Nambu World: Order of the Rising Sun (kyokujitsusho; toyosho)

            I have two of these. The first one is, I think, post-war, while the second one I believe to be WWII-era (specifically, 1939). There are eight classes of this medal, with only the lowest two available to enlisted men. This one is the eighth class. I have read that this award was given to both military and civilian recipients for general merit. The name of this order is somewhat confusing. The top six classes are called kyokujitsusho in Japanese and translated as the Order of the Rising Sun in English. The seventh and eighth classes, however, are called the to-yo-sho in Japanese, which means “paulownia leaves medal” and is translated as Decoration of the Paulownia Leaves in OMJAS. The seventh and eighth classes are referred to by colour as well. The lowest one is the Order of the White Paulownia Leaves (see case inscription below). The seventh class is the Order of the Green Paulownia Leaves. Paulownia leaves are one of the symbols of the Japanese Imperial Family. Below is the inscription on the back. It is exactly the same as the one on the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 8th Class, except that the characters are all written in one line. The order is from right to left. It says kun-ko ki-sho, which again means “meritorious deed ribboned medal”. This order is covered on pages 22-27 of OMJAS.

 

            Here is the front of the case. From top to bottom the characters read kun-hat-to-haku-shoku-to-yo-sho. Literally that means “merit-eight-class-white-colour-paulownia-leaves-medal”.

 

            This is the same medal, but I believe it is an older, WWII-era one. The medal itself is the same, though this one shows considerable wear to the ribbon. However, the box is different.

 

Here is the medal itself.

 

The back has the same inscription as the more modern one.

 

The inner lining of the top of the box has come loose.

 

If you turn it around so the characters are right side up, the two identical characters in the middle are 99, which I think may be a reference to the year 2599 by the Japanese calendar, or 1939 in Western style. The character in the upper right is the hiragana syllable ru, and the one at the bottom looks like it may be shi. They have no meaning themselves, so I suspect they may be some kind of inspection marks.

 

On the left is the older box with the pin-and-hole clasp, while on the right is the newer one with the spring-loaded closure (no clasp required).

 

            I have two kinds of certificates for these medals. The first type is a small, simple certificate which specifies a monetary award to go with the order. I have two of these. The second type is a large, fancy presentation certificate that has the number of the medal/certificate. I also have two of these. I have underlined the surnames in the translations below.

            First let’s look at the certificates that specify monetary awards to go with the Order. They are relatively small. Both mine are approximately 309mm by 228mm (12-3/16” by 9”). Both have watermarks in the upper right and lower left corners and both have a purple stamp on the back (all shown below).

            This first certificate is for an 8th Class Order of the Rising Sun awarded to Private First Class Matsunosuke Sato on April 1, 1906 for service in the Russo-Japanese War.

            Here is the Japanese:

First column on far right: riku-gun-ho-hei-it-to-sotsu-sa-to-matsu-no-suke

Second column from right: mei-ji-san-ju-shichi-hachi-nen-sen-eki-no-ko [or isao]-ni

Third column from right: yo-ri-kun-hat-to-haku-shoku-to-yo-sho

Fourth column from right: oyobi-kin-hyaku-go-ju-en-o-u-ke-tama-u

Fifth column from right: mei-ji-san-ju-kyu-nen-shi-gatsu-ichi-nichi

Last column on left: sho-kun-kyoku-so-sai-jun-ni-i-kun-it-to-shi-shaku-dai-kyu-tsune*

            My translation is: “Army Infantry Private First Class Matsunosuke Sato: for meritorious conduct during the Meiji 37-8 [1904-05] campaign, the Emperor bestows the Eighth Class Order of the White Paulownia Leaves and the sum of 150 yen. April 1, Meiji 39 [1906]. President of the Board of Decorations Viscount Tsune Daikyu, Junior Second Rank, Holder of the First Order of Merit”. The hardest part of this is the last column. The Viscount’s surname has over a dozen possible pronunciations, most likely Daikyu or Okyu. His given name also has several possible pronunciations: Tsune, Hisashi, Hitoshi and Wataru, for example. Since he was a big shot, I may eventually be able to look him up in a Who’s Who-type directory in Japan and clarify the exact pronunciation. I have followed the conventions used in OMJAS, pages 20-21 in translating his rank and order of merit, but I do not have great confidence that they got it right. I have never seen a proper explanation of these ranks and their connection, if any, to the Orders of Merit. The round red seal in the lower left corner contains the Viscount’s name. His name and name seal are also on the Russo-Japanese War service medal certificate I have.

 

The upper right has a watermark of paulownia leaves, one of the symbols of the Imperial family.

 

            This is the much smaller watermark in the lower left. It is a sakura (cherry) blossom with the character in (short for insatsu=printing) inside it. I think that means the certificate was printed by the Government Printing Department of the Empire of Greater Japan.

 

            Here is a close-up of a purple stamp on the back (lower left corner) of the certificate. The writing in the outer circle indicates it was stamped on September 5, Meiji 39 (1906) and has the notation “page 35”. The writing on the middle says kan-po go-gai, “special issue of the official gazette”. The stamp is 24mm (one inch) in diameter.

 

            This second small certificate was awarded to Mr. Yoshitaro Nomura along with an Eighth Class Order of the Rising Sun  and 250 yen in cash on December 15, 1919. Given the date, it probably related to service with the Japanese intervention force in Siberia, but there is no way to be sure. The size is the same as the certificate shown immediately above. It has the same two watermarks, so I will not repeat them. However, I will show the stamp on the back, since it is slightly different.

            Here is the Japanese:

First column on far right: riku-gun-jo-to-kan-go-sotsu-no-mura-yoshi-ta-ro

Second column from right: sen-eki-no-ko [or isao] ni-yo-ri-kun-hat-

Third column from right: to-haku-shoku-to-yo-sho-oyobi

Fourth column from right: kin-ni-hyaku-go-ju-en-o-u-ke

Fifth Column from right: tama-u

Sixth column from right: tai-sho-hachi-nen-ju-ni-gatsu-ju-go-nichi

Last column on left: sho-kun-kyoku-so-sai-sho-yon-i-kun-ni-to-haku-shaku-ko-dama-hide-o

            My translation is: “Army Superior Grade Medic Yoshitaro Nomura: For meritorious conduct during wartime the Emperor bestows the Eighth Class Order of the White Paulownia Leaves and the sum of 250 yen. December 15, Taisho 8 [1919]. President of the Board of Decorations Count Hideo Kodama, Fourth Rank, Holder of the Second Order of Merit.” The red stamp in the corner says “Seal of the President of the Board of Decorations”. These seals are often used even today in place of signatures in Japan. Note that this seal has only a rank (President), whereas the earlier certificate had the personal name of the holder of that rank. Count Kodama’s name appears on the late World War One service medal certificate I have.

 

            Here is the stamp on the back (lower left corner). It is 24mm in diameter, the same as the other one shown above. The date around the outside is January 24, Taisho 9 (1920). The outer edge also has the notation “page 2”. The writing in the centre says kan-po-fu-[?], meaning something like “Appendix to the Official Gazette”.

 

            Now let’s look at the larger, presentation certificates. I have two, which differ primarily in the artwork at the bottom centre. This is the earlier one. It is 584mm X 450mm (23” X 17-3/4”) and made of fairly heavy-weight paper. There are watermarks in the upper right and lower left corners (shown below). There is nothing written or stamped on the back.

 

            The most important information is on the right side, which records the recipient’s name and the date of the award. The writing is in vertical (top down) columns, starting at the right and working across towards the left. Here is the text in Japanese, followed by a translation:

First column on right: ten-yu-o-ho-yu-shi-ban-sei-ik-kei-no-tei-so-o-fu-taru

Second column from right: nippon-koku-ko-tei-wa-ki-murai-ki-ta-ro-o-mei-ji

Third column from right: kun-sho-no-kun-hat-to-ni-jo-shi-haku-shoku-kun-sho-o-ju

Fourth column from right: yo-su-sunawa-chi-kono-i-ni-zoku-suru-rei-gu-oyo-bi-tok-ken-o

Fifth column from right: yu-seshimu

Sixth column from right: jim-mu-ten-no-soku-i-ki-gen-ni-sen-go-hyakunana-ju-kyu-nen

Seventh column from the right: tai-sho-hachi-nen-ni-gatsu-ni-ju-go-nichi-to-kyo-tei-kyu-ni-oi-te

Last column on left: ji-o-?-seshimu [I could not identify the third symbol from the top, though the meaning is clear both from the context and the OMJAS translation].

            I was somewhat lucky because OMJAS translates a certificate for another order on pages 20-21. However, I have not followed their translation very closely. Anyway, here is my translation:

“The Emperor of  Japan, having come to the Imperial throne in an unbroken Imperial line with divine guidance, confers the Meiji Order of Merit, Eighth Class, and awards the Order of the White Paulownia Leaves to Kitaro Kimura [surname Kimura] along with the honours and privileges appurtenant thereto. The Imperial Seal has been affixed in the Tokyo Imperial Palace on this 15th day of December, Taisho 8 [1919], the 2579th year since the ascension to the throne of Emperor Jimmu”. Jimmu was the mythical first Emperor of Japan, whose reign is said to have begun in 660 BC. One of the Japanese systems of reckoning dates that was in use in the 1930s takes this date as the starting point, so 2597 is equivalent to 1937 AD (1937 +660=2597). The nationalistic government of the time tried to phase out use of the Western AD (nowadays sometimes called CE) system in favour of this indigenous Japanese system, but today nobody uses it.

 

            The left side has the formalities from the Board of Decorations. Surnames are underlined in the following translations. The big round red seal at the top says dai-nip-pon-tei-koku-sho-kun-kyoku-in, “Seal of the Board of Decorations of the Empire of Greater Japan”. The first column on the right has the date, December 15, Taisho 8 (1919). The second column says sho-kun-kyoku-so-sai-sho-yon-i-kun-ni-to-haku-shaku-ko-dama-hideo: “President of the Board of Decorations Count Hideo Kodama, Fourth Rank, and holder of the Second Order of Merit. The third and fourth columns say kono-sho-kan-sa-shi-dai-hachi-ju-san-man-nana-sen-yon-byaku-kyu-ju-roku-go-o-motte-kun-to-bo-satsu-ni-ki-nyu-su: “We have entered number 837496 in the Register of Grades of Merit” (this is the number of the certificate). The second last column on the left says sho-kun-kyoku-sho-ki-kan-ju-go-i-kun-yon-to-yoko-ta-go-suke: “Secretary of the Board of Decorations Gosuke Yokota, Junior Fifth Rank, Holder of the Fourth Order of Merit”. The last line is sho-kun-kyoku-sho-ki-kan-sho-nana-i-aka-mine-tetsu-o: “Secretary of the Board of Decorations Tetsuo [given name could also be Akio, Sato or Toshio] Akamine, Junior Seventh Rank”. The square-ish red seals at the bottom repeat the titles (President and Secretary) of the individuals whose names are affixed. Such seals are often used instead of signatures in Japan even today, though usually nowadays they have the person’s name.

 

Here is a close-up of the artwork in the top middle of the certificate, with the Imperial chrysanthemum in the centre.

 

            The big red seal in the centre reads from upper right down, then upper left down. First (right) column: dai-nip-pon. Second (left) column: koku-ji. Together it means “Imperial Seal of Greater Japan”. The kanji in the lower left, ji=Emperor’s seal, gave me some trouble, as it is rather rare and written in an ancient fancy script style. I finally realized that it was the same as a printed character on the right side of the certificate and was able to find it on page 55 of Nelson’s Japanese-English Character Dictionary, Second Revised Edition, where it is kanji #71.

 

            Here is a close-up of the artwork in the bottom centre. Note that this is different from the one on the later certificate shown below (the ribbon is different and the later one is in colour).

 

            Here is the lower left corner, showing that the border is made up of alternating chrysanthemums and paulownia leaves, both symbols of the Imperial family.

 

            This is the watermark in the upper right corner. It is the Imperial Chrysanthemum. The photo appears off-colour because I had to put an incandescent lamp directly behind the certificate to get the watermark to show up and to have enough light to get a shutter speed that would allow a clear, sharp shot.

 

            This is the much smaller watermark in the lower left. It is a sakura (cherry) blossom with the character in (short for insatsu=printing) inside it. I think that means the certificate was printed by the Government Printing Department of the Empire of Greater Japan.

 

            This is the second large presentation certificate I have. It is not the same size as the earlier one for the same medal. This one is 592mm X 418mm (23-5/16” X 16-7/16”). It has the usual two watermarks in the upper right and lower left, and a small pencil notation of the recipient’s name on the back (shown below).

 

            The right side has the important information, i.e. the recipient’s name and the date. The wording is slightly different from the earlier certificate shown above, so here is the whole thing, first in Japanese, then in English. The Japanese wording differs in the terms used for the Emperor and the Palace, but is otherwise pretty much the same.

First column on far right: ten-yu-o-ho-yu-shi-ban-sei-ik-kei-no-tei-so-o-fu-meru

Second column from right: dai-nip-pon-tei-koku-ten-no-wa-ko-ike-ju-ta-ro-o

Third column from right: mei-ji-kun-sho-no-kun-hat-to-ni-jo-shi-haku-shoku-to-yo

Fourth column from right: sho-o-ju-yo-su-sunawa-chi-kono-i-ni-zoku-suru-rei-gu-oyo-bi

Fifth column from right: tok-ken-o-yu-seshiumu

Sixth column from right: jim-mu-ten-no-soku-i-ki-gen-ni-sen-rop-pyaku-nen

Seventh column from right: sho-wa-ju-go-nen-shi-gatsu-ni-ju-kyu-nichi-kyu-jo-ni-oi-te

Last column on left: ji-o-[?]-seshimu

            My translation is:

“The Emperor of Greater Japan, having come to the Imperial throne in an unbroken Imperial line with divine guidance, confers the Meiji Order of Merit, Eighth Class, and awards the Order of the White Paulownia Leaves to Jutaro Koike [surname Koike] along with the honours and privileges appurtenant thereto. The Imperial Seal has been affixed in the Imperial Palace on this 29th day of April, Showa 15 [1940], the 2600th year since the ascension to the throne of Emperor Jimmu”.           

 

            The left side has the formalities from the Board of Decorations. Surnames are underlined in the following translations. The big round red seal at the top says dai-nip-pon-tei-koku-sho-kun-kyoku-in, “Seal of the Board of Decorations of the Empire of Greater Japan”. The first column on the right has the date, April 29, Showa 15 (1940). The second column says sho-kun-kyoku-so-sai-ju-san-i-kun-it-to-shimo-jo-yasu-maro: “President of the Board of Decorations Yasumaro Shimojo, Junior Third Rank, and Holder of the First Order of Merit. The third and fourth columns say dai-ni-hyaku-kyu-ju-ichi-man-has-sen-kyu-hyaku-kyu-ju-go-go-o-motte-kun-to-bo-satsu-ni-ki-nyu-su: “We have entered number 2918995 in the Register of Grades of Merit” (this is the number of the certificate). The second last column on the left says sho-kun-kyoku-sho-ki-kan-sho-roku-i-kun-go-to-mura-ta-ya-chi-o [or –ho]: “Secretary of the Board of Decorations Yachio Murata, Sixth Rank, Holder of the Fifth Order of Merit”. The square-ish red seals at the bottom repeat the titles (President and Secretary) of the individuals whose names are affixed. Such seals are often used instead of signatures in Japan even today, though usually they have the person’s name rather then rank.

 

            As previously mentioned, the artwork in the bottom centre of the certificate is different from the earlier certificate shown above. Note that the ribbon is now in colour and its shape is as it is on the medals, not the stylized loose ribbon shown on the earlier style of certificate.

 

These characters were pencilled in on the back near the left edge. Read from top to bottom, they are Koike Jutaro, the name of the recipient.

 

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Last updated: July 31, 2006. All contents are copyright Teri unless otherwise specified and may not be used elsewhere in any form without prior permission.