Nambu World: Taisho Emperor Enthronement Medal

          

            This medal was awarded to commemorate the formal enthronement of the Taisho Emperor (Hirohito’s father) in November, 1915 (Taisho 4). He actually became emperor as soon as his father, the Meiji Emperor, died in 1912, but these elaborate ceremonies always seem to be held a few years afterwards. This medal is covered on page 56 of OMJAS. It is 30mm (1-3/16”) in diameter, 2mm (0.080”) thick, and seems to be made of silver.       

Here is the back of the medal. It has the usual style of clasp on the ribbon.

 

            In this close-up of the front you can see a gold chrysanthemum, the symbol of the Imperial family, at the top. It seems to be gold plated. The two banners on the left and right both have the same two characters written on them, i.e. banzai, which literally means “10,000 years”. OMJAS says the two branches are supposed to be mandarin orange and cherry.

 

            This close-up of the back has the two characters tai-rei at the top, meaning “enthronement” (read right to left, as with all the writing on the obverse). The rei (left side) is an old form of the character, which is now much simpler. The row of three characters below that is ki-nen-sho, “commemorative medal”. The third line is tai-sho-yo-nen (Taisho 4, i.e. 1915). The last line is ju-ichi-gatsu (November).

 

            Here is the case, which is made of balsa wood. The five characters in the vertical column are tai-rei-ki-nen-sho, “enthronement commemorative medal”. The box is 112mm X 64mm X 22mm (4-3/8” X 2-1/2” X 7/8”).

 

This shot of the side shows the construction: the top lifts off to open the case.

 

Here is the medal safely nestled in its case.

 

            The certificate is 415mm X 323mm (16-5/16” X 12-3/4”). It has watermarks in the upper right and lower left corners (shown below). There is nothing written or stamped on the back. It has a small tear in the lower right that has been rather well repaired with some kind of glue (you can see a little notch out o f the edge in that area).

 

            Here is a close-up of the right side, which has the key information like the name of the recipient and the date. Here is the Japanese first, then my translation.

First column on far right: tai-rei-ki-nen-sho-no-sho

Second column from right: riku-gun-ki-hei-tai-i-sho-roku-i-kun-yon-to-taki-ta-kazu-o

Third column from right: tai-sho-yo-nen-choku-rei-dai-hyaku-go-ju-yon-go-no-mune-ni-yori

Fourth column from right: tai-rei-ki-nen-sho-o-ju-yo-seraru

Last column on left: tai-sho-yo-nen-ju-ichi-gatsu-to-ka

            Roughly translated, this means: “Enthronement Commemorative Medal Certificate. Army Cavalry Captain Kazuo Takita, Sixth Rank, Holder of the Fourth Order of Merit, is awarded the Enthronement Commemorative Medal in accordance with Imperial Decree 154 of Taisho 4 (1915). Dated this 10th day of November, 1915.” Kazuo is just one of the many possible pronunciations of the recipient’s given name.

 

            The left side has the formalities from the Board of Decorations. Here is the Japanese:

First column on far right: sho-kun-kyoku-so-sai-ju-ni-i-kun-san-to-haku-shaku-o-gi-machi-sane-masa

Second column from right: kono-sho-o-kan-sa-shi-dai-hachi-man-go-sen-rop-pyaku-hachi-ju-ni-go-o-mot-te

Third column from right: tai-rei-ki-nen-sho-bo-satsu-ni-ki-nyu-su

Last column on left: sho-kun-kyoku-sho-ki-kan-sho-go-i-kun-yon-to-fuji-i-zen-gen

            My rough translation, with surnames underlined, is: “President of the Board of Decorations, Count Sanemasa Ogimachi, Junior Second Rank, Holder of the Third Order of Merit. We have checked this certificate and recorded it as number 85682 in the Register of Enthronement Commemorative Medals. Secretary of the Board of Decorations Zengen Fujii, Fifth Rank and Holder of the Fourth Order of Merit.” The red seals repeat the titles of the two officials (President and Secretary).

 

            Here is the Imperial chrysanthemum crest in gold in the upper middle. The round red seal below it says dai-nip-pon-tei-koku-sho-kun-kyoku-in, or “Seal of the Board of Decorations of the Empire of Greater Japan”.

 

Here is the artwork in the bottom centre.

 

            The upper right corner has a chrysanthemum watermark. The photo appears very orange because I had to put an incandescent light right behind the certificate to get the watermark to show up in a photo.

 

            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.

 

To return to the primary page on Medals, please click here: Nambu World: Japanese Medals

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Last updated: August 4, 2006. All contents are copyright Teri unless otherwise specified and may not be used elsewhere in any form without prior permission.