the Post 2003 Order of the Rising Sun Gold Rays with Rosette/Small Ribbon that I posted from the seller? I eventually caved and purchased the Order. It was cased and came with the award document. 

 

The ribbon is 35 mm wide with a 19 mm white stripe in the center and 8 mm red edges. The order itself measures approximately 46 mm wide by 69 mm long (from the longest point of 6h ray to the top of the 12h paulownia flower) by 2 mm thick. This is one millimeter wider and two millimeters longer than the Post 2003 Order of the Rising Sun Gold and Silver Rays/Twin Lights about which I posted above. I am assuming that the Orders are to be the same size and that I simply made a measuring error. 

 

Compared to the former 4th Class, the Gold Rays with Rosette generally has the same obverse design: enamel coloring; all metal, including leaf veins, in gilt. One exception is the piece attaching the badge to the ribbon ring. That piece is no longer a ball or knob, it is a disc the diameter of which is larger than its thickness. As with the other two Post 2003 Reform Orders in this thread, a feature that the Gold Rays with Rosette shares with, and retains from, late Showa/early Heisei pre-2003 reform orders is a higher “standing” red cabochon “sun”. See the Medals of Asia link above in my first post.

 

As we now come to expect, the Gold Rays with Rosette’s reverse is different from the former 4th Class. The reverse on the new Order is pebbled gilt with no enameling and no red sun cabochon. The “rays out from the center” design, however, is retained in a raised outline. The reverse of the paulownia leaves and flowers are flat and featureless. Thus, the seal characters are now located where the red sun cabochon was located on the pre-2003 orders.

 

On the reverse paulownia leaf at 6h is the hallmark K7. Here a conundrum arises. Medals of Asia has a single entry for this exact hallmark: January 30, 2016, per the engraving on the front bar of a Blue Ribbon Medal of Honor. The award document which came with my Order, however, is dated Heisei 17 (2005) April 29th. That is just under an 11 year gap. If I understand Peterson correctly, then Medals of Honor were engraved before presentation to the awardee. Thus, I think that the date of January 30, 2016 corresponding to the K7 hallmark is incontrovertible. So, is it the case that my Order of the Rising Sun Gold Rays with Rosette/Small Ribbon and the award document are not an original set, and were “put together” for sale?

 

The award document is dated Heisei 17 (2005) April 29th, with an eight digit number of 11,710,462. It is signed by Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichirō, Japan’s sixth longest serving Prime Minister. I cannot for the life of me figure out the signature of the Director General of the Cabinet Office Awards Bureau. 

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

 

Obverse:

 

 

Reverse:

 

 

Hallmark close-up:

 

 

Case lid:

 

 

Award document:

 

 

Order depiction close-up:

 

Edited December 28, 2024 by TracA
Spacing

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Nice!

 

The name of the Director General of the Cabinet Office Awards Bureau is "Katsuno Kensuke".

 

 

Here:

 

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

No One,

 

As always, thank you for your great assistance. It is always appreciated.

 

Have a wonderful New Year.

 

All the best,

 

Tracy

[No one]

Dear TracA,

 

Thank you, you are welcome.

 

May the New Year bring happiness to you and your loved ones.

 

Yours sincerely,

No one

[TracA]

I have found a Post 2003 Reform Order of the Rising Sun Grand Cordon. Three pictures below. Please note that the Order is not in my possession and all credit to the photos are to ItemJapan.

 

Note the brand new (as of 2003) reverse suspension device on the breast star, a pin with what looks like a thumb wheel locking device. Like the former 3rd Class (Middle Ribbon) above, the reverse of the sash badge has the red cabochon and the rays of sun enamelled white while the reverse of the paulownia leaves remain un-enameled.

 

I have to admit that I am a bit shocked that after only about 22 years (I am not sure the exact year that the Post 2003 Reform awards were first awarded) the Grand Cordon is already on the market. Well, at least this one is.

 

Tracy

 

Obverses and case lid:

 

 

Reverses:

 

 

Breast Star reverse close-up: