Evolution of the Lapel Badges for the Order of the Rising Sun (1875-1945)
The Order of the Rising Sun has had a very long history, which continues to this day. And because the order has stayed virtually unchanged for so many years, dating the order is a tricky problem. One feature that helps in dating is the style of lapel badge that came with the order. Most people know that the bow tie type ribbon was from the Meiji/Taisho era, but very few people know the exact details of how and when they changed designs.
From the time of introduction in 1875, they changed three times in 1877, 1921 and 1936. The following diagram allows you to follow the whole history of these changes at a glance.
As you see, it was only from 1936 that each class got a distinctive lapel badge. Previously, several classes shared the same badge, so one could not pin-point the class from the lapel badge.
Bookmarks