JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  1. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  2. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  3. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  4. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  5. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  6. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  7. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  8. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  9. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  10. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  11. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
  12. JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943

JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943

kr 800.00

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Description

JAPAN – Order of the Rising Sun, 8th Class – White Paulownia Leaves Medal, c. 1930–1943
(勲八等白色桐葉章 – Kun-hattō Hakushoku Tōyōshō)

Instituted as part of the Order of the Rising Sun, Japan’s first national order of merit established by Emperor Meiji in 1875, the White Paulownia Leaves Medal represented the 8th Class, the lowest grade of the original eight-class system. The Order was awarded in the name of the Emperor for meritorious service to the Japanese state, both military and civilian.
Unlike the higher classes of the Order, which feature the familiar rising-sun design, the 7th and 8th Classes employ the paulownia, an ancient Japanese governmental and imperial emblem. The 8th Class consists of a plain silver badge formed as three large paulownia leaves surmounted by the characteristic 3–5–3 arrangement of blossoms. The corresponding 7th Class used a similar design with enamelled details, while the 8th Class was executed entirely in silver.

The reverse bears the traditional four-character inscription 勲功旌章 (Kunkō Seishō), meaning approximately “Decoration for Meritorious Service.” The medal is suspended from the regulation white ribbon with broad red border stripes, reflecting the national colours of Japan.
Of particular interest on this example is the small “M” mint mark visible at the lower edge of the reverse. Specialist research identifies this mark with the Japan Mint, traditionally associated with the Osaka Mint, and documents its use on Japanese orders from approximately 1930 until 1943. Examples of the 8th Class Rising Sun carrying this mark are specifically recorded from the pre-war and Second World War period. This allows the present decoration to be dated considerably more closely than unmarked examples, placing it in the early Shōwa period, c. 1930–1943.

The 8th Class was historically awarded to lower-ranking military personnel as well as civil servants and other individuals for faithful or meritorious service. Surviving award documents show examples presented to ordinary soldiers and military medical personnel for wartime service, illustrating the role of this grade within Imperial Japan’s honours system. The Edo-Tokyo Museum, for example, preserves an 8th Class White Paulownia Leaves Medal awarded to a medical soldier who served during the First World War.
The 7th and 8th Classes remained part of the Order of the Rising Sun until the reorganisation of the Japanese honours system in 2003, when both grades were abolished.

Condition: Very Fine to Extremely Fine; silver surfaces remain bright with attractive light age toning and minor handling marks. Paulownia leaves, blossoms and reverse inscription are sharply preserved. The M mint mark is clearly visible at the lower reverse. Suspension and ribbon remain complete; white-and-red ribbon retains strong colour with only light age-related creasing and wear. A particularly attractive pre-1945, Mint-marked example of the 8th Class Order of the Rising Sun.

Case: Cases for this grade were normally made in black lacquered wood, with the designation of the decoration applied in gold characters to the lid and a fitted textile-lined interior protecting the medal and ribbon. Surviving examples are generally around 9.5–10 cm long and approximately 6 cm wide, although dimensions and internal construction vary somewhat according to period and manufacturer.
The form and inscription of this case are entirely consistent with pre-1945 examples. Combined with the “M” mint mark on the accompanying medal, which dates that particular decoration approximately to 1930–1943, the case and medal form a convincing early Shōwa-period set.

Very Fine; glossy black lacquer remains exceptionally attractive with only light scratches, small handling marks and age-related surface wear. Gold-filled Japanese inscription remains strong and clearly legible. Closure fitting present at the lower edge. An attractive and important original presentation case that substantially enhances the completeness and collectability of the accompanying pre-1945 medal.

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