Circular gilt bronze medal with ornate swivel suspension and bar inscribed ‘ju-gun-ki-sho’ (War Medal); the face with a chrysanthemum crest above and paulownia crest below imposed on crossed Army and Navy standards; the reverse with a shield inscribed with the characters ‘mei-ji sanju nana hachi nen sen eki’ (Meiji 37-8 Years’ War - the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth years of Emperor Meiji’s reign being 1904-1905) within a wreath of palm and laurel; on original ribbon, the face faded and somewhat worn, with hook and eye fittings.
The Medal was created on 31 March 1906 for the members of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy who participated in the war against Russia.
The war between the Russian and Japanese Empires grew from their rival ambitions, especially in Korea and Manchuria. The victory of the Japanese shocked the western world, punctured the myth of European invincibility and contributed to military weakness and revolution in Russia and imperial ambition in Japan and Germany, all with eventually disastrous consequences.
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