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Order of the Sacred Treasure

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Order of the Sacred Treasure
瑞宝章
Sacred Treasure Star
Star of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
Awarded by the Emperor of Japan
Type Order
Awarded for Long and/or meritorious civil or military service
Status Currently constituted
Sovereign His Imperial Majesty
The Emperor
Grades (w/ post-nominals) 1st through 6th Class
Established 4 January 1888
Precedence
Next (higher) Order of the Rising Sun
Next (lower) Order of Culture
JPN Zuiho-sho blank BAR
Ribbon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure – new type

The Order of the Sacred Treasure (瑞宝章 Zuihō-shō?) is a Japanese Order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest two medals being abolished that year. It is awarded to those who have made distinguished achievements in research fields, business industries, healthcare, social work, state/local government fields or the improvement of life for handicapped/impaired persons.[1]

Originally a male-only decoration, the order has been made available to women since 1919; it is awarded for both civil and military merit, though of a lesser degree than that required for the conferment of the Order of the Rising Sun. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously.

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Classes[]

The Order can be awarded in any of six classes. Conventionally, a diploma is prepared to accompany the insignia of the order, and in some rare instances, the personal signature of the emperor will have been added. As an illustration of the wording of the text, a translation of a representative 1929 diploma says:

"By the grace of Heaven, Emperor of Japan, seated on the throne occupied by the same dynasty from time immemorial,
We confer the Second Class of the Imperial Order of Meiji upon Henry Waters Taft, a citizen of the United States of America and a director of the Japan Society of New York, and invest him with the insignia of the same class of the Order of the Double Rays of the Rising Sun, in expression of the good will which we entertain towards him.
"In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hand and caused the Grand Seal of the Empire to be affixed at the Imperial Palace, Tokio, this thirteenth day of the fifth month of the fourth year of Shōwa, corresponding to the 2,589th year from the accession to the throne of Emperor Jimmu."[2]

Insignia[]

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The insignia of the order incorporates symbols for the three imperial treasures: the Yata Mirror, so sacred that not even the Emperor is allowed to look at it; the Yasakani Jewel, which is made of the finest jade; and the Emperor's personal Sword.

The star for the Grand Cordon and Second Class is similar to the badge as described above, but effectively with two sets of Maltese crosses, one in gilt and one placed diagonally in silver. It is worn on the left chest by the Grand Cordon, on the right chest (without any other insignia) by the 2nd class.

The badge for the first through sixth classes is a Maltese cross, in gilt (1st-4th classes), gilt and silver (5th class) and silver (6th class), with white enameled rays (representing the sword). The central disc is blue, bearing an eight-pointed silver star (representing the mirror), surrounded by a wreath with red-enameled dots (representing the jewel). The badge is suspended on a ribbon in light blue with a gold stripe near the border, worn as a sash on the right shoulder by the Grand Cordon, as a necklet by males of the 2nd and 3rd classes, on the left chest (the ribbon folded into a triangle) by the 4th to 6th classes (with a rosette for the 4th class). For females of the 2nd to 6th classes, the ribbon is a bow worn on the left shoulder (with a rosette for the 4th class).

Until 2003, when it was abolished, the badge of the seventh and eighth classes was an eight-pointed silver medal, partially gilded for the 7th class, with representations of just the mirror and the jewel. The badge is suspended on a white ribbon with a gold stripe near the border, worn by men on the left chest (the ribbon folded into a triangle). For women, the ribbon is a bow worn on the left shoulder.

Until 2003, the ribbon of the order was white with two gold stripes near the borders; since then the ribbon has been light blue, but retains two gold stripes near the borders. The ribbon for the Fourth Class and above incorporates a blue-and-gold rosette (silver until 2003), with a solid gold bar for the Grand Cordon, a gold and silver bar for the Second Class, a solid silver bar for the Third Class and only the rosette for the Fourth Class. The ribbon for the Fifth and Sixth Classes has a centered blue disc (silver until 2003) with gold rays radiating from its center, eight rays for the Fifth Class and six rays for the Sixth Class. Formerly, the ribbon for the Seventh and Eighth Classes had a centered silver disc with gold rays radiating from its center, four rays for the Seventh Class and three rays for the Eighth Class.

Ribbons of the Order of the Sacred Treasure
1888–2003 2003–present
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 1Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 1Class BAR
 Grand Cordon
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 2Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 2Class BAR
 Second Class, Gold and Silver Star
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 3Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 3Class BAR
 Third Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 4Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 4Class BAR
 Fourth Class, Gold Rays with Rosette
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 5Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 5Class BAR
 Fifth Class, Gold and Silver Rays
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 6Class BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho 6Class BAR
 Sixth Class, Silver Rays
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 7Class BAR
 Seventh Class, Medal (abolished 2003)
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) 8Class BAR
 Eighth Class, Medal (abolished 2003)
JPN Zuiho-sho (WW2) blank BAR
JPN Zuiho-sho blank BAR
 General ribbon of the order

After the 2003 reform[]

In 2003 the lowest two classes of the Order were abolished. Moreover, the badges of the Order will from now on be suspended from three white-enamelled paulownia leaves (not chrysanthemum leaves as the Decoration Bureau page claims).

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Selected recipients[]

This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

1st class, Grand Cordon[]

2nd class, Gold and Silver Star[]

3rd class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon[]

4th class, Gold Rays with Rosette[]

  • Keiko Fukuda, awarded 1990[27]
  • Beate Sirota Gordon, awarded 1998[28]
  • Herbert Keppler, awarded 2002[29]
  • Helmut Laumer, awarded 2002[Who?][citation needed]
  • Hidetaka Nishiyama, 2000, awarded 2000[30]
  • Junnosuke Ofusa (1908–1994), awarded 1982[31]
  • Agnes Mitsue Niyekawa (1924–2012), awarded 1998[32]
  • Chōshin Chibana, awarded 1968[citation needed]
  • Richard Ponsonby-Fane (1878–1937), awarded 1921 [33]

5th class, Gold and Silver Rays[]

6th class, Silver Rays[]

  • Chozaburo Kusumoto, 1906
  • Hannah Riddell, (1855–1932) awarded 1924[48]
  • Mary Cornwall Legh (1857–1941), awarded 1939[49]
  • Ted Tsukiyama (1920-2019) awarded 2001[50]

7th class: abolished[]

While established with the original induction of the First 6 classes, Class 7 has never been issued or given an official designation or design.

Officially the Medal and its designation were abolished in 2003, there are no known recipients or issuances of this Medal in its original design from 1887.

8th class: abolished[]

While established with the original induction of the First 6 classes, Class 8 has never been issued or designated a design, like Class 7 Before it.

Officially the Medal and its designation were abolished in 2003, there are no known recipients or issuances of this Medal in its original design from 1887.

General Class[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ↑ Order of the Sacred Treasure profile, www8.cao.go.jp; accessed 6 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Honor awarded 1929 -- "Japanese Emperor Honors H.W. Taft; Consul-General Gives Insignia for Fostering International Friendship. Diploma Also Presented; Brother of Chief Justice Receives Order of Rising Sun at Exercises Here," New York Times, June 28, 1929.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 "L'Ordre du Trésor Sacré (The Order of the Sacred Treasure)" (in French). L'Harmattan. December 2014. http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=article&no=8245. Retrieved 22 April 2009. 
  4. ↑ Umezawa Michiharu
  5. ↑ "No. 32180". 4 January 1921. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/32180/page/ 
  6. ↑ Adler, Cyrus (1921). Profile of Jacob Henry Schiff, books.google.com; accessed 2 July 2014. ]
  7. ↑ "VADM Eugene P. "Dennis" Wilkinson (retired)". U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum. Archived from the original on 7 October 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061007070819/http://www.ussnautilus.org/Wilkinson_bio.html. Retrieved 15 January 2007. 
  8. ↑ "Kun Santo Zuiho Sho", Niemöller, Pätzold & Chung (1995) 'Lux Oriente', KBMf 188, p. IV
  9. ↑ John E. Tuhy, Sam Hill: The Prince of Castle Nowhere (1983), Portland, Oregon, USA: Timber Press, ISBN 0-917304-77-2, p. 178
  10. ↑ "Japan Decorates Our Naval Attache" (PDF). 25 March 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B0CE4D61331E433A2575AC2A9659C946896D6CF. 
  11. ↑ "Pax Britannica (3rd Class)", Time, 16 May 1932.
  12. ↑ Dunne, A., & Bowen, R. (2003): Trevor Pryce Leggett profile, Britain & Japan: biographical portraits (Vol. 4, pp. 323–33). London: Routledge; ISBN 978-1-9033-5014-0
  13. ↑ Brenson, Michael (December 31, 1988). "Isamu Noguchi, the Sculptor, Dies at 84". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7DC1531F932A05751C1A96E948260&scp=7&sq=Isamu+Noguchi. 
  14. ↑ Delmer Brown profile, csuchico.edu; accessed 2 July 2014.
  15. ↑ "西へ！―アメリカ人の太平洋開拓史" (in Japanese). To the west! - History of American pioneering in the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo, Japan: Kinokuniya. Archived on 29 June 2013. Error: If you specify |archivedate=, you must also specify |archiveurl=. http://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-01-9784569603247. Retrieved 29 June 2013. 
  16. ↑ Duquesne/Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law profile of Thomas Noguchi, jfk.duq.edul accessed 2 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "Tadahiro Sekimoto, Former Chairman of NEC, Passed Away on November 11, 2007", NEC Corporation, nec.co.jp, 12 November 2007.
  18. ↑ Prominent People of the Maritime Provinces, p. 193
  19. ↑ Profile, Tuttle Publishing Internet homepage], peripluspublishinggroup.com; accessed 2 July 2014.
  20. ↑ Tsuji, Masanobu (1997) Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat, p. 108
  21. ↑ Takeo Uesugi profile, rafu.com; accessed 2 July 2014.
  22. ↑ "Obituary: Elizabeth Vining". The Economist. 11 December 1999. http://www2.gol.com/users/quakers/vining_obituary.htm. 
  23. ↑ Toshiro Mifune profile, mifuneproductions.co.jp; accessed 2 July 2014.
  24. ↑ Profile of Günther Gumprich, ritterkreuztraeger-1939-45.de; accessed 6 July 2014.
  25. ↑ Profile of Akira Suzuki, nobelprize.org; accessed 2 July 2014.
  26. ↑ Profile of Hiroko Sho, oist.jp; accessed 2 July 2014.
  27. ↑ Sullivan, K. (2003): A lifetime of Judo: 90 year old Keiko Fukuda, the martial art's highest-ranked woman, still goes to the mat for her Bay Area students Reproduced from the San Francisco Chronicle, 17 October 2003; retrieved 25 April 2010.
  28. ↑ Mostel, Raphael (1 January 2013). "Beate Sirota Gordon Dies at 89". Forward. http://forward.com/articles/168592/beate-sirota-gordon-dies-at-. 
  29. ↑ Herbert Keppler profile, ny.us.emb-japan.go.jp; accessed 2 July 2014.
  30. ↑ Nishiyama bio, ITKF,org; accessed 2 July 2014.
  31. ↑ Bird, David and Robert McG. Thomas Jr. "Notes on People: Japanese Writer for Times Decorated by Hirohito", New York Times, 13 May 1982.
  32. ↑ Agnes Mitsue Niyekawa profile, 1 January 1999; accessed 2 July 2014.
  33. ↑ Britton, Dorothy. (1997). Richard Ponsonby-Fane profile, "A Modern William Adams"], Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, books.google.com], page 203; accessed 6 July 2014.
  34. ↑ About Shozo Sato, University of Illinois at Urbana website; 10 November 2006; accessed 2 July 2014.
  35. ↑ Oskar Ritter und Edler von Xylander, home.att.net; accessed 2 July 2014.
  36. ↑ Serizawa Keisuke profile, seribi.jp; accessed 2 July 2014.
  37. ↑ Funai website; accessed 2 July 2014.
  38. ↑ Takahashi, Masao; and Family (2005). Mastering Judo. Windsor, Ontario: Human Kinetics. pp. 213. ISBN 073605099X. 
  39. ↑ Forward. Yokohama, Japan: St. Joseph College. 1956. p. 8. 
  40. ↑ Letter from the Consulate General of Japan, 3 October 1988. C. Elizabeth Boyd '33 Archives, Wilson College, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
  41. ↑ Dr. Andrew Tsubaki profile, Consulate General of Japan website; accessed 2 July 2014.
  42. ↑ George Gauntlett profile, Local Information Department, Okayama Prefectural Library website; accessed 6 July 2014.
  43. ↑ "L'Ordre du Trésor Sacré (The Order of the Sacred Treasure)" (in French). L'Harmattan. http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=article&no=8245. Retrieved 2009-04-22. "Order with gold and silver rays" 
  44. ↑ Chiura Obata profile, fandrfinearts.com; accessed 2 July 2014.
  45. ↑ Yoshio Tamiya profile, tamiya.com; accessed 2 July 2014.
  46. ↑ Judo Alberta
  47. ↑ Kubota Garden Foundation, kubotagarden.org; accessed 2 July 2014.
  48. ↑ Lamott, Willis, ed (1932). "Obituary". Ginza: Federation of Christian Missions in Japan. https://archive.org/stream/japanchristian30unknuoft/japanchristian30unknuoft_djvu.txt. Retrieved 11 October 2014. 
  49. ↑ "Portrait of the Week". The Japan Society, London, UK. Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140726135202/http://www.japansociety.org.uk/31285/portrait-of-the-week-27/. Retrieved 16 July 2014. 
  50. ↑ Balendonck, Marybel (Winter 2001). "Bonsai Hero". https://estatedocbox.com/Architects/67980342-Ted-tsukiyama-accepts-imperial-award.html. 
  51. ↑ Pace, Eric (22 November 1999). "Faubion Bowers, 82, Defender Of Kabuki in Occupied Japan". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E4DB133CF931A15752C1A96F958260&scp=1&sq=Faubion+Bowers. 
  52. ↑ "Cruiser 'Livia' in Kobe to Greet Italians", Osaka Mainichi, 29 July 1922.
  53. ↑ "Prof. Chaplin's New Post; He will be Chancellor of the Washington University", New York Times, 30 August 1891.
  54. ↑ Van Gelder, Laurence. "Footlights: Honor Bound", New York Times, 4 November 1998.
  55. ↑ L'Harmattan web site (French)
  56. ↑ "Uncle Bob", Time, 10 September 1945.
  57. ↑ Yoshikawa, Eiji. (1995). Musashi (translator, Charles S. Terry), p. 971.
  58. ↑ L'Harmattan web site; accessed 2 July 2014 (French)
  59. ↑ Scott, Janny. "John W. Hall, Historian of Japan, Dies at 81", New York Times, 27 October 1997; accessed 2 July 2014.
  60. ↑ "Text of Treaty; Signed by the Emperor of Japan and Czar of Russia", New York Times, 17 October 1905.
  61. ↑ Brownlee, John. (1997). Japanese historians and the national myths, 1600-1945: the age of the gods and Emperor Jinmu, p. 96]
  62. ↑ L'Harmattan web site (in French), Order with gold rays and cross; UNICEF: Goodwill Ambassador Kuroyanagi profile; accessed 6 July 2014.
  63. ↑ L'Harmattan web site (French); accessed 6 July 2014.
  64. ↑ "Lawrence Olson, 73, An Expert on Japan" New York Times, 2 April 1992.
  65. ↑ Davison, Charles (1924). "Fusakichi Omori and his work on Earthquakes". pp. 240–255. http://books.google.com/books?id=tYfzAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA240&dq=Fusakichi+Omori+and+his+work+on+Earthquakes+Charles+Davison&hl=en&ei=y62kTYfhCsTQiAKJv_nKCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Fusakichi%20Omori%20and%20his%20work%20on%20Earthquakes%20Charles%20Davison&f=false. Retrieved 5 May 2011. 
  66. ↑ Briscoe, David (13 March 2008). "John Roderick; AP Correspondent Captured a Changing China". Associated Press. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/12/AR2008031204172.html. Retrieved 6 April 2008. 
  67. ↑ L'Harmattan web site (in French), editions-harmattan.fr; accessed 6 July 2014.
  68. ↑ "Japan Expert, Linguist & Writer Jack Seward Passes away at 86", southjnews.com; accessed 6 July 2014.
  69. ↑ London Gazette, page 10197, 22 October 1920; accessed 6 July 2014.
  70. ↑ "Kenjiro Takayanagi, Electrical Engineer, 91", New York Times, 25 July 1990.
  71. ↑ Morrison, Donald. "Japan's Master of Monsters", Time. 13 December 2007.
  72. ↑ "A Victory for the Chinese; Japanese Driven with Heavy Loss from Ping-yang", New York Times, 22 August 1894.

Sources[]

  • Peterson, James W., Barry C. Weaver and Michael A. Quigley. (2001). Orders and Medals of Japan and Associated States. San Ramon, California: Orders and Medals Society of America. 10-ISBN 1-890974-09-9
  • Rossiter, Johnson, ed. (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Vol. II. Boston: The Biographical Society....Click link for digitized, full text copy of this book
  • Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6

External links[]

Commons-Logo Wikimedia Commons has media related to Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Japanese honors system
Current honors and orders
Former honors and orders


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