WWII JAPANESE MEDAL BAR ORDER OF GOLDEN KITE WW2

WWII Japanese Medal Bar to include 1) Order of the Golden Kite 5th Class, The Order of the Golden Kite ("Kinshi Kunsho"), established in February of 1890, was a purely military award for bravery or leadership. General officers were eligible for its first to third grades, field officers its second to fourth, junior officers its third to fifth, non-commissioned officers its fourth to sixth, and soldiers its fifth to seventh grades. The Order was abolished in 1947. This fifth class award is in the form of crossed Samurai shields, with crossed, sheathed swords laid over them, banners with heraldic devices along either side of them, and, to the center, a vertical, sheathed halberd, surmounted by a spread winged, gilded falcon. The falcon is the "kite" from which the award takes its name, and relates to a story about the first Japanese emperor, who, after having been defeated by a rival prince, was sent a divine messenger in the form of a golden falcon, who advised his successful counter-attack, and who perched atop his standard during the battle. 2) Order of the Sacred Treasure 8th Class. The die-struck silver medal takes the form of an eight-pointed star whose points terminate in small circles, with even smaller circles marking the intersections of the edge lines, forming a stylized necklace. To the center is a raised, silver "mirror" against a pebbled background. These are the "sacred treasures" from which the award takes its name: the "Yata" mirror, representing purity and wisdom, and the "Yasakani" jewels, which represent benevolence, obedience and affection. Its otherwise featureless reverse has four kanji characters impressed to it, translating to "Order of Merit Decoration." 3) 1937-1945 China Incident War Medal. Established in 1939 and awarded to Japanese soldiers departing for service in the undeclared war against China (hence, "incident"), in its original case. The bronze medal features, to its obverse, the mythical giant crow "yata-no-karasu," flanked by two Rising Sun flags (for the Army and Navy), whose upwardly-stretched wings encompass a sixteen-petal Imperial Chrysanthemum, with radiating lines as the backdrop. To its reverse are three stylized mountains above, and stylized water beneath, a cloud bank, against which is a row of four kanji characters, translating to "China Incident." The swiveling hanger connected to the top of the medal features abstract foliage as its pattern, and is itself connected to a swiveling, horizontal bar, through which the ribbon passes. To the face of the bar is embossed a row of four kanji characters, translating to "War Medal." The watered silk ribbon has a narrow, vertical red stripe to its center, flanked by wider pink stripes, then even wider stripes in yellow, then narrow light blue, and, to its outside edges, narrow navy blue stripes. These represent, respectively, loyalty, the blood-stained soil of China, the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. 4) Red Cross Membership Medal. silver or silver alloy medal (as they were made of before the end of the second world war), has, to its obverse, what appears to be a peacock (the "ho-o") above a Geneva cross, with bamboo branches arching up either side, and flowering Paulownias to the base of each branch. To its reverse are two rows of stylized kanji characters, the uppermost reading, from right to left, "Meiji era 21st Year" (1888 - the year of the establishment of these awards), with that underneath it reading "Japanese Red Cross Society.". Medals are housed in a period Japanese box with both Flags of Japan.