are medals awarded by the

Government of Japan The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and were first awarded the following year. Several expansions and amendments have been made since then. The medal design for all six types are the same, bearing the stylized characters on a gilt central disc surrounded by a silver ring of

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

s on the obverse; only the colors of the ribbon differ. If for some reason an individual were to receive a second medal of the same ribbon colour, then a second medal is not issued but rather a new bar is added to their current medal. The Medals of Honor are awarded twice each year, on April 29 (the birthday of the

Shōwa Emperor Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

) and November 3 (the birthday of the

Meiji Emperor , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figure ...

Types

Red ribbon

First awarded in 1882. Awarded to individuals who have risked their own lives to save the lives of others.

Green ribbon

First awarded in 1882. Originally awarded ''"to children, grandchildren, wives and servants for remarkable acts of

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

; and to individuals who, through their diligence and perseverance while engaging in their professional activities, became public role models"''. Changed social values after World War II had resulted in the conferment of this medal being suspended after 1950; since 1955 it has been replaced to some extent by the revived Medal with Yellow Ribbon (see below). However, in 2003 the Medal with Green Ribbon was revived as an award to morally remarkable individuals who have actively taken part in serving society.

Yellow ribbon

First awarded in 1887 (later abolished); revived in 1955. Awarded to individuals who, through their diligence and perseverance while engaging in their professional activities, became public role models.

Purple ribbon

First awarded in 1955. Awarded to individuals who have contributed to academic and artistic developments, improvements and accomplishments.

Blue ribbon

First awarded in 1882. Awarded to individuals who have made significant achievements in the areas of public welfare or

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

Dark blue ribbon

First awarded in 1919. Awarded to individuals who have made exceptionally generous financial contributions for the well-being of the public.

Select recipients

Red

Samuel Robinson Samuel Robinson may refer to: * Samuel Robinson (1666–1729), member of Parliament for Cricklade, England * Samuel Robinson (politician) (1738–1813), Vermont political and military leader * Samuel Robinson (industrialist) (1794–1884), English i ...

* Yan Jun, a People's Republic of China citizen who saved a Japanese child in September 2013 * Anuj Raj Karki, a Nepalese citizen who saved a Japanese girl lying unconscious on a railway track.

Green

Ryōtarō Sugi (born 14 August 1944, Kobe) is a Japanese singer and actor. He is the father of actor Jundai Yamada. He appeared in ''Sukima Kaze'', which sold over a million copies. His acting credits include 18 films. On television, he specialized in ''jid ...

Torakusu Yamaha was a Japanese businessman and entrepreneur known as the founder of the Yamaha Corporation. Yamaha was the first Japanese manufacturer of the reed organ and established Nippon Gakki Co Ltd in Hamamatsu to produce organs and other musical inst ...

Yellow

Ken Ono Ken Ono (born March 20, 1968) is a Japanese-American mathematician who specializes in number theory, especially in integer partitions, modular forms, umbral moonshine, the Riemann Hypothesis and the fields of interest to Srinivasa Ramanujan. He ...

Hiroshi Maeda is a professional Japanese stunt man and suit actor from Kōchi Prefecture who is best known for portraying the Red Ranger in most of the ''Power Rangers'' series as well as the Tyranno Ranger in the 1992 ''Super Sentai'' series ''Kyōryū Senta ...

* Noguchi Naohiko * Hiroshi Tsukakoshi * Hisashi Suzuki *

Mitsugu Shibata Mitsugu (written: , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese World War II flying ace *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese photographer *, pen-name of Kanegai Hi ...

Purple

Osamu Akimoto is a Japanese manga artist from Katsushika, Tokyo. He is best known for his long-running comedy series '' KochiKame: Tokyo Beat Cops'', which was continuously published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 40 years from 1976 to 2016. With 1,960 chapt ...

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, maki ...

Toshiko Akiyoshi is a Japanese–American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Akiyoshi received fourteen Grammy Award nominations and was the first woman to win Best Arranger and Composer awards in ''Down Beat'' magazine's annual Readers' Poll. ...

Japan Foundation – Toshiko Akiyoshi
*

Hideaki Anno is a Japanese animator, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for creating the anime series ''Neon Genesis Evangelion'' (1995)''.'' His style is defined by his postmodernist approach and the extensive portrayal of characters' thoughts and emotio ...

Shizuka Arakawa is a retired Japanese figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic champion and the 2004 World champion. Arakawa is the first Japanese skater to win an Olympic gold medal in figure skating and the second Japanese skater to win any Olympic medal in fi ...

Chieko Asakawa (b. 1958) is a blind Japanese computer scientist, known for her work at IBM Research – Tokyo in accessibility.. A Netscape browser plug-in she developed, the IBM Home Page Reader, became the most widely used web-to-speech system available. She ...

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking," Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the ''Battles Without Honor ...

Moto Hagio is a Japanese manga artist. Regarded for her contributions to ''shōjo'' manga ( manga aimed at young and adolescent women), Hagio is considered the most significant artist in the demographic and among the most influential manga artists of a ...

Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese former competitive figure skater. He is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), a two-time World champion (2014, 2017), a four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), the 2020 Four Continents champion, the 2010 World J ...

Machiko Hasegawa was a Japanese manga artist and one of the first female manga artists. She started her own comic strip, ''Sazae-san'', in 1946. It reached national circulation via the ''Asahi Shimbun'' in 1949, and ran daily until Hasegawa decided to retire in ...

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explor ...

Sayuri Ishikawa is a Japanese enka singer who made her professional debut in 1973. With a career nearing five decades, she is one of the most-recognized and successful enka singers in history. Ishikawa is a popular contestant on the annual NHK ''Kōhaku Uta Gas ...

Chika Kuroda Chika Kuroda (黒田チカ; 24 March 1884 – 8 November 1968) was a Japanese chemist whose research focused on natural pigments. She was the first woman in Japan to receive a Bachelor of Science. Biography Chika Kuroda was born in Saga, Kyus ...

Keisuke Kuwata is a Japanese multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and frontman for the Southern All Stars, as well of his own solo band, the Kuwata band. He has also done a significant amount of scoring music for films. He went to Aoyama Gakuin University ...

Akihiro Maeta (from Tottori, Japan, born May 1, 1954) is a Japanese ceramic artist known for white porcelain. He is a Living National Treasure of Japan and a member of the Japan Kōgei Association. Maeta's style is achieved by hand-forming his works as op ...

* Takashi Matsumoto *

Miyuki Nakajima (born February 23, 1952, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and radio personality. She has released 43 studio albums, 46 singles, 6 live albums and multiple compilations as of January 2020. Her sales have been estimated ...

* Eiichi Nakamura *

Koichi Nakano (born November 14, 1955 in Kurume, Fukuoka) of Japan is a former professional track racing cyclist and ten-consecutive-time world champion in track cycling sprint. He is among the best track sprinters of modern times. From 1977 to 1986, he won ...

Hitoshi Narita Hitoshi Narita is a Japanese naval architect, researcher, businessman, and an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng). For a time, Narita was one of the Managing Directors of Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. in th ...

Tetsuya Noda is a contemporary artist, printmaker and educator.
Government of Japan, Embassy of J ...

Chronological report of Japan's Art Yearbook by Independent Administrative Institution National Research Institute of Cultural Properties, Tokyo) * Hideyuki Okano *

Katsuhiro Otomo is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...

Shoichi Ozawa was a Japanese actor, radio host, singer, and prominent researcher and expert on Japanese folk art. He also founded the Shabondama-za theater company. Ozawa, who was born in Tokyo, graduated from Waseda University. He began acting after college, ...

Takao Saito was a Japanese manga artist, although he rejected the term and considered his work gekiga. He was best known for '' Golgo 13'', which has been serialized in ''Big Comic'' since 1968, making it the oldest manga still in publication. ''Golgo ...

Hiroyuki Sasaki is a Japanese geneticist known for contributing to clarify epigenetic regulations during gametogenesis and embryogenesis through investigation of genomic imprinting as a model. He participates in the International Human Epigenome Consortium H ...

Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in ''Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''Rashomon'' (1950), ''Ikiru'' (1952) an ...

Yasuharu Suematsu (born 1932) is a researcher and educator in optical communication technology. His research has included the development of Dynamic Single Mode Semiconductor Lasers for actuation and the development of high-capacity, long-distance optical fiber c ...

Taihō Kōki , ''Ivan Boryshko''; May 29, 1940 – January 19, 2013, lead=yes was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler. He became the 48th ''yokozuna'' in 1961 at the age of 21, the youngest ever at the time. Kōki won 32 tournament championships bet ...

Rumiko Takahashi is a Japanese manga artist. With a career of several commercially successful works, beginning with ''Urusei Yatsura'' in 1978, Takahashi is one of Japan's best-known and wealthiest manga artists. Her works are popular worldwide, where they have ...

Keiko Takemiya is a Japanese manga artist and the former president of Kyoto Seika University. Career Keiko Takemiya (or Takemiya Keiko) is included in the Year 24 Group, a term coined by academics and critics to refer to a group of female authors in the ea ...

* *

Mitsuo Tsukahara Mitsuo Tsukahara (塚原光男 ''Tsukahara Mitsuo'', born December 22, 1947) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He was five times an Olympic Gold Medalist. He remained active in the sport after his retirement from competition. He served as vice p ...

Honor awarded 2009 (Tokyo Prefecture)
*

Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi (born July 28, 1942 in Tokyo) is a Japanese cellist. He started to study music under the tutorship of Hideo Saito, founder of the Tokyo Conservatory."Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi", Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Tsutsumi made his debut as celli ...

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

Hozan Yamamoto Fongshan District, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency () is a district located in southern Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Fongshan is one of the administrative centers of Kaohsiung and is home to the Republic of China Military Academy. ...

* Yoshihisa Yamamoto *

Koji Yamamura Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) was a after '' Eiji'' and before ''Ten'yō.'' This period spanned the year from April 1142 through February 1144. The reigning ...

Kono Yasui was a Japanese biologist and cytologist. In 1927, she became the first Japanese woman to receive a doctoral degree in science. She received a Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon and was awarded as an Order of the Precious Crown Third Class for he ...

Akinori Yonezawa is a Japanese computer scientist specializing in object-oriented programming, distributed computing and information security. Being a graduate of the University of Tokyo, Yonezawa has a Ph.D in computer science from MIT in the Actor group at t ...

Masaaki Yuasa is a Japanese director, screenwriter, and animator affiliated with Science SARU, a Japanese animation studio which he co-founded with producer Eunyoung Choi in 2013. Yuasa previously served as president of Science SARU, but stepped down from th ...

* Toshiko Yuasa *

Kōji Yakusho , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his starring roles in ''Shall We Dance?'' (1996), ''Cure'' (1997), ''Memoirs of a Geisha'' (2005), '' 13 Assassins'' (2010), ''The Third Murder'' (2017), '' The Blood of Wolv ...

Katsuya Yokoyama was a Japanese musician who played the ''shakuhachi'', a traditional vertical bamboo flute. Early life He was born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1934 and studied Kinko-ryu and Azuma styles of music with his father, Rampo Yokoyama, and grandfather, ...

Blue

Clara Converse Clara Adra Converse (May 8, 1857 – January 24, 1935) was an American educator and missionary who joined the Woman’s Baptist Foreign Missionary Society and became a pioneer educator in Japan. After earning her credentials at the Vermont Academ ...

awarded 1929 for contributions to women's education. * Tano Jōdai awarded for contributions to women's education *

Rokuro Ishikawa was a Japanese businessman and one of the most influential figures in the Japanese construction industry. He was Honorary Chairman of Kajima Corporation, one of the biggest construction companies in Japan, from 2005 until his death. Prior to tha ...

* Koichi Kawai *

Yasuhiro Fukushima was a Japanese video game publisher that produced video games, anime and manga. Enix is known for publishing the '' Dragon Quest'' series of role-playing video games. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975, as . ...

* Yanosuke Hirai, Nuclear engineer whose precaution and foresight prevented two nuclear disasters. *

Masaru Ibuka Masaru Ibuka (井深大 ''Ibuka Masaru''; April 11, 1908 – December 19, 1997) was a Japanese electronics industrialist and co-founder of Sony, along with Akio Morita.Kirkup, James"Obituary: Masaru Ibuka,"''Independent'' (London). December 22 ...

Kaoru Inoue Marquess Inoue Kaoru (井上馨, January 16, 1836 – September 1, 1915) was a Japanese politician and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesmen (''Genrō'') in Ja ...

Honor awarded 2009 (Nagasaki Prefecture)
* Kazuo ImaiHonor awarded 2009 (Kyoto Prefecture)
* Keiichi Ishizaka *

Norio Ohga , otherwise spelled ''Norio Oga'' (January 29, 1930 – April 23, 2011), was the former president and chairman of Sony Corporation, credited with spurring the development of the compact disc as a commercially viable audio format. Biography Early ...

Sony
"Passing of Norio Ohga, Senior Advisor and former President and Chairman, Sony Corporation,"
April 23, 2011; retrieved 2011-08-08 *

Eishiro Saito (November 11, 1911 - April 22, 2002) was a Japanese businessman, the former President of Nippon Steel, the 6th Chairman of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) from 1986 to 1991, President of the Japan Science Foundation from 1988, President o ...

Hiroko Sakai is a Japanese softball player who won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from ...

Nobuchika Sugimura was a Japanese inventor and patent attorney. He was the first chairman of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association. Career After graduating from the University of Tokyo, Nobuchika joined Shibaura Seisakusho as a mechanical engineer. During his care ...

Shoichiro Toyoda is a Japanese retired business executive who served as chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation between 1992–1999,Toyota Honorary Chairman as well as chairman of the influential beginning in May 1994 through May 1998. Under Toyoda's supervision, ...

* Yoshikazu YahiroHonor awarded 2009 (Fukuoka Prefecture)
*

Gōgen Yamaguchi Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi (山口剛玄; January 20, 1909 – May 20, 1989), also known as Gōgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gōjū-ryū Karate under Chōjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dō ...

Alice Appenzeller Alice Rebecca Appenzeller (9 November 1885 – 20 February 1950) was the first American and first Caucasian born in Korea. Daughter of the Methodist missionary Rev. Henry Appenzeller who was among the first to introduce Protestantism to Korea, she ...

* Magokichi Yamaoka *

Carlos Ghosn Carlos Ghosn (; ; ar, كارلوس غصن; , born 9 March 1954) is a businessman who holds Brazilian and French nationality. Ghosn was the CEO of Michelin North America, chairman and CEO of Renault, chairman of AvtoVAZ, chairman and CEO of Nis ...

* Toshiko Satake (

Satake Corporation based in Hiroshima, Japan, is a multinational company mainly focused in equipment for the processing and sorting of agricultural products such as rice, grains and beans. The corporation was founded in Japan by Riichi Satake in 1896. They have ...

) *

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...

Hiroyuki Ito , is a Japanese game producer, director and designer who works for Square Enix. He is known as the director of ''Final Fantasy VI'' (1994), ''Final Fantasy IX'' (2000) and ''Final Fantasy XII'' (2006) and as the creator of the Active Time Batt ...

(Crypton Future Media) *

Miyazaki Atsuo Miyazaki may refer to: People * Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese animator * Hidetaka Miyazaki, video game director * Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper, and son of Hayao Miyazaki. * For others, see Miyazaki (surname) Places * Miyazaki P ...

* Tomio Fukuoka (1993) *

Tokio Yokoi Tokio Yokoi (December 3, 1857 – September 13, 1927) was a Japanese pastor, journalist, bureaucrat, and member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He was also known as Tokio Ise. Career Yokoi was born on December 3, 1857 in Higo provi ...

, Rev ordained minister and politician, international author 1890 to 1920. IHJ 3rd Class Honour award for his contributions during the 1919 Paris Peace Talks * Tsuyoshi Kikukaw

*Kisshomaru Ueshib

*Moriteru Ueshib

Dark blue

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

Shingo Katori is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, radio personality. He was the youngest member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy band in Asia. After the group's disbandment on 31 December 2016, Katori has been pursuing his solo career. He left ...

Tak Matsumoto is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist and main composer of the rock duo B'z, the best-selling music act in their native Japan. He also has a successful solo career where, in addition to winn ...

Masahiro Nakai is a Japanese television host, actor, news presenter, radio personality. He was the leader of the now defunct boy band SMAP, which had been the best-selling boy band in Asia. While working as a member of a boy band, he worked extensively as a te ...

Takahiro Nishijima is a Japanese singer and actor who is the main vocalist of the group AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan ...

Yoshiki Yoshiki is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Yoshiki can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義樹, "justice, tree" *義基, "justice, foundation" *義機, "justice, opportu ...

References

Bibliography

* 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.

External links

* Japan, Cabinet Office
Decorations and Medals
** Decoration Bureau

*

Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does not pr ...

Production Process
{{DEFAULTSORT:Medals Of Honor (Japan) Awards established in 1881 1881 establishments in Japan * Ribbon symbolism