Item number: M500

Year: AD 1934

Material: Silver

Size: 24.5 x 20.3 x 3.4 mm

Weight: 8.15 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Japan, 2026

This is a commemorative medal bestowed upon lower-ranking subjects by King Yi of Korea, a member of the Japanese Imperial Family.

The overall outline of the medal forms a five-petalled blossom, depicting the plum blossom (Ihwa) that represents the Korean imperial House of Yi, which also served as the official crest of the Changdeokgung Palace following the annexation of Korea by Japan. The pistil is inlaid with red enamel, while the filaments of the stamens radiate outwards from the centre, with three filaments per petal and the anthers filled with yellow enamel. Inscribed between the pistil and stamens is the text: “In Commemoration of the Royal Sojourn and Bestowal by His Royal Highness Prince Yi Un / July, AD 1934 / Ito Tojiro”. The reverse side features the same design as the obverse, with the exception that it bears no inscription.

Yi Un (AD 1897–1970) was the last Crown Prince of the Korean Empire (Prince Yeong). Appointed Crown Prince in AD 1907 during his childhood, he was subsequently taken to Japan under the guise of study, effectively becoming a political hostage of the Empire of Great Japan. Following the annexation of Korea in AD 1910, his status was downgraded to “King Yi”, receiving treatment equivalent to that of ordinary Japanese imperial royalty. Under Japanese arrangement, he married Princess Masako of Nashimoto-no-miya in AD 1920. Thereafter, he served for an extended period in the Imperial Japanese Army, acting as a political figurehead for the Empire’s assimilation policies and pacification propaganda. Following the Mukden Incident, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel in AD 1932 and subsequently served as a member of the Educational Affairs Section in the Inspectorate General of Military Training. In April AD 1934, he visited Seoul to attend ceremonies at the Chōsen Shrine. His movements during the second half of that year remain unclear; however, the term “sojourn” (chaihaku) on the commemorative medal suggests that he had likely just returned to Japan in July. In AD 1935, he visited Taiwan. He subsequently joined the war of aggression against China as a member of the imperial family, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant-General. Following the end of the Second World War, he was stripped of his royal status and Japanese nationality, remaining stranded in Japan for a prolonged period in exile and ill health due to exclusion by Syngman Rhee’s government in South Korea. In AD 1963, he was finally able to return to South Korea at the invitation of the Park Chung-hee administration, eventually passing away in Seoul in AD 1970.

Ito Tojiro, whose birth name was Otani Tojiro, was born in AD 1888, with his year of death unknown. A modern Japanese industrialist, he was originally the second son of Otani Toshiro before being adopted into the family of the prominent Osaka textile merchant, Itoman Sukematsu I, subsequently marrying his second daughter, Banki. He was active in the Kansai textile industry and business community for many years, serving as a director of Itoman Shoten (later renamed Itoman Co., Ltd.), president of Miyagawa Muslin, and holding key positions such as Managing Director and Standing Statutory Auditor at Dai-Nippon Spinning (later Nichibo, now Unitika). As a distinguished entrepreneur, he had already been awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Eighth Class by AD 1911, likely in recognition of his merits as a major taxpayer.

物件編號: M500

年代: 公元 1934 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 24.5 x 20.3 x 3.4 mm

重量: 8.15 g

來源: 日本私人收藏 2026

這是一枚日本的皇族，朝鮮李王所賞賜給下級臣民的紀念章。

章體輪廓呈五瓣花狀，為代表李氏朝鮮皇族的李花，在日韓合併後也是昌德宮的官方紋章。雌蕊處填以紅色琺瑯，雄蕊的花絲自中央向外放射狀延伸，每一瓣花瓣有三條，花葯部分填以黃色琺瑯。雌、雄蕊間列有文字「李王垠殿下御滯泊御下賜 / 記念 / 昭和九年七月 / 伊藤藤治郎」。背面則與正面設計相同，只是沒有文字。

李垠（生卒公元1897至1970年）為大韓帝國最後一位皇太子（英親王），幼年時於公元1907年被立為皇太子，隨後以留學名義被帶往日本，實質上成為大日本帝國的政治人質。公元1910年日韓合併後，他被降格為日本一般皇族待遇的「李王」，並在日方安排下於公元1920年與日本皇族梨本宮家的方子女王成婚。此後他長期服役於大日本帝國陸軍，成為帝國同化政策與宣撫工作的政治樣板。九一八事變後，於公元1932年，晉升中佐，其後並在陸軍的教育總監部擔任教育總務課員。公元1934年4月，訪問首爾並於朝鮮神宮進行儀式。該年下半動向不明，但從紀念章的「滯泊」來看，七月時應剛返抵日本。公元1935年時訪問臺灣。後以皇族身分加入對中國的侵略戰場，官至中將。第二次世界大戰結束後，他失去王公族身分與日本國籍，並因韓國李承晚政府的排斥而長期滯留日本，陷入流亡與病痛的困境。公元1963年，在朴正煕政府邀請下始得以重返韓國，最終於公元1970年在首爾逝世。

伊藤藤治郎，本名大谷藤治郎，公元1888年生，卒年不明。其為日本近現代實業家，本為大谷藤四郎之次子，後過繼予大阪知名紡織商人初代伊藤萬助並娶其次女萬龜為妻。他長期活躍於關西紡織業與商界，曾任伊藤萬商店（後改稱伊藤萬）董事、宮川莫斯林（宮川モスリン）社長，並於大日本紡績（後為日紡、Unitika）擔任常務取締役及常任監查役等要職。作為知名企業家，可能因「大納稅者」功績，在公元1911年時已有「勳八等」爵位。