Story of the Golden Kite

[Nick Komiya]

Story of the Golden Kite

Foreword

There are many books devoted to the German Iron Cross, and there are books in Japanese dedicated to the Rising Sun Orders, but I don’t know of any on the Order of the Golden Kite. So instead of wishing for such a book, let’s just start one here. However, it can become a long story like the war medals story I just finished, so I will write it in chapters and upload as new chapters get written.

So please kindly respect that this will be a constant Work-in-Progress with new additions coming. Therefore kindly refrain from interjecting comments or questions within this thread. If you have comments to make, please just open a new thread and keep this one clean until it is totally concluded.



Chapter 1: Birth of the Golden Kite



1887 end of December, Launch or Abort?

The Order of the Golden Kite was initially planned to be introduced together with the 8 classes of the Sacred Treasure and 5 classes of the Sacred Crown Orders in 1888, as well as two higher class orders, but as explained in a memo dated 27th December 1887, the Legislation Bureau recommended that it be removed from the line-up and be postponed for launch at some later date, because class structure and award progression for the order were not yet thoroughly discussed to everyone’s satisfaction. There was also no pressing need for such an order for bravery in war. Thus next day on the 28th, Hirobumi Itoh, the Prime Minister asked the Emperor to decide whether to launch only the other orders and delay the Golden Kite or to launch them all now together.

At this time, there was no war, so the Golden Kites were indeed not needed in any rush, but the Sacred Treasure and Sacred Crown were needed rather soon. They had been awarding the Order of the Rising Sun, since its launch in 1875, but this was becoming a problem in diplomacy with European nations.

In those days, Austria had 9 lines of orders, Russia and Prussia both had 8, Italy had 4, Spain, Portugal, Holland and Sweden also had several lines. Having a good line-up of orders worked just like having bills in various denominations, like $100, $50, $20, $10, $5. In comparison, for Japan to have only the Rising Sun series was like only having $100 bills. So for instance, when Japanese royal family members got presented orders from other countries and Japan had to reciprocate, sometimes it became like giving out a $100 bill in exchange for being presented $60, for lack of grades in between. The same applied to awarding people of merit; you were forced to round it up to the next higher class of the Rising Sun.

Thus adding the Sacred Treasure allowed a step between the Rising Sun classes. So if someone’s merit rated more than a 4th class Rising Sun, but not quite a 3rd class Sun, you now had the option of giving out a 3rd class Sacred Treasure. Thus by adding the Sacred Treasures the 8 classes of the Rising Sun virtually would be augmented to 16 classes.

The reason for the urgency for the Sacred Crown on the other hand was that the Empress of Japan had recently been presented by the Czarina of Russia, the Order of Saint Catherine, an order reserved for women. Diplomatic protocol required Japan to reciprocate in kind, but Japan had no such order for women and urgently needed one.

So both the Sacred Treasure and Sacred Crown orders were primarily required not to let the Emperor lose face in the international community of Royals.

Documents from the time do not reveal what exactly about the Golden Kite classes required more discussion, but it is easy to imagine that the class structure of only 7 classes, not 8 like the Rising Sun and Sacred Treasure orders, would have drawn more questions than the Decorations Bureau would have liked.


1888 January, Put off a full two years for a bigger Bang

So asked by Itoh whether to launch or postpone the Golden Kite, Emperor Meiji, made the call to delay and launch it later instead, on the 2550th Year’s Empire day (紀元節), which translated to 11th February 1890.

This Empire day was established in 1873 and was to be celebrated on 11th February every year. The day was supposed to be the Enthronement day of Emperor Jinmu, the first Emperor of Japan. Thus it was an elegant call, as the Golden Kite Legend was also tied to Emperor Jinmu, and launching the order in his honor to celebrate his enthronement of 2,550 years ago actually gave it a lot more meaning than launching it with the other orders.

So the Edict signed by Emperor Meiji on 4th January 1888 launched the Sacred Treasure, Sacred Crown, Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers and the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum, but left out the Golden Kite. In a hurry to launch these orders, they skipped prototyping, so the drawings announced at that time were attached only as an artist’s rendition with comments that there might be minor differences with the actual orders to come later. As a matter of fact, they still hadn’t got around to getting prototypes done, even in late September of that year. So under such circumstances, postponing the Golden Kite held another a blessing in disguise.


1890 February, Golden Kite Order Established

By end of 1889 the Decorations Bureau finally thought it was time again to resume work on the Golden Kite and on 30th November, they applied for approval to spend 1,000 Yen on preparing a prototype order, which the Cabinet office approved on 4th December.

On 29th January 1890 the Decorations Bureau resubmitted its motion to have the Cabinet approve the establishment of the Order of the Golden Kite, repeating what they had mentioned already two years ago.

They said that the 1888 introductions of new orders had greatly augmented the line-up of orders to be able to appropriately recognize cultural, military and diplomatic contributions, but a series solely dedicated to military prowess was still missing. Such orders were taken for granted in European nations. Thus the Russians had the Order of Saint George, the Italians had the Military Order of Savoy, the Dutch had the Military Order of William and the Austrians had the Military Order of Maria Theresa. As the Empire of Japan sought to expand its Army and Navy, establishing a similar order dedicated to outstanding feats of bravery in military action was thought to serve as an ideal encouragement and morale raiser for the men in arms.

However, this Golden Kite Order was not to be awarded to past exploits of bravery, but only to such actions that should come in the future.

The edict was duly signed by Emperor Meiji, as planned by him, precisely on 11th February 1890, the Empire Day celebrating 2550 Years of Imperial Rule.

[Nick Komiya]

The Sacred Treasurers of the Golden Kite

The shield, spear and sword featured on the order were motifs taken from the Imperial treasures held by the Ise Grand Shrine, located in Mie Prefecture, Ise City.

Every 20 years, 65 structures comprising the shrine complex, as well as a bridge, are rebuilt from scratch as a part of the Shinto belief of the death and renewal of nature and the impermanence of all things and as a way of passing building techniques from one generation to the next. The twenty year renewal process is called the Sengu (遷宮). This has been going on for the past 1300 years, although there were some breaks in between most notably a 120 year break during the warring Sengoku Era. The most recent Sengu of 2013 was the 62nd Sengu of Ise Shrine.

However, it is not only the buildings that get rebuilt, but also the great assortment of traditional treasure offerings kept at the shrine gets renewed in 20-year cycles. Counting swords alone, there are as many as 60 Tachi swords retired and replaced with new ones. What could be burned of the retired treasures were traditionally burned and items like swords were buried, as even when retired, these were meant for the gods and not for mortals.

Besides the sword, the shield and spear featured on the Golden Kite Order are similarly replaced every 20 years for the Sengu. In recent years, however, they stopped destroying the retired treasures and they are now offered to lesser shrines or shown in museums. Treasures like swords buried far back in the Kamakura Era have also been dug up and moved to museums for conservation.

Now talking specifically about the treasures depicted in the Golden Kite Order, the sword can be traced back through drawings kept at the national archives to the Sengu that took place in October of 1889. I was able to find a match in the scroll of drawings prepared in May of 1888 in preparation of the Sengu in the coming year.
The sword is called the Tama-Makari-no-Ontachi meaning the Sacred Jewel Bedecked Sword, which is the most gorgeous of all the 60 swords that get enshrined at Ise.

I show you an actual example of this sword below made for the 1953 Sengu and the drawing from 1888 of the one which got incorporated into the Golden Kite. See how the wearing sash belt for the 1888 sword exactly matches the one portrayed on the Golden Kite. Such an opportunity only comes every 20 years, so it was natural for the designer of the order to depict the sword that was in preparation at that time.

This sword along with some other swords and spears were presented to Emperor Meiji for inspection at the Imperial Palace at 11 AM on 28th June 1889. It was 5 months later that the Decorations Bureau got to work on its first prototype of the Golden Kite.

[Nick Komiya]

Some more Sengu photos

[Nick Komiya]

The Kite and the Exploits of Jinmu

Now let’s get to the kite, the star of the show. The kite is not actually a bird held in very high esteem by the Japanese. Proof of this is in Japanese proverbs such as “Having one’s fried Tofu snatched away by a kite” meaning to be “suddenly robbed of one’s due” and “A kite breeding a hawk”, meaning “an unspectacular couple producing a genius child”. Though essentially a predator, a kite often resorts to robbery and scavenging, just the way I used to get my sandwich snatched away by pesky Jays the Canadians call “camp robbers”. So in comparison, hardcore predators like hawks and eagles are regarded as more noble creatures as clearly depicted by the second proverb example.

So the story of Emperor Jinmu’s expedition of conquest eastward is about the only story in which the kite gets to play a respectable role. That story is a military adventure spanning a period of 6 years, in which the future emperor of Japan, along with his 3 elder brothers sets off from their home in present day Miyazaki Prefecture in the southern island of Kyushu to work their way northeast to Fukuoka, Hiroshima and Okayama, where they stay for 3 years to resupply and build a fleet of ships. They sail most of the way, so it resembles the Greek tale of Jason and the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece, but with fewer monsters.

They have their first run-in with the arch enemy, Nagasunehiko when they come ashore in what is Osaka now, but there they are badly defeated. They then realize that being children of the Sun, they actually should not have advanced east against the sun with drawn swords, which had surely brought them the defeat. Therefore they decide to sail around the Kii Peninsula to be able to approach the enemy from the east, to have the sun on their backs instead.

Trying to circumnavigate the peninsula and getting ravaged by a storm at sea, he tragically ends up losing all 3 elder brothers. Then back on land, the troops get lost trying to negotiate rugged mountainous terrain, at which time a huge crow called the Yatagarasu appears to show the way. There are a couple further episodes of intrigue, but they reach Nara and perform a large religious ceremony in honor of the Sun Goddess from which point they win all encounters with the enemy in the German “Gott mit uns (God is on our side)” fashion.

Finally they meet their old enemy, Nagasunehiko again for a rematch. It becomes another bitter battle, but at one such battle, the troops get pelted by heavy hail raining down from the darkly overcast skies, and amid all this, suddenly a kite emitting blinding golden radiance alights upon the bow in Jinmu’s hands. The blinding glare dazzles the enemy, who are demoralized by this sighting of the Golden Kite.

However, even after dropping weapons, Nagasunehiko refuses to accept Jinmu’s authority as he claims to serve the real son of god, Nigi-hayahi-no-mikoto and that Jinmu was merely an imposter. Jinmu demands to see proof of the other’s holy bloodline and it is revealed that both Jinmu and Nigi-hayahi-no-mikoto shared the same heritage. Nigi-hayahi-no-mikoto agrees to serve Jinmu. However, Nagasunehiko would not accept that, so Nigi-hayahi-no-mikoto had him slain in the end.

Jinmu then takes a wife and builds a palace in Kashihara in the center of Nara, where he ascends the throne as Japan’s first emperor on, what is on today’s calendar, 11th February. Thus was born the nation of Japan, according to the Chronicles of Japan (日本書紀), which finished being compiled in the year 720.

It’s a nice story to have, but archeological finds tend to contradict rather than support the myth. Particularly, military conquest of the Kinki region around Nara by clans from the southern island is unlikely, because the Kinki region came out of the Stone Age earlier and was quicker to switch to iron, making it improbable that a low tech army could overcome the superior equipped army. Also study of pottery designs show minor migration of Kinki designs to the South, but no evidence of any reverse flow from Kyushu to Kinki. Jinmu himself tends to be regarded more as a fictional figure these days.

[Nick Komiya]

Unique characteristics of the first Generation Golden Kite Orders

There are several things about Golden Kites that changed over the years, so it is necessary to point out some features you won’t see anymore in WW2 versions.

1. Composition of the physical awards
The first and second classes of the Golden Kites each came with a lower grade secondary order (副章), accompanying the primary order (正章).

So the first class Order of the Golden Kite had the sash order as the primary order accompanied by the second class Breast Star. Furthermore, the sash was to hang from the left shoulder with the sash order hanging at the right hip. The secondary breast star was worn below the right chest in this case. This wearing arrangement was in reverse of how the sashes for the Rising Sun and Sacred Treasure were to be worn.

The second class of the Golden Kite consisted of the breast star as primary order and the third class neck order as the secondary decoration. The breast star, in this case was worn on the left lower chest, reversed from when the same star served as a secondary decoration to the first class.

The fourth class ribbon was still devoid of the large rosette that got added later.

2. Lapel Rosettes(略綬)
Only the first class had a unique rosette of its own. All other rosettes were shared by the adjacent two classes (2&3 classes, 4&5 classes and 6&7 classes shared the same rosette)　

[Nick Komiya]

Photos have a few things to tell you now

[Nick Komiya]

Chapter 2: The Carrot and the Stick


Although the Golden Kite had been instituted in early 1890, not a single example was awarded for the next 5 years, simply because there were no wars that called for an order of valor. So this period was spent in beefing up the program with huge bonuses to be won, and also defining the type of heroics that could earn these privileges.


Award Class Eligibility by Rank and Lifetime Pension Benefits

First to come was a lifelong pension program, introduced on 29th September 1894 to egg the soldiers on in the Sino-Japanese War that started just 2 months earlier in July. The chart below shows how this worked as well as how it developed between 1894 and 1927.

It also shows how the Golden Kite’s 7 classes were assigned to rank groups. So unlike the German Iron Cross and Knight’s Cross system, rank limited what you could win. To understand that point, first see the right side purple shaded area of the chart, showing how each rank group except EM only had eligibility to 3 classes of Golden Kites. Thus if you were a NCO, the first Kite you could earn was the 7th Class and you could not go higher than 5th class. On the other hand, Generals started with 3rd Class and could go up to 1st Class. See how a clear stairway structure in Yellow emerges, which was defined by the Golden Kite Awarding Regulations (金鵄勲章叙賜条例) released on 25th November 1894.

Exceptions to the above were possible, but most awardings stayed within the Yellow band within the chart. The initial award to NCOs got raised to the 6th Class as of 20th April 1938, but the ceiling remained at 5th class unless one was a warrant officer which could earn up to 4th class. This 1938 change, shown as the lower chart, was applicable retroactively to awards from 8th July 1937.

You can also check the chart by class of Golden Kite. For instance, if you had a third class in your collection, you know it was worn by an officer. A second class must have had a field grade officer or general as an owner.

Next, for each class, an annual amount was awarded for the rest of the winner’s life as a pension. Furthermore, this pension was additional to the other pensions that came with being a recipient of Rising Suns and Sacred Treasure Orders, etc. To give you a better idea of the magnitude of the annual amounts shown in the chart below, I also gave you the monthly base salaries for the various ranks in the Army and Navy (in brackets) for 1904 as reference. Thus for an Army private to win the 7th Class Golden Kite in the Russo-Japanese War was to win a lifetime annual pension of 7 times his annual Army pay.

In case the Golden Kite Winner died, the next of kin initially got this amount for only 1 year thereafter, but this was extended on 19th June 1920. So if the Golden Kite recipient died before receiving 5 years of pension payouts, payouts for the remaining number of years up to the 5th year were made to the next of kin. This new scheme was applied retroactively to those who won the Kite after 1916.

The chart also shows how the class designations for the Golden Kite differed from how the other order classes were called. These were combined as part of one’s title and placed before one’s personal name, in which the Golden Kite class was mentioned at the end. So if a man named Yutaka Shimomura (下村豊) already had the 4th Class Rising Sun or Sacred Treasure as well as the 5th Class of the Golden Kite, his name will show up in citations as 勲四等巧五級下村豊(kun-yontoh, koh-gokyu Shimomura Yutaka), which normally will be preceded by the man’s military and court ranks.

[Nick Komiya]

Heroics Defined

Finally, at the end of 1894 came the sharp end of the stick, to spell out what was expected in return for the impressive benefits of winning a Golden Kite.

Golden Kite Awarding Guidelines (金鵄勲章叙賜規定) released on 20th December 1894 gave concrete examples of outstanding feats of valor regarded as deserving the Order of the Golden Kite.

Although counting as many as a total of 65 examples of deeds, the listing was not meant to be conclusive, but merely to collectively represent a standard of valor required. These 65 points broke down into 50 articles defining officer heroics and 15 articles for other ranks. For both officers and men, articles were further comprised of general combat behavior and those specific to land and sea battles respectively.

If this had been issued after 1910, it would likely have had some articles also about heroics in aerial combat, but even the Wright Brothers hadn’t flown yet, so fighting in planes was not discussed. As a matter of fact these guidelines were still valid without change even during WW2, despite the absence of reference to aerial combat, so one can see that these guidelines were taken only as a barometer of gung ho spirit rather than a definitive catalog of deeds that translate into a Golden Kite.

To some extent, reading the articles is like reading about some operations actually performed in the Russo-Japanese War still many years into the future. Fact following fiction in this way may suggest to some the motivation of a prize shaping history like a Cub Scout’s to-do list to win arrowhead points. Likewise there are authors who claim that certain critical actions were not taken during WW2, just because it was not in this list.

Naoki Hyakuta, the author of the novel “The Eternal Zero” has a character in the book explain why the Japanese Navy Commander of the 8th Fleet did not wipe out a critical American transport convoy at the battle of Guadalcanal by saying, “there’s another ugly rumor that I heard. The Order of the Golden Kite, the highest honor that could be bestowed on a commander of a military fleet, was granted based on sinking enemy warships in battle more than anything else. Battleships were worth the greatest number of points, followed by cruisers, destroyers, and so on. But transport ships didn’t count for any, no matter how many you sank. (page 126 2nd paragraph of English version)”

Facts as represented in the actual listing below of deeds that won a Golden Kite prove those points merely to be a rumor and not fact. For instance, article 54 does not differentiate between types of enemy ships and articles 56 and 58 both stress the importance of freight convoys, so naturally they would have had the presence of mind to attribute similar importance to destroying enemy convoys.

That the listing reads like a prophecy of the Russo-Japanese War must rather come from the fact that the Japanese Navy had destroyed the Chinese fleet in the Sino-Japanese War already 3 months prior to the compilation of this listing. That would have made the listing not a hypothetical one but rather a highly empirical one, best suited to the arena that war was fought in, which is the same arena where the Russians will also be forced into their next war with Japan.

The guideline regulations consist of 80 articles, the first 15 of which discuss how a panel of assessors was to be organized to judge the applications made, and awarding procedures of the order. An interesting point from those procedural articles is the fact that you needed a witness account from a superior or an old hand ( I suppose someone like a master sergeant). When such witnesses were not available due to circumstance, witness accounts from three or more colleagues of equal or lower rank as the candidate were required to support the application. Otherwise, I will omit details of articles 1 to 15 and start at article 16 for the list of Golden Kite winning deeds below.

Ones under the officer section highlighted in red indicate the presence of the same clause for the Men’s section. Furthermore the land warfare actions are highlighted in green and naval warfare actions in blue.


General Combat Actions of Meritorious Nature by Army/Navy officers (12 articles)

16. Bringing victory through excellent, clear planning, allowing troops to perform decisively or excellent strategic planning bringing immeasurable advantage.

17. Those engaged in critical work with outstanding diligence and excellent planning that ensures achievement of operational objectives.

18. Proposing extraordinary, out-of-the-box tactics to an Army Commander, Divisional Commander, Independent mixed Brigade Commander, Navy Commander-in-Chief, Commander or similarly empowered chief officer and executing it to cause the enemy’s total defeat.

19. Taking an enemy commander alive in battle or taking back one’s own commander from enemy captivity or danger

20. Bringing victory by causing great disadvantage to the enemy under huge personal risk or through single-handed initiative and action.

21. Personally upholding the fighting spirit of men in adversity to eventually bring them to victory.

22. Successful missions behind enemy lines or proposing and personally carrying out dangerous missions to success.

23. Risking one’s life for reconnaissance of enemy strongholds to locate a vulnerable spot and leading an assault there to snatch victory.

24. Bringing back critical intelligence in reconnaissance behind enemy lines or through some other high risk activity to assist in plans that lead to victory

25. From among those following one’s commander into a feat of outstanding bravery, one offering the superior the most critical support.

26. Those in a noncombatant’s role that sees his mission through at great risk to his life and thereby saves the unit or ship in a crisis and eventual victory.

27. Defeating a superior enemy in combat or winning a key battle that results in the overall collapse of the enemy.



Meritorious Combat Actions by Officers in Land Battles (25 articles)

28. Turning the tide of a battle by capturing a fortress and holding it until relieved.

29. Drawing enemy attention away by serving as a diversion to allow reinforcements or supplies to reach a stronghold under enemy attack.

30. Taking an enemy stronghold defended by troops of equal or superior strength.

31. Successfully defending a stronghold against an enemy force of double or more strength.

32. Successfully breaking out of enemy encirclement and leading men back to one’s own lines.

33. Breaking through an enemy force of double or more strength to rescue friendly troops from encirclement.

34. Capturing an enemy banner equivalent to our regimental standard (or an artillery piece) or recovering such of our own back from enemy capture.

35. Being the first into an enemy fortress, gun position or stronghold under heavy fire and opening a path for following troops to capture that position.

36. Voluntarily wading ahead of others in fording rivers in the face of the enemy to give following troops cover from the opposite shore.

37. Holding back an enemy force of superior strength as they attack our troops passing a narrow corridor.

38. Under heavy fire from the enemy, recovering supply traffic through an enemy blockade by scattering the enemy force.

39. Under great risk, protecting a critical point by establishing an obstacle forward in the way of the attacking enemy and holding them back.

40. Successfully protecting a beach from an enemy landing of superior strength and foiling the landing.

41. A cavalry commander that raids a superior force without borrowing firepower from other units, causing the enemy to run.

42. An artillery commander that successfully silences, with his guns, the artillery barrage of an enemy of twice in size

43. Under attack from a superior enemy, taking artillery action to block advance of enemy guns or silencing them to cause enemy retreat.

44. Skillful use of artillery in breaching walls in attacking an enemy fortress and allowing our troops entrance and capture

45. Silencing enemy artillery positions for at least 24 hours in an artillery match.

46. In a stronghold under enemy seize to employ artillery to silence enemy artillery for a few days to give the defense time to reorganize.

47. Finishing a construction project swiftly amid intense enemy fire.

48. Clearing an enemy minefield or some other obstacle under intense enemy fire to open a pathway of attack for one’s troops.

49. Under heavy enemy fire, establishing a path for our assault troops by demolishing banks of an enemy stronghold.

50. Holding back enemy pursuits during a general retreat by demolishing bridges or by creating obstacles under heavy enemy fire.

51. Those voluntarily building a shielding structure from the enemy, immediately upon securing a breach in the wall of an enemy fortress or stronghold.

52. Risking one’s life to patch up an enemy’s breach of the protective wall to bar enemy entry or to prevent the enemy from achieving a breach.


Meritorious Combat Actions by Officers in Sea Battles (13 articles)

53. Fighting against a superior enemy or comparable force assisted by a battery of artillery and winning by capturing, sinking or taking a battleship out of service

54. Destroying part of the enemy fleet in intense fighting and creating a momentum towards victory.

55. Contributing toward victory by undermining the enemy’s defense by clearing or destroying enemy mines and obstacles to clear a pathway for our warships.

56. Gaining freighting access by intense fighting to a battery or port surrounded or blockaded by a superior enemy.

57. Avoiding capture and escaping an attack by a superior enemy war ship without assistance.

58. While escorting a convoy, deflecting an intensive attack by a superior enemy and delivering the convoy to safety.

59. Attacking and capturing a heavily fortified enemy gun position, port or city

60. Taking back our captured vessel under guard by a superior enemy.

61. Infiltrating a well protected enemy port to capture or destroy warships or torpedo boats.

62. Taking an enemy warship out of service by conducting a torpedo attack by ship

63. First one on deck of an enemy ship in a capture attempt or taking initiative in preventing an enemy boarding of one’s own ship.

64. Saving the ship in battle by risking one’s life to repair damages crippling to the ship or extinguishing fires breaking out in the vicinity of the ammunition magazine.

65. First one on shore through heavy enemy fire in a troop landing.



General Combat Actions of Meritorious Nature by Army/Navy EM & NCOs (6 articles)


66. From among those following one’s officer into a feat of outstanding bravery, the one offering the officer the most critical support.

67. A morale raiser for the whole unit, vessel or army.

68. Carrying out a mission successfully behind enemy lines.

69. Capturing an enemy banner equivalent to our regimental standard (or an artillery piece) or recovering such of our own back from enemy capture.

70. Taking an enemy general or superior commander alive in battle or taking back one’s own officer from enemy captivity or danger

71. In case all officers fall in battle or can no longer command, to stand in to lead the men to hold the line or repel enemy attacks.



Meritorious Combat Actions by EM & NCOs in Land Battles (4 articles)

72. Spearheading an infiltration of a heavily fortified enemy position in battle to allow capture

73. Leading a counterattack on enemy infiltrating fortified gun batteries and other strongholds.

74, Recovering stranded artillery pieces and equipment under enemy fire.

75. Finishing a construction project swiftly amid intense enemy fire.



Meritorious Combat Actions by EM & NCOs in Sea Battles (5 articles)

76. Spearheading a breach into an enemy vessel or fortification in battle for the purpose of capture.

77. Sinking or inflicting crippling damage to an enemy vessel by firing upon it.

78. Being the first to board an enemy ship in a raid or to capture the enemy’s battle flag equivalent to our naval ensign.

79. Death defying heroism in fire extinguishing operations in battle or effecting critical repairs to the hull or equipment and thereby saving the ship.

80. Spearheading a beach landing under enemy fire.

[Nick Komiya]

I belatedly realized I forgot to include the final change made in 1942 to the eligibility of various ranks to the Kite. That change finally made each rank group eligible for a maximum of 3 classes of the Golden Kite each. This was applied retrospectively from 8th December 1941, so this was the system during WW2. I have revised the earlier chart to include this final phase.

[Nick Komiya]

1894 December, Whoops! Getting Scooped by the Press

The guidelines above were meant to be for internal eyes only. Thus it was initially properly titled as an “Internal Regulation (内規)”, but this prefix somehow got lost during the draft revisions. Thus without any clear designation as classified material, the list got leaked to the press, giving the army a bad shock when the Geibi Nichi Nichi Newspaper (藝備日日新聞) of Hiroshima scooped the story and ran it. Back then, the paper had a circulation of 56,000 copies and was the 5th largest in Japan, so the news was further picked up by other papers.

To make things worse, this article actually appeared even before the official release date of 20th December of the new guidelines. Thus on 17th December 1894, an urgent telegram was sent from the Imperial General HQ in Hiroshima to the Ministry of the Army asking that news coverage on the topic be banned. The Japanese troops in the Sino-Japanese War were commanded out of Hiroshima, so the leak must have originated there, but the army had to brief the Ministry of the Interior to enforce a news blackout on the subject. The Ministry must have sent the police to the newspapers and they were all forced to retract the stories.