Japan, Manchukuo Empire. An Order of the Pillars of the State, VIII. Class

 (Guójiā zhīzhù xūnzhāng). Instituted September 14th, 1936. A well preserved example of this award, constructed of silver, featuring a four armed cross with four blocks on each tip, the space in each quadrant offers a silver ray with a small white enameled medallion, the obverse medallion sits a yellow enameled octagonal pillar bordered by concentric bands of the other national colours including black, white, blue and red, with an outer ring of white with silver gilt dots, the reverse of the badge is plain with the engraved characters translating to “Order of Merit Decoration”, on a single-toe suspension with a horizontal bar holding in place its period original ribbon featuring a hook and loop clasp closure on the reverse, measuring 40.4 mm (w) x 50.4 mm (l), a beautiful decoration in better than extremely fine condition.