The Order of the Golden Kite was an order of the Empire of Japan, established on 12 February 1890 by Emperor Meiji "in commemoration of Jimmu Tennō, the Romulus of Japan". It was officially abolished 1947 by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) during the occupation of Japan, after World War II.
Order of the Golden Kite, 4th Class
Classes of the Order of the Golden Kite
Golden kite (Milvus migrans)
Order of the Golden Kite, 1st and 2nd class plaque
Mutsuhito , posthumously honored as Emperor Meiji , was the 122nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. His reign is associated with the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power.
Portrait by Uchida Kuichi, 1873
Nakayama Yoshiko (mother of Emperor Meiji)
Emperor Meiji wearing the sokutai, 1872
Emperor Meiji receives Dutch Minister-Resident Dirk de Graeff van Polsbroek in 1868.