As my last article contribution for the medals people, I selected a story that gives us great insight into the Japanese concept behind its campaign medals. In short, there’s the “been-there-done-that” medal and medals that deserved something more. Enjoy.
The medal better known as the Boxer Rebellion Medal was approved with the Emperor’s signature on 19th April 1902. I have 2 citations for that medal and they are both dated 10th May 1902, so the clerks once again conspired to set a nominal award date that probably had nothing to do with the actual date these medals were presented, a practical necessity that started with the Sino-Japanese War Medal. The medal lies in my display case in its chronological order and there is a nice harmony with the earlier medals. But the appearance of continuity was by no means preordained. This medal’s design had a fairly turbulent history, and it could have ended up looking totally different.
Turning the calendar back one year from the finalization of the design, there was a moment back in February of 1901 when the medal would have been identical in design to the 1874 Medal, the grandfather of all Japanese war medals. It was to be much more than a mere family resemblance. Those who already had the 1874 War medal were to get the Boxer Rebellion Bar to go above the Taiwan bar, so the number of conflicts with foreign nations would be clear at a glance, being represented by the number of the bars. Those who didn’t have the 1874 medal were to get an identical medal with the Boxer Rebellion bar. Anyway, it was now revealed that this is what the original planners had in mind when the general war medal concept was established back in 1875. The author of that document explains further that the resounding victory in the Sino-Japanese War, however, required something more than a mere campaign medal, something that added the aura of an honor medal befitting the monumental feat. He explains that melting down the enemy’s cannon as the main material gave that medal that aura in the form of a lasting legend. All in all, the Sino-Japanese War Medal was, in the minds of many, a justified exception to the rule established by the founding fathers of the Japanese system of medals & orders. However, the Boxer campaign was nothing like that, not even part of any declared war, but an international intervention that Japan merely joined. In that author’s mind it was a minor enough event that deserved no more than the recognition the system designed in 1875 had to offer, but still worthy of recognition nonetheless, as Japan did mobilize and shed blood like in any foreign war.
Another document that basically pursues the same argument proposes, however, that the base color of the ribbon this time should be yellow with the green lines of the 1874 medal on the edge and that this medal should only be presented to those who served in China, whereas the presentation of the Sino-Japanese medal included those serving in Japan.
Things started to get muddled in the summer of that year, when precedents set by countries such as Germany and Russia, who also participated in the campaign, addressed the combatants as well as the noncombatants by setting up two classes of medals for the Boxer Rebellion. So in the end of July, the Foreign Minister wrote to the Minister of the Army that Germany had instituted two classes of the medal that year on 15th May. The report gives details of the China-Denkmünze( China 1900 Campaign medal), the bronze version for the Kämpfer and the Steel version for Nichtkämpfer and how the Spange system worked, etc. Other diplomats stationed in the UK, Italy and Russia also reported in on what those countries were doing . The Japanese government at this time was essentially like a chop stick wielding Samurai, suddenly forced to dine with Westerners using the full assortment of knives and forks not familiar to him. They didn’t want to look ridiculous in the company of the Western Powers, so their instinct was to do as the Romans did.
In August of that year, the Ministers of the Army and Navy wrote jointly to put pressure on the Awards Bureau that now Japan was the only country that still couldn’t make up its mind about the Boxer Rebellion Medal. Despite what the other countries were doing, the military leaders insisted that the mobilization of the army and navy was so limited that it did not make sense to award those who were not part of the expedition.
The response that finally came from the Awards Bureau on 9th of September was a complete proposal package with design drawings. Following the precedents set by other countries, their proposal distinguished between a combatant and non-combatant version. The medals were to be identical, but the ribbons were to be different. The medal was to be in silver with a diameter of 3cm and featuring the Japanese flag fluttering over the gate of Beijing under a rising sun. The combatant’s ribbon was to be white as a base color with 3 blue stripes, and the non-combatant’s version was to have a yellow base with the same blue stripes.
Here the proposed design.
The medal better known as the Boxer Rebellion Medal was approved with the Emperor’s signature on 19th April 1902. I have 2 citations for that medal and they are both dated 10th May 1902, so the clerks once again conspired to set a nominal award date that probably had nothing to do with the actual date these medals were presented, a practical necessity that started with the Sino-Japanese War Medal. The medal lies in my display case in its chronological order and there is a nice harmony with the earlier medals. But the appearance of continuity was by no means preordained. This medal’s design had a fairly turbulent history, and it could have ended up looking totally different.
Turning the calendar back one year from the finalization of the design, there was a moment back in February of 1901 when the medal would have been identical in design to the 1874 Medal, the grandfather of all Japanese war medals. It was to be much more than a mere family resemblance. Those who already had the 1874 War medal were to get the Boxer Rebellion Bar to go above the Taiwan bar, so the number of conflicts with foreign nations would be clear at a glance, being represented by the number of the bars. Those who didn’t have the 1874 medal were to get an identical medal with the Boxer Rebellion bar. Anyway, it was now revealed that this is what the original planners had in mind when the general war medal concept was established back in 1875. The author of that document explains further that the resounding victory in the Sino-Japanese War, however, required something more than a mere campaign medal, something that added the aura of an honor medal befitting the monumental feat. He explains that melting down the enemy’s cannon as the main material gave that medal that aura in the form of a lasting legend. All in all, the Sino-Japanese War Medal was, in the minds of many, a justified exception to the rule established by the founding fathers of the Japanese system of medals & orders. However, the Boxer campaign was nothing like that, not even part of any declared war, but an international intervention that Japan merely joined. In that author’s mind it was a minor enough event that deserved no more than the recognition the system designed in 1875 had to offer, but still worthy of recognition nonetheless, as Japan did mobilize and shed blood like in any foreign war.
Another document that basically pursues the same argument proposes, however, that the base color of the ribbon this time should be yellow with the green lines of the 1874 medal on the edge and that this medal should only be presented to those who served in China, whereas the presentation of the Sino-Japanese medal included those serving in Japan.
Things started to get muddled in the summer of that year, when precedents set by countries such as Germany and Russia, who also participated in the campaign, addressed the combatants as well as the noncombatants by setting up two classes of medals for the Boxer Rebellion. So in the end of July, the Foreign Minister wrote to the Minister of the Army that Germany had instituted two classes of the medal that year on 15th May. The report gives details of the China-Denkmünze( China 1900 Campaign medal), the bronze version for the Kämpfer and the Steel version for Nichtkämpfer and how the Spange system worked, etc. Other diplomats stationed in the UK, Italy and Russia also reported in on what those countries were doing . The Japanese government at this time was essentially like a chop stick wielding Samurai, suddenly forced to dine with Westerners using the full assortment of knives and forks not familiar to him. They didn’t want to look ridiculous in the company of the Western Powers, so their instinct was to do as the Romans did.
In August of that year, the Ministers of the Army and Navy wrote jointly to put pressure on the Awards Bureau that now Japan was the only country that still couldn’t make up its mind about the Boxer Rebellion Medal. Despite what the other countries were doing, the military leaders insisted that the mobilization of the army and navy was so limited that it did not make sense to award those who were not part of the expedition.
The response that finally came from the Awards Bureau on 9th of September was a complete proposal package with design drawings. Following the precedents set by other countries, their proposal distinguished between a combatant and non-combatant version. The medals were to be identical, but the ribbons were to be different. The medal was to be in silver with a diameter of 3cm and featuring the Japanese flag fluttering over the gate of Beijing under a rising sun. The combatant’s ribbon was to be white as a base color with 3 blue stripes, and the non-combatant’s version was to have a yellow base with the same blue stripes.
Here the proposed design.
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