Order of the Precious Crown
| Order of the Precious Crown 宝冠章 |
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| Order of the Precious Crown, 1st class plaque. End of the 19th century. Musée de la Légion d'Honneur. | |
| Awarded by the Emperor of Japan | |
| Type | Order |
| Awarded for | At the monarch's pleasure |
| Status | Currently constituted |
| Sovereign | His Imperial Majesty The Emperor |
| Grades (w/ post-nominals) | 1st through 8th Class |
| Established | January 4, 1888 |
| Precedence | |
| Next (higher) | Order of the Rising Sun (present) Order of the Golden Kite (former) |
| Next (lower) | Order of the Sacred Treasure |
The Order of the Precious Crown (宝冠章 Hōkan-shō) is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Originally the order had five classes, but on April 13, 1896 the sixth, seventh and eighth classes were added.
This Order is conventionally reserved for female recipients; however, men have occasionally been accorded this honor. More often, men have been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun rather than the Order of the Precious Crown. In 1917, medals of the Order of the Crown were bestowed upon twenty-nine Americans who participated in the Russo-Japanese War. This unusual list of honorees was composed of ten women volunteer nurses and nineteen correspondents of American newspapers.[1]
The first class honor has been typically conferred to female royalty. As originally conceived, the order consisted of eight classes. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously.
The badge of the order is a gold oval medallion, with floral designs at its four ends; at the centre is an ancient Japanese crown on a blue background, surrounded by a red ring. It is suspended from a smaller badge, its design varies according to class, on a ribbon in yellow with red stripes near the borders, as a sash on the right shoulder for the 1st class, as a bow on the left shoulder for the other classes.
The star of the order, which is worn only by the first class, has five arms studded with pearl, with floral designs between the arms. The central disc features a Ho-o or phoenix on a blue background, surrounded by a red ring.
The medal for the 6th and 7th classes are golden bronze. The face presents the crossed flags of Japan and the Emperor, both of which are surmounted by the Rising Sun. The obverse presents a conventonal monumental shaft, which is flanked by a branch of laurel and a branch of palm.[1]
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[edit] 2003 reform
In 2003 the Order of the Rising Sun, previously reserved for males, were made available to women as well.[2] One example of a European counterpart is the Royal Victorian Order.
[edit] Selected recipients
[edit] First Class, Grand Cordon
- Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran
- Queen Paola of Belgium
- Queen Sirikit of Thailand
- Queen Sofia of Spain
- Tuanku Fauziah Queen of Malaysia [3]
- Princess Srinagarindra of Thailand
- Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand
- Anne, Princess Royal
- Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon[4]
- Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
- Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan
[edit] Second Class
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[edit] Third Class
- Joyce Ackroyd, –1991.[5]
- Eleanor Jorden, 1920–2009.[6]
- Elizabeth Gray Vining, 1902–1999.[7]
[edit] Fourth Class
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[edit] Fifth Class
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This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. |
[edit] Sixth Class
[edit] Seventh Class
- Richard Harding Davis, Collier's Weekly.[1]
- John Fox, Jr., Scribner's Magazine.[1]
- George Kennan, The Outlook.[1]
- Jack London, Hearst papers.
- Frederick Palmer, Collier's Weekly.[1]
- James Ricalton,[8] Travel Magazine.[1]
- Grant Wallace, San Francisco Bulletin.[1]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Mikado Honors Americans; Order of the Crown Bestowed on Nurses and War Correspondents." New York Times. July 4, 1907.
- ^ Weatherhead East Asian Institute: Miwa Kai, Barbara Ruch.
- ^ "Malaysia THE KINGS or SUPREME HEADS OF STATE". The Royal Ark. August 2008. http://www.royalark.net/Malaysia/malay2.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-06.
- ^ honor awarded 1971 -- Bortrick, William. "The Royal Family–HM Queen Elizabeth II," Burke's Peerage.
- ^ honor awarded 1983 -- The Australian Academy of the Humanities Proceedings 1991 p73
- ^ Honor conferred 1985 -- National Association of Self-Instructional Language Programs (NASILP), Eleanor Jorden.
- ^ Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia: "The Emperor's Tutor."
- ^ Dava, Valerie. "World Traveler, Explorer, Photographer; James Ricalton brought the world to his Maplewood students," Matters Magazine.
[edit] References
- 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. ISBN 1-8909-7409-9
- Roth, Mitchel P. and James Stuart Olson. (1997). Historical Dictionary of War Journalism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. 10-ISBN 0-313-29171-3; 13-ISBN 978-0-313-29171-5
[edit] External links
- Japan, Cabinet Office: Decorations and Medals -- Order of the Precious Crown unmentioned in current schema[disambiguation needed
] of honors
- Decoration Bureau: Order of the Precious Crown
- Japan Mint: Production Process
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