History

All Japanese Imperial orders and medals were made by the Japan Mint between 1875-1880 and from 1929 onwards. This firm also made the Orders of Manchuko while the state was alive. The Japan Mint has several branches such as Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kumamoto, Sapporo and Akita. The former, Osaka, is likely the most well known and is often referred to as the main mint. However, from 1937 until 1945, this branch created 60% of Gold items; 50% of silver items; and 60% of bronze, demonstrating that the other branches were heavily involved in decoration production.The mint mark is a capital M, but not all items were marked.