Includes:
1. Order of the Rising Sun, III Class Commander (in silver with white, green and violet enamels, red glass cabochon on both sides, a 5-7-5 configuration in the Paulonia flowers, measuring 54.7 mm (w) x 86.5 mm (h) inclusive of its Paulonia flowers and integral suspension, original full-length neck ribbon with clasp closure, in its rectangular hardshelled case of issue, balsa wood frame, black lacquer finish, gilt characters on the lid, inside lid lined in violet satin, raised platform in violet felt with a recessed medal bed);
2. Order of the Sacred Treasure, II Class Breast Star (multi-piece construction, in silver gilt with white and blue enamels, along with sixteen red glass cabochons, measuring 74 mm (w) x 74 mm (h), vertical pinback flanked by dual stays, intact enamels, in its octagonal hardshelled case of issue, balsa wood frame, black lacquer finish, gilt characters on the lid, inside lid lined in violet satin, violet felt slotted medal bed);
3. Group of Five: 1931-1934 Incident War Medal (in bronze, measuring 30.2 mm in diameter); China Incident War Medal 1937 (in bronze, measuring 30 mm in diameter); Showa Enthronement Commemorative Medal 1928 (in silver with a gilt chrysanthemum, measuring 30.2 mm in diameter); 2600th National Anniversary Commemorative Medal 1940 (in bronze, measuring 30.5 mm in diameter); and Manchukuo National Foundation Merit Medal (in blackened bronze with silvered characters, measuring 30.2 mm in diameter). Mounted to a traditional Japanese-style aluminum suspension with swing bar pinback, original ribbons;
4. Miniature Group of Five: Order of the Rising Sun (in silver with white, green and violet enamels, red glass cabochon on both sides, measuring 14.2 mm (w) x 24.5 mm (h) inclusive of its laterally-pierced ball suspension, the Order itself having separated from its suspension as its pin has been lost to time); Order of the Sacred Treasure (in silver gilt with white and blue enamels, along with sixteen red glass cabochons, measuring 13 mm (w) x 15.8 mm (h) inclusive of its laterally-pierced ball suspension); Showa Enthronement Commemorative Medal 1928 (medal missing, lost to time); 1931-1934 Incident War Medal (in bronze, measuring 12.3 mm in diameter); and Manchukuo National Foundation Merit Medal (in blackened bronze, measuring 12.5 mm in diameter). Mounted to a suspension with swing bar pinback, original ribbons;
5. two Ribbon Bars: three-level version (level one: Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1931-1934 Incident War Medal; level two: China Incident War Medal 1937, Showa Enthronement Commemorative Medal 1928, 2600th National Anniversary Commemorative Medal 1940; level three: Manchukuo National Foundation Merit Medal; measuring 113.5 mm (w) x 35.3 mm (h), original ribbons, swing bar pinback); and two-level version (level one: Order of the Rising Sun, Order of the Sacred Treasure, Showa Enthronement Commemorative Medal 1928; level two: 1931-1934 Incident War Medal, Manchukuo National Foundation Merit Medal, United Kingdom: King George V and Queen Mary Silver Jubilee Medal 1935, measuring 112.5 mm (w) x 22 mm (h), original ribbons, swing bar pinback);
6. three Rosettes: Order of the Rising Sun (measuring 11.2 mm in diameter, black finished metal button hole attachment); Order of the Sacred Treasure (measuring 11.5 mm in diameter, black finished metal button hole attachment); Unidentified (measuring 24 mm (w) x 26 mm (h), white plastic base). Near extremely fine.
Footnote: Ichirō Suganami was born on June 22, 1895. He was a Staff Officer with the Northern China Area Army during the first portion of the Second Sino-Japanese War, beginning on August 26, 1937. By the Spring of 1938, he was posted as Military Attaché to Great Britain from April 7, 1938 until December 1, 1939. During his time in London, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel on July 15, 1938. He was attached to the General Staff as of December 1, 1939 for the next five and a half months. By May 15, 1940, Colonel Suganami was Commanding Officer of the 222nd Infantry Regiment and was in charge of the regiment when Japan entered the Second World War on September 27, 1940 by signing the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy. Fourteen months after he took over the 222nd Infantry Regiment, he was named Chief of the Hailar Special Agency in China on July 7, 1941, a position he would assume until August 31, 1942. During this period, Suganami was promoted to the rank of Major-General on August 1, 1942. Major-General Suganami was attached to the General Staff from August 31, 1942 to November 12, 1942, at which point he was named Chief of Staff to the Japanese Governor General's Department at Hong Kong, Occupied Territory from November 12, 1942 to June 26, 1944. With the war still raging, he was placed in reserve on June 26, 1944 and was retired from service on September 13, 1944, now age 49. Suganami had maintained his intelligence connections throughout the years and knew the United States was developing a bomb with the capacity to eradicate an entire city in an instant. He urged Emperor Hirohito, to surrender to avoid that fate for Japan. Instead, the Emperor dismissed Suganami, but friendships he had developed gained him an early warning by which he was able to make fateful warning calls to his family. He failed to convince the Emperor to surrender, but he gained appreciation from the Allies, who evidently warned him about the pending bomb drop. After the war, Suganami avoided prison when General Douglas McArthur came to oversee the occupation of Japan. While McArthur put the Emperor’s inner circle and all the highly placed military leaders in prison, he did not imprison Suganami. This distinction bothered his wife until she died at the age of 104. She felt it would have been more honourable and befitting his rank as a Major-General, to have gone to prison. Still, Suganami lost his high status and made a living basically as a private tutor until he died. He already struggled for full inclusion into the inner circles because he was a Catholic Christian and did not see the Emperor as a god, as did the vast majority of his other subjects. Major-General Ichirō Suganami died on June 7, 1960, at the age of 64.