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{{Infobox military award
|name=Order of the Golden Kite
|image=kinshi4.jpg
|image_size=200px
|caption=Order of the Golden Kite, 4th Class
|presenter=the {{flag|Empire of Japan}}
|type=Seven-class military award
|eligibility= Military personnel only
|awarded_for=Bravery, leadership or command in battle.
|campaign={{Plainlist|
* [[First Sino-Japanese War]]
* [[Russo-Japanese War]]
* [[World War I]]
* [[Manchurian Incident]]
* [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]
* [[World War II]]}}
|status= No longer awarded; abolished in 1947
|description=
|clasps=
|established=12 February 1890
|firstawarded=1890
|lastawarded=1945
|total_awarded=1,067,492
|total_awarded_posthumously=
|total_recipients=
|individual=
|higher=
|same=
|lower=
|related=
|image2=[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho blank BAR.svg|100px]]
|caption2=Ribbon of the Order of the Golden Kite
}}

The '''{{nihongo|Order of the Golden Kite|金鵄勲章|Kinshi Kunshō}}''' was an [[Order (decoration)|order]] of the [[Empire of Japan]], established on 12 February 1890 by [[Emperor Meiji]] "in commemoration of [[Emperor Jimmu|Jimmu]] Tennō, the [[Romulus]] of Japan".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lyAQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA114&dq=Order+of+the+Golden+Kite&lr=#PPA114, M1 Chamberlain, Basil Hall. (1905) ''Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan for the use of Travellers and Others''], p. 114.</ref> It was abolished 1947 by the [[Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers]] (SCAP) during the [[occupation of Japan]], after [[World War II]].

==Background==
[[File:Military Order of the Golden Kite MET DP71277.jpg|thumb|Classes of the Order of the Golden Kite]]
The Order of the Golden Kite was an exclusively [[military award]], conferred for bravery, leadership or command in battle. It ranked just below the [[Order of the Chrysanthemum]] in precedence and was the military equivalent of the [[Order of the Paulownia Flowers]]. It could be considered analogous to the Prussian [[Order of the Red Eagle]] (with swords).

The order consisted of seven classes. Enlisted rank soldiers were eligible for the 7th–5th classes, non-commissioned officers were eligible for the 6th–4th classes, junior officers for the 5th–3rd classes, field grade officers for the 4th–2nd classes and general officers for the 3rd-1st classes.

A total of 1,067,492 Order of the Golden Kite awards were made over the history of the order, most of them in the two lower 6th and 7th classes. Only 41 of the 1st class and 201 of the 2nd class were awarded.

By conflict:
*[[First Sino-Japanese War]]: about 2,000
*[[Russo-Japanese War]]: about 109,600
*[[World War I]]: about 3,000
*[[Manchurian Incident]]: about 9,000
*[[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1941): about 190,000
*[[World War II]]: about 630,000

The award came with an annual monetary stipend, fixed in 1916. This was awarded for the lifetime of the recipient, and following his death, it would be awarded to the recipient's family for one year after. If the recipient died within 5 years of receiving the honor, the stipend would be awarded to the family until the end of the 5-year period.<ref>''The Japan Year Book 1938–1939'', Kenkyusha Press, Foreign Association of Japan</ref>  In 1939, the stipends stood as follows:

*1st Class – 1500 yen
*2nd Class – 1000 yen
*3rd Class – 700 yen
*4th Class – 500 yen
*5th Class – 350 yen
*6th Class – 250 yen
*7th Class – 150 yen

Since the monthly pay for a [[Private (rank)|private]] in the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] at the time was 8 yen, 80 sen, this amounted to a very substantial reward. The monetary stipend was abolished in 1940.

The honor was sometimes awarded individually, sometimes awarded ''en masse''. In mid-October 1942, posthumous awards were announced following ceremonies at the [[Yasukuni Shrine]].  Posthumous honorees included 995 who were lost in combat in the far-flung [[Pacific War]] battles and 3,031 who were lost fighting in [[Second Sino-Japanese War|China]].  In this instance, Tokyo's official [[Radio Tokyo|radio broadcast]] of the list of posthumous recipients of the Order of the Golden Kite was monitored by [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] in Asia.<ref name="nyt160ct42a">[https://www.nytimes.com/1942/10/16/archives/tokyo-awards-list-big-officer-loss-vice-admiral-2-rear-admirals-and.html?sq=Order+of+the+Golden+Kite+Japan&scp=1  "Tokyo Awards List Big Officer Loss; Vice Admiral, 2 Rear Admirals and 2 Major Generals Win Posthumous Honors; 55 Naval Fliers Named; Group Included Covers the Japanese Pacific Dead Up to Mid-February"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 16, 1942.</ref>   The number of honorees was not considered remarkable at the time, but the number of posthumous awards was considered noteworthy by Allied analysts.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20121022150138/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,850186,00.html?promoid=googlep "Japan's Hero's"], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. October 26, 1942.</ref>  Specific high ranking naval and army officers were named; and in addition, special mention was given to 55 naval aviators and 9 "members of a special attack flotilla"—presumably miniature submarines taking part in the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]].<ref name="nyt160ct42a"/>

The order of the Golden Kite was officially abolished by the [[Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers]] of [[Occupied Japan]] in 1947.

{|class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center; width:60%;"
|colspan=4|'''Classes'''
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
|width=20%|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 7Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Seventh Class</small>
|width=20%|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 6Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Sixth Class</small>
|width=20%|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 5Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Fifth Class</small>
|width=20%|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 4Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Fourth Class</small>
|-style="vertical-align:top;"
|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 3Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Third Class</small>
|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 2Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Second Class</small>
|[[File:JPN Kinshi-kunsho 1Class BAR.svg|100px|center]]<small>Grand Cordon</small>
|-
|}

==Symbolism==
[[File:Milvus migrans Kyoto 001 JPN.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kite (bird)|Golden kite]] (''Milvus migrans'')]]
[[File:Order of the Golden Kite 1st and 2nd class plaque.jpg|thumb|Order of the Golden Kite, 1st and 2nd class plaque]]
The badge depicts a [[Kite (bird)|golden kite]], a messenger of the ''[[kami]]'' as described in the ancient Japanese chronicle ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'', which helped [[Emperor Jimmu]] defeat his enemies in battle. The golden kite stands on an eight-pointed star with 32 rays [[Vitreous enamel|enameled]] in red. Below the kite are two crossed ancient shields, enameled blue, with two crossed spears with [[silver]] heads enameled yellow with red banners each bearing a [[mitsudomoe]]. On one side is a [[chokutō]] (enameled green with white trappings). The reverse side is plain.

The badge was a [[Gilding|gilt]] starburst for the 1st-5th classes and different design in gilt for the 6th class and in [[silver]] for the 7th class. It was suspended on a ribbon in blue-green with a white stripe near the edges, worn as a sash on the left shoulder by the 1st class, as a necklet by the 2nd and 3rd classes, on the left chest by the 4th and 5th classes. The badges for 6th and 7th classes were non-enameled.

The ''star'' of the 1st and 2nd classes was similar to the badge as described above, but with both red and yellow enameled rays. It was worn on the left chest by the 1st class, on the right chest by the 2nd class.

==Selected recipients==
{{dynamic list}}

===First Class===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Army'''
*[[Yamagata Aritomo]] (1838&ndash;1922)
*[[Ōyama Iwao]] (1842&ndash;1916)
*[[Kuroki Tamemoto]] (1844&ndash;1923)
*[[Oku Yasukata]] (1847&ndash;1930)
*[[Nogi Maresuke]] (1849&ndash;1912).<ref name="britannica12">[https://books.google.com/books?id=x70UAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA1139&dq=  "Nogi, Maresuke,"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (12th ed.), Vol. XXX, p. 1139.</ref>
*[[Kawamura Kageaki]] (1850&ndash;1926)
*[[Kodama Gentarō]] (1852&ndash;1906).<ref>Honor awarded 1907 -- [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A04E6DE1F3EE733A2575AC2A9619C946797D6CF&scp=5&sq=Order+of+the+Golden+Kite+Japan&st=p Barry, Richard.  "The Passing of Japan's Supreme Genius,"] ''New York Times'', July 29, 1906.</ref>
*[[Terauchi Masatake]] (1852&ndash;1919)
*[[Nozu Michitsura]] (1840&ndash;1908)
*[[Hasegawa Yoshimichi]] (1850&ndash;1924)
*[[Kamio Mitsuomi]] (1856&ndash;1927)
*[[Yasuji Okamura|Okamura Yasuji]] (1884&ndash;1966)
*[[Shigeru Honjō|Honjō Shigeru]] (1876&ndash;1945)
*[[Nobuyoshi Mutō|Mutō Nobuyoshi]] (1868&ndash;1933)
*[[Hata Shunroku]] (1879&ndash;1962)
*[[Terauchi Hisaichi]] (1879&ndash;1946)
*[[Prince Asaka Yasuhiko]] (1887&ndash;1981)
*[[Matsui Iwane]] (1878&ndash;1948)
*[[Sugiyama Hajime]] (1880&ndash;1945)
*[[Toshizō Nishio|Nishio Toshizō]] (1881&ndash;1960)
*[[Yamashita Tomoyuki]] (1885&ndash;1946)
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Navy'''
*[[Tōgō Heihachirō]] (1848&ndash;1934)
*[[Yamamoto Gonnohyōe]] (1852&ndash;1933)
*[[Ijuin Gorō]] (1852&ndash;1921)
*[[Itō Sukeyuki]] (1843&ndash;1914)
*[[Kamimura Hikonojō]] (1849&ndash;1916)
*[[Kataoka Shichirō]] (1854&ndash;1920)
*[[Suzuki Kantarō]] (1868&ndash;1948)
*[[Yonai Mitsumasa]] (1880&ndash;1948)
*[[Yamamoto Isoroku]] (1884&ndash;1943)
*[[Nagumo Chūichi]] (1887&ndash;1944)
*[[Mineichi Koga|Koga Mineichi]] (1885&ndash;1944)
*[[Masafumi Arima|Arima Masafumi]] (1895&ndash;1944)
*[[Oikawa Koshirō]] (1883&ndash;1958)
*[[Kiyoshi Hasegawa (admiral)|Hasegawa Kiyoshi]] (1883&ndash;1970)
*[[Yamaguchi Tamon]] (1892&ndash;1942)
{{col-end}}

===Second Class===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Army'''
*[[Prince Komatsu Akihito]] (1846&ndash;1903) 
*[[Prince Fushimi Sadanaru]] (1858&ndash;1923) 
*[[Yamaguchi Motomi]] (1846&ndash;1904)
*[[Kawakami Soroku]] (1848&ndash;1899)
*[[Ōshima Yoshimasa]] (1850&ndash;1926) 
*[[Fukushima Yasumasa]] (1852&ndash;1919)
*[[Andō Teibi|Andō Sadayoshi]] (1853&ndash;1932)
*[[Umezawa Michiharu]] (1853&ndash;1924).<ref>Awarded also third and fourth class of the same order {{citation needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>
*[[Ishimoto Shinroku]] (1854&ndash;1912)
*[[Uehara Yūsaku]] (1856&ndash;1933)
*[[Nagaoka Gaishi]] (1858&ndash;1933)
*[[Akiyama Yoshifuru]] (1859&ndash;1930)
*[[Yamanashi Hanzō]] (1864&ndash;1944)
*[[Shirakawa Yoshinori]] (1869&ndash;1932)
*[[Araki Sadao]] (1877&ndash;1966)
*[[Tada Hayao]] (1882&ndash;1948)
*[[Rikichi Andō|Andō Rikichi]] (1884&ndash;1946)
*[[Hideki Tojo|Tojo Hideki]] (1884&ndash;1948)
*[[Ushiroku Jun]] (1884&ndash;1973)
*[[Tateo Katō|Katō Tateo]] (1903&ndash;1942).<ref name="nyt160ct42b">Honor awarded 1942 – [https://www.nytimes.com/1942/10/16/archives/tokyo-awards-list-big-officer-loss-vice-admiral-2-rear-admirals-and.html?sq=Order+of+the+Golden+Kite+Japan&scp=1  "Tokyo Awards List Big Officer Loss; Vice Admiral, 2 Rear Admirals and 2 Major Generals Win Posthumous Honors; 55 Naval Fliers Named; Group Included Covers the Japanese Pacific Dead Up to Mid-February"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', October 16, 1942.</ref>
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Navy'''
*[[Kabayama Sukenori]] (1837&ndash;1922)
*[[Saigō Jūdō]] (1843&ndash;1902)
*[[Inoue Yoshika]] (1845&ndash;1929)
*[[Hidaka Sōnojō]] (1848&ndash;1932)
*[[Saito Makoto]] (1858&ndash;1936)
*[[Katō Tomosaburō]] (1861&ndash;1923) 
*[[Shimada Shigetarō]] (1883&ndash;1976)
*[[Takagi Takeo]] (1892&ndash;1944).<ref>IJN 6th (Navy (submarine)) fleet Posthumous Admiral. (Solid Gold Hanko 34.8grms) also found belonging to Mr Takagi in Australia; presented with award possibly for a battle in 1943 (as inscribed on Gold Hanko){{citation needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>
{{col-end}}

===Third Class===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Army'''
*[[Emperor Taishō]] (1879&ndash;1926)
*[[Prince Chichibu]] (1902&ndash;1953)
*[[Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa]] (1847&ndash;1895)
*[[Katsura Taro]] (1848&ndash;1913)
*[[Tanaka Giichi]] (1864&ndash;1929)
*[[Yamaji Motoharu]] (1841&ndash;1897)
*[[Kusunose Yukihiko]] (1858&ndash;1927)
*[[Ōshima Ken'ichi]] (1858&ndash;1947)
*[[Akashi Motojiro]] (1864&ndash;1919)
*[[Kenkichi Ueda|Ueda Kenkichi]] (1875&ndash;1962)
*[[Mori Ōgai]] (1862&ndash;1922)
*[[Ishiwara Kanji]] (1889&ndash;1949)
*[[Tanaka Ryūkichi]] (1893&ndash;1972)
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Navy'''
*[[Prince Arisugawa Takehito]] (1862&ndash;1913)
*[[Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito]] (1867&ndash;1922)
*[[Okada Keisuke]] (1868&ndash;1952)
*[[Tsuboi Kōzō]] (1843&ndash;1898)
*[[Taketomi Kunikane]] (1852&ndash;1931)
*[[Yashiro Rokurō]] (1860&ndash;1930)
*[[Yamashita Gentarō]] (1863&ndash;1931)
*[[Satō Tetsutarō]] (1866&ndash;1942)
*[[Takarabe Takeshi]] (1867&ndash;1949)
*[[Kyōsuke Eto|Eto Kyōsuke]] (1881&ndash;1917)
*[[Naokuni Nomura|Nomura Naokuni]] (1885&ndash;1973)
{{col-end}}

===Fourth Class===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Army'''
*[[Prince Takamatsu]] (1905–1987)
*[[Prince Nashimoto Morimasa]] (1874–1951)
*[[Ugaki Kazushige]] (1868–1956)
*[[Jirō Minami|Minami Jirō]] (1874–1955)
*[[Hikosuke Fukuda|Fukuda Hikosuke]] (1875–1959)
*[[Hayashi Senjūrō]] (1876–1943)
*[[Jinzaburō Masaki|Masaki Jinzaburō]] (1876–1956)
*[[Koiso Kuniaki]] (1880–1950)
*[[Shirō Ishii|Ishii Shirō]] (1892–1959).<ref>{{cite web|title=Pure Evil: Wartime Japanese Doctor Had No Regard for Human Suffering|url=https://www.themedicalbag.com/despicabledoctor/pure-evil-wartime-japanese-doctor-had-no-regard-for-human-suffering|website=The Medical Bag|publisher=GROUP DCA|access-date=26 June 2015|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112035943/http://www.themedicalbag.com/despicabledoctor/pure-evil-wartime-japanese-doctor-had-no-regard-for-human-suffering|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Navy'''
*[[Ogasawara Naganari]] (1867–1958)
*[[Abo Kiyokazu]] (1870–1948)
*[[Hyakutake Saburō]] (1872–1963)
{{col-end}}

===Fifth Class===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Army'''
* [[Prince Takeda Tsunehisa]] (1883–1919)
* [[Takashi Hishikari|Hishikari Takashi]] (1871–1952)
* [[Yoshiyuki Kawashima|Kawashima Yoshiyuki]] (1878–1945)
* [[Kiyoshi Katsuki|Katsuki Kiyoshi]] (1881–1950)
* [[Sakae Ōba|Ōba Sakae]] (1914–1992)
* [[Tsuji Masanobu]] (1902&ndash;1961).<ref>Honor awarded 1942 – Tsuji, Masanobu. (1997). ''Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat'', p. 108.</ref>
{{col-2}}
:'''Imperial Japanese Navy'''
* [[Mineo Ōsumi|Ōsumi Mineo]] (1876&ndash;1941)
* [[Seizō Kobayashi|Kobayashi Seizō]] (1877&ndash;1962)
* [[Matsudaira Morio]] (1878&ndash;1944)
* [[Yoshimi Nishida |Nishida Yoshimi]] (1892&ndash;1944)
* [[Tetsuzō Iwamoto|Iwamoto Tetsuzō]] (1916&ndash;1955)
{{col-end}}

===Sixth Class===
{{Empty section|date=January 2011}}

===Seventh Class===
{{Empty section|date=January 2011}}

==See also==
* [[Kite (bird)]]—raptor referenced in Imperial war decoration

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==References==
* [[Basil Hall Chamberlain|Chamberlain, Basil Hall]]. (1905) [https://books.google.com/books?id=lyAQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA114&dq=Order+of+the+Golden+Kite&lr=   ''Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan for the Use of Travelers and Others,''] London: John Murray.
* Iwata Nishizawa. (1917). ''Japan in the Taisho era. In Commemoration of the Enthronement.''  Tokyo: __________. [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28706155 OCLC 28706155]
* [[Donald Keene|Keene, Donald]]. (1998). "The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95 and its Cultural Effects in Japan", in  ''Meiji Japan'', Peter F. Kornicki, editor. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-1-885119-33-9}} (paper)  {{ISBN|978-0-415-15619-6}}.
* 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|1-890974-09-9}}
* [[Masanobu Tsuji|Tsuji, Masanobu]]. (1997). ''Japan's Greatest Victory, Britain's Worst Defeat'', Margaret E. Lake, tr. New York: Da Capo Press. {{ISBN|978-1-873376-75-1}} (cloth)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Order of the Golden Kite}}
* Japan, Cabinet Office: [https://web.archive.org/web/20120204075647/http://www8.cao.go.jp/english/decoration/index.html Decorations and Medals]—Order of the Golden Kite unmentioned in current system of honors
* [[Japan Mint]]: [https://web.archive.org/web/20130105120056/http://www.mint.go.jp/eng/operations/order/medalsofhonor.html Production Process]
* [http://www.naval-history.net/WW2MedalsJap-GoldenKite.htm Imperial Japanese Navy Awards of the Golden Kite in World War II]

{{Honors and decorations of Japan}}
{{Highest Awards for gallantry}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Order Of The Golden Kite}}
[[Category:Military awards and decorations of Japan]]
[[Category:Military of the Empire of Japan]]
[[Category:1890 establishments in Japan]]
[[Category:1947 disestablishments in Japan]]
[[Category:Awards established in 1890]]