Types of Medals

Medals with Red Ribbon, Green Ribbon and Blue Ribbon were established in 1881; Medal with a Dark Blue Ribbon arrived in 1918, and the Medals with Yellow Ribbon and Purple Ribbon were established in 1955. The circular medal features the kanji characters, ho and sho, which combined together means Medal of Honor, decorated with cherry blossoms.The medals are differentiated by the color of the ribbon.