The Red Cross decorations and (Sekiju]isho) were established on June 2l. 1888, with the sanction of the Emperor, and are authorized for wear on all public occasions. Both the of Merit and the membership medala may be awarded and worn by their recipients. The is worn to the right of the Red Cross Medals and to the left of the national orders and medals. The Imperial Ordinance No. 288 of May 19, 1910. amending the Act ...... 2. 1901. provided that Ordinary Membership could be obtained through a contribution of 200 yen, and the Order of Merit could bc granted to those who contributed 1000 yen. Shortly after World War Ii these mini- mum contribution rates were increased due to inflation, and a further increase is being planncd. The mininmm contribution for Ordinary h4em- bership is now 30 yen ($0.09) per year. Those who contribute at least 500 yen ($l.40) are made permanent Special Members. The Order of Merit may be granted to those who give at least 5000 yen ($14.00). Membership is open to foreigners ,~A pphcatlons" " shoukt be addressed to: Japan Red Cross Headquarters, No. 5 Shiba Park. Minato-ku, Tokyo.) When the Red Cross Society Was established, the Empress of Meiji was asked to suggest an emb!mn,’and she gave her hairpin, which is dccor- ~;;dsW~th a b.amboopawloma a_I}d O-tori. This design appears on all Red oecoratmns ana medals The pawlonia is the mo~,, or crest, worn on kimonos of the empress, and the lea’endary O-tori (commonly translated as Phoenix, but of entirely diffcrcn~ ol’igin) is a sacred bird. "

The is officially red with two indigo stripes near each edge, but the .of the oldest mcdals have only very dark blue stripes, and those isstled in recent years have very pale bluc stripes. It seems that veU few urmons nave actually been made with the rc~ulation indigo colorsX).

The basic varieties of the Red Cross are: Order of Merit. Hon- orary Membership , Special Membership) Medal, Life Membership

Med~o2~dinary,.Men~b~’rship Medal and the Russo-Japanese War (1904- ) nemorauve ~vteaal. The Order of Merit and the medals in all classes are awarded to both men and women: the medals awarded to men have a regular suspension ribbon, and those awarded to women arc worn in a bow. ¯

The Japan Red Cross Order of Merit (Yukosho) is conferred by the Standing Council, with the knowledge and sanction of the Empewr, on those who have rendered distinguished services in aiding the work of, or contributing funds to the Society. It is in the form of a cross, white enamel on silver. The central design is of silver on a blue background, showing the bamboo pawlonia and O-tori, and the Red Cross emblem in red. The reverse is the same except for the center which in silver on a blue field has charac-

") I have the Order of Merit ~lt 1 a for women, ~dth a diffe~m t cent’at deslg 1 dated "1890 " on its pre.~entatio l cast.. This a~, very c a*k’bluc stripes on- t e ribbon a ld t ~e rosette I a so h c a 1 Ordinary Mcmbc~sh p M da--a rely old lf :ibbon ad .s~ne dec, lto s and mein~e-s ) mtdals h t hfldals This s t c a (n" illustrated i~ t lc lal, an 1,,,,i,,,- lqll 9n aF it too ¯ . :~ " ~ ~ ~ -- --g-’~ ..... -. u., e ~ lllClal~,-. , l<.eo,; , t.,lossA’ 1 tm)K. ,, calls it rma~v, t e urder of Merit a KI nedals now ssue{ all the alum Imm and alloy wartime iss~ es,illdlgo. dnd many’of the ~mw-looking sl vt . mrda s have tilt! 1 >bon \dth pale b ~ c stripes cont’ra "y to the Red C~o~ re~ulallo is, " ’ - " tcrs meaning ~’1888, Merit Decoration, Japan Red Cross Society." The ribbon formerly had a rosette in the colors of the ribbon. The Orders of Merit which were awarded shortly after the Order was established have slight differences in the central design, and their ribbons have dark blue strlpes. The Ordinanry Membership Medal (Shainsho~ is of silver, with the bamboo pawlonia, O-tori and the Red Cross emNem on the obverse, and

Special Membership Medal or Honorary Membership Medal (on a bow-ribbon, as awarded to ladies’, characters meaning "t888, lapan Red Cross So~mtv "" " on the reverse. This medal, issued at tt’{e present" time, is of aluminum and has a small greenish rosette on the ribbon: it corresponds to the old Life Membership Medal. The Life Membership Medal was of silver, the same design, with a small rosette on the ribbon. This rosette was officially indigo, but more commonly it is a greenish color; it was added to the Ordinm3, Membership Medal when a fixe~t amount had been contributed over a period of years. The Life Membership Medal is not issued at present; the Special Membership Medal is given instead.

The Special Membership Medal ITobubetso Shainsho) is of silver, of the same design, and has a large rosette in the colors of the ribbon

The Honorary Membership Medal has the same design and is of gold plated silver, with a large rosette in the colors of the ~ibbon. Honorary }~lembers are appointed t)y dec ision of the Standing Council, and the honol" is rarely conferred. Shortly after the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, a Red Cross War Commemorative Medal x~as established and distributed to all members of the Society. This medal is bronze; the design on the obverse is the same as that on the membership medals; the reverse, however, has characters mean-

in,~ "1904-05 War I)efense CommemoratiVe’ Medal, lapan Red Cross b ’ ¯ ¯ " . o Society." The ribbon has indigo stapes and the medal was issued with or without a rosette, probably depending on whether the recipient was an Ordinm?" or Special Member.

During the World War II the Ordinary and Special Membership Medals were made of various light silver alloys and then of aluminum, because of

THE MEDAL CDLLECTrlR

PAGE FCIUR the prevailing silver shortage. All such medals have ribbons with pale blue stripes. The lapel ribbon for the Ordinary Members is a simple bow on a pin. For Life Members the lapel button is {n the shape of the Red Cross emblem, red with two erossed lines of indigo, for Special Members it ilas four crossed lines, and for recipients of the Order of Merit a ruffled red rosette is in the center of the lapel button. Various other types of rosettes have been used.

(The author o[ this article is the leadin~ ~l’estern research student o[ Japanese orders, medals and decorations. He has the most outstanding col- lection o[ varieties o[ the [apa~ese Red Cross medals and decorations k;~o~en. Mr Peterson is himseI[ a recil)ient of the Order o[ ~14e~it o[ the [apanese Red CroSs.)

THE METZ MEDAL

By Philippe M. Haumom

The Mctz Medal was founded bv a resolution Of the Municipal Council of the City of Metz on December t2, t944. Its purpose is to reward the French an~t Allied troops, and the members of the-Resistance, who partici- pated in the liberation of the City of Metz between September ! and Novem- J)er 25, 1944.. The of the Order of the Legion of Honor. accord- ing to the resolution of the council, decreed that the Metz Medal would be the Second World War’s prototype of the Verdun Medal of the 19 t4-18 war. The City of Metz was liberated by the 5th and 95th Infantry Divisions of the 20th Corps of the Third American Army. On December 93, 1944, the mayor of this city, Mr. Hocquard, awarded the first Metz Medal bv pinning it to the flag of the 20th Corps of General Walker. ’ "

The Metz Medal is in bronze, designed by sculptor Niclausse. It is pen- tagonal with a female figUre representing Metz, and the inscription "Met, a ses liberateurs x9 November x944 on the obverse The reverse bears the coat of arms of Metz. a U. S. and a Franch fla~’, and the Metz Cathedral. The ribbon is half white,and half,black the colors of the city. It carries a bar with the inscription METZ.

Below is the resolution of the Municipal Council of Metz of December 13 1945, determining the statutes of the Metz Medal. ~"

"l. A committee is founded in the City of Metz which shall be called the Committee of the Metz Medal.

2. The seat of the Committee shall be the town hall of Metz. 3. The Committee is to be composed of eight members with a president and a secretary. All the members of the Committee are to be appointed by the Mayor of 1Vfetz.

4. When the Committee awards the Mctz Medal. it shall protect the prestige of the medal.

5. The Metz Medal, founded by resolution of the Municipal Council on