Circular gilt bronze medal with elaborately decorated swivel suspension; 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 characters meaning ‘Meiji 37-8 Years’ War’ within a wreath of palm and laurel; slight age oxidisation; on original ribbon with hook and eye fittings and bearing a bar inscribed with four characters reading ‘War Medal’. 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
