History

Order of the Golden Kite (金鵄章) is a military decoration of Japan. The order was established with 7 class and only award to Military men or non-combatant service men.
The suggestion and prototype design of the order were submitted in 1887 and should be officially established in that year. However, due to some manufacturing difficulty, the design of the order was reformed in next year. The original design of this order can still be seen in government files in 1888. The order was officially established in 1890 with the new proper design.
The order was abolished in 1947.
The awarding of this order follows strict regulations which depends on both military ranks and merits.
The ribbon of 4th class is same as 5th class until 1937, a rosette was add on the 4th class's ribbon in 1937 to make it more clearly to identify.
The 4th class can be award to field officers as "first award of the order" (初叙), or junior officers with outstanding merits, or NCOs with heroic merits (after 1938).