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Summer 2022 Militaria Auction
Lot 217:
Japanese Order of the Golden Kite, 5th Class
The Order of the Golden Kite ("Kinshi Kunsho"), established in February of 1890, was a purely military award for bravery or leadership. General officers were eligible for its first to third grades, field officers its second to fourth, junior officers its third to fifth, non-commissioned officers its fourth to sixth, and soldiers its fifth to seventh grades.
The Order was abolished in 1947.
This fifth class award is in the form of crossed Samurai shields, with crossed, sheathed swords laid over them, banners with heraldic devices along either side of them, and, to the center, a vertical, sheathed halberd, surmounted by a spread winged, gilded falcon.
The falcon is the "kite" from which the award takes its name, and relates to a story about the first Japanese emperor, who, after having been defeated by a rival prince, was sent a divine messenger in the form of a golden falcon, who advised his successful counter-attack, and who perched atop his standard during the battle.
The reverse is featureless. A perforated ball is to the top of the falcon’s head, through which passes the ribbon’s suspension ring. Suspended from this ring, a watered silk ribbon of blue/green with a vertical white strip, has an elongated, vertical alloy hook which folds down to mate with an eye sewn near the base of the reverse.
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