The
Order was instituted in 1890 and conferred for
bravery, leadership or command in battle. There were
seven grades as follows:
General and Flag officers:
1st - 3rd grade
Officers: 2nd - 4th grade
Junior officers: 3rd - 5th
grade
Non-commissioned officers:
4th - 6th grade
Soldiers and Sailors: 5th
- 7th grade
A total of 1,067,492 were
awarded until its official abolition in 1947. Only 41
of the 1st Grade and 201 of the 2nd Grade were awarded
to all arms through the period 1890 to 1947. Of the
grand total, approximately 630,000 relate to World War
2 or the Pacific war. The numbers awarded to the Navy
between 1941 and 1945 are not known but include those
listed in the right column.
Although Japanese military
and naval culture was very different from that of most
other belligerents in World War 2, it is of interest
to investigate how the top Japanese award for
gallantry compares with those of other nations.
Gordon
Smith, Naval-History.Net.
Sources: All
the contents of this page have been obtained from the
Internet by searching for: Imperial Japanese Navy,
Order of the Golden Kite. I am particularly grateful
to those who prepared the relevant items in the
following sites:
Imperial
Japanese Navy Page
Naval
History
Wikipedia
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Order
of
the Golden Kite 1st Class
Vice Adm
Nobutake Kondo, commander 2nd
Fleet, took part in invasions of Malaya,
Philippines and Dutch East Indies, Cover
Force Midway operation, Battles of Eastern
Solomons, Santa Cruz and First Guadalcanal
when battleship ‘Kirishima’ was sunk.
Adm of
the Fleet Isoroku Yamamoto,
C-in-C Imperial Japanese Navy, on South
Pacific inspection tour, ambushed and shot
down by USAAF Lightning fighters 18th April
1943
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Order
of
the Golden Kite 2nd Class
Vice
Adm Takeo Takagi, took part in
invasion of the Philippines, Battles of Java
Sea and Coral Sea. Reported killed during US
invasion of Saipan in 1944
Adm
Isoroku Yamamoto (above)
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Order
of
the Golden Kite 3rd Class
Vice
Adm Nobutake Kondo (above)
Adm
Osami Nagano, Chief of the Naval
General Staff. Arraigned as war criminal for
ordering attack on Pearl Harbor. Died in
1947 during trial.
Vice
Adm Chuichi Nagumo took part in
attacks on Pearl Harbor and Darwin and
Battles of Midway, Eastern Solomons and
Santa Cruz. Commited suicide at time of US
capture of Saipan
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Order
of the Golden Kite 4th Class
(only one award identified)
Chief
Petty Officer Kazuo Tanaka,
Kamikaze pilot, killed 6th April 1945,
posthumously promoted to Ensign
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Order
of the Golden Kite 5th Class
(no WW2 naval awards have been identified) |
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Order
of the Golden Kite 6th Class
(no WW2 naval awards have been identified) |
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Order
of the Golden Kite 7th Class
(no WW2 naval awards have been identified) |
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Many awards must have been made to the
officers and men who took part in the often
huge and in the early days, successful
Japanese Navy operations throughout the
Pacific War.
Note: Japanese
first names normally follow their surname.
The Western convention of first name first
and surname last is followed above.
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