The Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum (大勲位菊花章, Dai-kun'i kikka-shō, literally Grand Order of the Capitulum of the Chrysanthemums) is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the collar of the Order was added on January 4, 1888. Although technically the order has only one class, it can either be awarded "with collar", meaning on a chain, or "with grand cordon", accompanied by a sash. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously.
Apart from the Imperial Family, only six Japanese citizens have ever been decorated with the collar in their lifetimes; the last such award was to former Prime Minister Saionji Kinmochi in 1928. Seven others have been posthumously decorated with the collar; the last such award was to former Prime Minister Sato Eisaku in 1975. Today, only the reigning Emperor holds this dignity as sovereign of the order; however, exceptions are made for foreign heads of state, who can be awarded the collar in friendship.
The grand cordon is the highest possible honour a Japanese citizen can be awarded during his or her lifetime. Aside from the Imperial Family, only 21 grand cordons have been awarded to living citizens and 29 to the deceased.
The collar of the order is made of gold, and features the kanji for "Meiji", in classic form, indicating the era of the order's establishment. It is decorated with gold chrysanthemum blossoms and green-enamelled leaves.
The sash of the grand cordon of the order is red with dark blue border stripes. It is worn on the right shoulder.
The star of the order is similar to the badge, but in silver, without the chrysanthemum suspension, and with an eight-pointed gilt medallion (with white-enamelled rays and red-enamelled sun disc) placed at the centre. It is worn on the left chest.
The badge of the order is a four-pointed gilt badge with white-enamelled rays; the centre bears a red enamelled sun disc. On each of the four corners of the badge is a yellow-enamelled chrysanthemum blossom with green-enamelled chrysanthemum leaves. The badge is suspended on a yellow-enamelled chrysanthemum, either on the collar or on the grand cordon.
Information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Emperor Meiji (27 December 1876)Emperor Taishō (Grand Cordon 3 November 1889; Collar 10 May 1900; Sovereign from 30 July 1912)Emperor Shōwa (Grand Cordon 9 September 1912; Collar as Regent 24 September 1921; Sovereign from 25 December 1926)Emperor Akihito (Grand Cordon 10 November 1952; Sovereign from 7 January 1989)Awards of the Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum to members of the Imperial Family and royalty
Information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Prince Komatsu Akihito (5 August 1895)Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (19 January 1916)Prince Kan'in Kotohito (24 September 1921)Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu (29 April 1934)Prince Nashimoto Morimasa (29 April 1940)Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (16 January 1895)Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (1 November 1895)Prince Arisugawa Takehito (7 July 1913)Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (27 June 1922)Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni (27 January 1929)Gojong of the Korean Empire (21 January 1919)Awards of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum to members of the Imperial Family and royalty
Information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Prince Arisugawa Taruhito (2 November 1877)Prince Komatsu Akihito (7 December 1882)Prince Arisugawa Takahito (24 January 1886)Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa (29 December 1886)Prince Arisugawa Takehito (29 December 1886)Prince Kuni Asahiko (29 December 1886)Prince Fushimi Sadanaru (29 December 1886)Prince Yamashina Akira (29 December 1886)Prince Kan'in Kotohito (18 August 1887)Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito (15 July 1889)Prince Kaya Kuninori (3 November 1903)Prince Kuni Kuniyoshi (3 November 1903)Prince Yamashina Kikumaro (3 November 1903)Prince Nashimoto Morimasa (3 November 1904)Prince Fushimi Hiroyasu (3 November 1905)Prince Arisugawa Tanehito (4 April 1908)Prince Takeda Tsunehisa (31 October 1913)Prince Asaka Yasuhiko (31 October 1917)Prince Kuni Taka (31 October 1917)Prince Kitashirakawa Naruhisa (31 October 1917)Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko (31 October 1917)Prince Chichibu (25 October 1922)Prince Kachō Hirotada (19 March 1924)Prince Takamatsu (1 February 1925)Prince Fushimi Hiroyoshi (3 November 1928)Prince Kaya Tsunenori (7 December 1930)Prince Kuni Asaakira (25 May 1932)Prince Kan'in Haruhito (3 November 1934)Prince Mikasa (1 October 1936)Prince Takeda Tsuneyoshi (3 November 1940)Prince Asaka Takahiko (7 November 1940)Prince Hitachi (28 November 1955)Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (5 January 1966)Prince Katsura (27 February 1968)Prince Takamado (29 December 1974)Crown Prince Naruhito (23 February 1980)Prince Akishino (30 November 1985)Prince Kitashirakawa Nagahisa (4 September 1940)Prince Yi Un of Korea (27 April 1920)Prince Yi Kang of Korea (8 January 1924)Prince Yi Geon of Korea (3 November 1926)Prince Yi Wu of Korea (7 November 1943)Information incorporated from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Itō Hirobumi (1 April 1906)Ōyama Iwao (1 April 1906)Yamagata Aritomo (1 April 1906)Matsukata Masayoshi (14 July 1916)Tōgō Heihachirō (11 November 1926)Saionji Kinmochi (10 November 1928)Katsura Tarō (10 October 1913)Inoue Kaoru (1 September 1915)Tokudaiji Sanetsune (4 June 1919)Ōkuma Shigenobu (10 January 1922)Yamamoto Gonbee (9 December 1933)Shigeru Yoshida (20 October 1967)Eisaku Satō (3 June 1975)Ordinary awards of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum
Incorporates information from the corresponding article in the Japanese Wikipedia
Sanjō Sanetomi (11 April 1882)Iwakura Tomomi (1 November 1882)Shimazu Hisamitsu (5 November 1887)Nakayama Tadayasu (14 May 1888)Itō Hirobumi (5 August 1895)*Kujō Michitaka (10 May 1900)Ōyama Iwao (3 June 1902)*Saigō Tsugumichi (3 June 1902)Yamagata Aritomo (3 June 1902)*Inoue Kaoru (1 April 1906)**Katsura Tarō (1 April 1906)**Tōgō Heihachirō (1 April 1906)*Tokudaiji Sanetsune (1 April 1906)**Matsukata Masayoshi (1 April 1906)*Nozu Michitsura (6 October 1908)Itō Sukeyuki (10 November 1913)Ōkuma Shigenobu (14 July 1916)**Saionji Kinmochi (21 December 1918)*Oku Yasukata (10 November 1928)Yamamoto Gonbee (10 November 1928)**Shigeru Yoshida (29 April 1964)**Eisaku Satō (3 November 1972)**Yasuhiro Nakasone (29 April 1997)* Later awarded the Collar
** Posthumously awarded the Collar
Kuroda Kiyotaka (25 August 1900)Terauchi Masatake (3 November 1919)Hara Takashi (4 November 1921)Kabayama Sukenori (8 February 1922)Katō Tomosaburō (24 August 1923)Hasegawa Yoshimichi (28 January 1924)Katō Takaaki (28 January 1926)Lee Wan-Yong (12 February 1926)Kawamura Kageaki (28 April 1926)Inoue Yoshika (22 March 1929)Uehara Yūsaku (8 November 1933)Saitō Makoto (26 February 1936)Takahashi Korekiyo (26 February 1936)Tokugawa Iesato (5 June 1940)Kaneko Kentarō (16 May 1942)Kiyoura Keigo (5 November 1942)Isoroku Yamamoto (18 April 1943)Ichiki Kitokurō (17 December 1944)Ichirō Hatoyama (7 March 1959)Hayato Ikeda (13 August 1965)Kōtarō Tanaka (1 March 1974)Masayoshi Ōhira (12 June 1980)Nobusuke Kishi (7 August 1987)Takeo Miki (14 November 1988)Takeo Fukuda (5 July 1995)Keizō Obuchi (14 May 2000)Noboru Takeshita (19 June 2000)Zenkō Suzuki (19 July 2004)Ryūtarō Hashimoto (1 July 2006)Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands, 2014Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, 1962Margrethe II, Queen of DenmarkHarald V, King of NorwayCarl XVI Gustav, King of SwedenAlbert II, King of the Belgians, 1996Philippe, King of the Belgians, 2016Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, 2005Abdullah II, King of Jordan, 1999Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia, 2005Sultan Abdul Halim, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia, 1970Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei, 1984Qaboos, Sultan of OmanJigme Singye Wangchuck, King of Bhutan, 1987Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, 1980Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, 2012Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, 2017Grand Cordon
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince consort of the United KingdomCharles, Prince of Wales, Crown Prince of the United KingdomVictoria, Crown Princess of SwedenFrederik, Crown Prince of DenmarkPrince Joachim of DenmarkMaha Vajiralongkorn, King of ThailandWillem-Alexander, King of the NetherlandsPhilippe, King of the BelgiansHis Majesty George Tupou the fifthFurst von Hannover, B. 1959Porfirio Diaz, President of MexicoToomas Hendrik Ilves, President of EstoniaValdas Adamkus, President of LithuaniaAleksander Kwaśniewski, President of PolandVaira Vīķe-Freiberga, President of LatviaGloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the PhilippinesNursultan Nazarbayev, President of KazakhstanBenigno Aquino III, President of the PhilippinesGuangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China (1872–1908)Emperor Kojong of Korea (1852–1919)Emperor Sunjong of Korea (1874–1926)Tuanku Syed Putra, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia (1920–2000)Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (1892–1974)Sultan Ismail Nasiruddin Shah, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia (1906–1979)Alfonso XIII, King of Spain (1886–1941)Sultan Azlan Shah, Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) of Malaysia (1928–2014)Birendra, King of Nepal (1945–2001)Mahendra, King of Nepal (1920–1972)Muhammad Zahir Shah, King of Afghanistan (1914–2007)Fuad I, King of Egypt and the Sudan (1868–1936)Faruk I, King of Egypt and the Sudan (1920–1965)Hussein I, King of Jordan (1935–1999)Norodom Sihanouk, King of Cambodia (1922-2012) 1968Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (1926–2006)Muhammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah (king) of Iran (1919–1980)Abdul Hamid II, Sultan (emperor) of the Ottoman Empire, 1887Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of India (1841-1910)Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand (1946-2016)Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, 1984Grand Cordon (deceased)
Abdul Hamid II, Sultan (emperor) of the Ottoman Empire (1842–1918)Prince Arthur of Connaught (1883–1938) Aishwarya, Queen consort of Nepal (1949–2001)Dipendra, Crown Prince of Nepal (1971–2001)Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States (1890–1969)Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974)Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy (1883–1945)Álvaro Obregón, President of Mexico (1880–1928)Prajadhipok, King of Siam (1893–1941)Puyi, Emperor of Manchukuo (1906–1967)Ronald Reagan, President of the United States (1911–2004)Samuel Robinson (1870–1958)Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines (1917–1989)Amha Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia (1916–1997)Prince Imperial Makonnen of Ethiopia (1923–1957)Prince Imperial Sahle Selassie of Ethiopia (1931–1962)Norodom Suramarit, King of Cambodia (1896–1960)Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (1892–1980)Prince Imperial Uihwa of Korea (1877–1955)Crown Prince Vong Savang of Laos (1931–1978?)Crown Prince Euimin of Korea (1897–1970)
