Item number: M502

Year: AD 1895

Material: Cupronickel

Size: 63.1 x 27.5 x 1.9 mm

Weight: 12.2 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Japan, 2026

This commemorative medal was awarded by one of the local solace societies established across Japan to returning soldiers or the bereaved families of deceased servicemen following the First Sino-Japanese War.

The medallion is circular in form. The obverse features the kanji inscription ‘Comfort Society Medal’ (Iroukai shō) arranged vertically in the centre. Above it, a golden kite (kinshi)—a mythical bird credited with enabling Emperor Jimmu’s victory and a frequent symbol of the Japanese military—radiates sunburst rays. Flanking the central text are the vertical inscriptions ‘Conquest of Qing’ (Seisei) and ‘Military Personnel’ (Gunjin), while the lower perimeter bears the curved inscription ‘Imperial Year 2555’ (Kigen 2555), corresponding to AD 1895 in the imperial calendar system. The obverse is finished with a double raised rim, whilst the reverse is unadorned and smooth.

The ribbon comprises a broad white central stripe flanked symmetrically by narrow red and blue stripes, with white edge trims. As no identical specimen has been documented, this medal was likely produced locally by a regional organisation, rendering it exceptionally rare.

In the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, local municipalities and prominent civic figures across Japan spontaneously established organisations such as ‘Expeditionary Military Personnel Comfort Societies’, ‘Conscription Support Associations’, and ‘Martial Encouragement Societies’, driving a regional support movement of unprecedented scale. These associations organised ceremonial send-offs for departing troops and sent local representatives to major railway stations to greet returning soldiers, hosting banquets at village entrances and escorting servicemen to local Shinto shrines to offer prayers. Concurrently, these societies raised funds through public donations to distribute monetary gratuities, provide financial assistance to impoverished families, and organise grand village funerals attended by thousands for fallen soldiers. To perpetuate the martial achievements of expeditionary troops and the sacrifices of the war dead for future generations, local associations pooled financial resources to cast commemorative medals and erect numerous monuments and memorial stelae (chūkonhi) within local shrines and public parks, thereby transforming relief and support activities into a highly cohesive collective practice.

This localised network of home-front support significantly accelerated the integration of the armed forces with regional society. Through village-wide relief rituals and send-off events, conscripted soldiers were transformed from abstract military units within a state apparatus into individuals burdened with the solemn duty of carrying the honour and repute of their native places. Furthermore, the discourses surrounding ‘economic benefit’ and ‘regional revitalisation’ generated by military garrisoning and local exercises markedly narrowed the psychological distance between civilians and the armed forces. In areas with a permanent military presence, such as Kasumigaura, servicemen frequently frequented private lodging houses, shared living quarters with residents, and occasionally intermarried with local farming families, causing the military to transcend its role as a total institution of the state and become thoroughly embedded within the everyday fabric of local society.

The widespread mobilisation of local solace societies, coupled with the deepening regionalisation of the military, jointly driven a shift in public perception towards conscription during Japan’s modern era. Military service, which had been widely resisted in the early Meiji period, was reshaped into a supreme civic honour, bolstered by reports of military victories, celebratory triumphal gatherings, and the erection of monuments. The singing of military songs and a rising martial ethos gradually permeated daily life, fostering an intense surge of war enthusiasm. Among neighbouring villages, competitive ostentation even emerged, with communities attempting to outdo one another in hosting lavish send-off and welcoming banquets. This home-front mechanism—spontaneously initiated at the local level and bound together by economic and emotional ties—successfully internalised the state’s foreign wars as a collective endeavour of village communities, thereby serving as a distant origin for the subsequent rise of militarism.

物件編號: M502

年代: 公元 1895 年

材質: 白銅

尺寸: 63.1 x 27.5 x 1.9 mm

重量: 12.2 g

來源: 日本私人收藏 2026

這是一枚中日甲午戰爭後，各地舉行的慰勞義會之一所贈予歸國軍人或戰歿軍人家屬的紀念章。

章體呈圓形。正面中央豎排為漢字「慰勞會章」，上方有一金鵄（きんし）放射光芒，金鵄為傳說中使神武天皇獲勝的神鳥，經常作為日本的軍事象徵。左右兩側豎列「征清 / 軍人」，下方環列「紀元弐千五百五十五年」，即皇紀下的公元1895年。邊緣有雙層邊環，背面則光平無文。

綬帶為中央寬白色帶，向外兩側依序為紅、藍色的窄色帶，邊緣飾帶為白色。此章查無他例，可能為地方團體自製，相當罕見。

甲午戰爭後，日本各地自治體與民間名士自發成立「出征軍人慰勞會」、「徵兵慰勞義會」及「尚武會」等組織，推動了規模空前的地方後援運動。這些團體在士兵出征時舉行隆重的送別式，凱旋時則由地方代表遠赴大車站迎駕，並在村口設宴、引導兵士至當地神社參拜。同時，義會透過籌集捐款發放慰勞金、提供貧困家屬扶助，並為戰歿者舉行動員數千人的盛大村葬。為了將出征軍功與戰死者的偉業留傳後世，各地方團體更集資鑄造紀念章，甚或在神社或公園內大量建立紀念碑與忠魂碑，使慰勞與後援活動轉化為具有高度凝聚力的集體實踐。

這種地方性的後援網絡，深刻地加速了軍隊與地域社會的緊密結合。透過全村參與的慰勞儀式與送別活動，出征士兵不再只是國家軍事機關中的抽象兵額，而被寄予了背負故鄉榮辱的重任。另一方面，軍隊駐紮與地方演習所帶動的「經濟效應論」與「地域振興論」，大幅縮短了軍民之間的心理距離；而在霞浦等常態駐軍區域，軍人頻繁出入民間下宿、共享生活空間，甚至與在地農家通婚，更使軍隊從一個國家全制性機構，徹底融入地方社會的日常肌理之中。

各地慰勞會的廣泛動員與軍隊地域化的深化，共同推動了日本近代民眾對「徵兵制」的意識轉變。原本在明治初期備受排斥的服兵役，在戰勝捷報、凱旋祝賀會及紀念碑建立的推波助瀾下，被重塑為至高無上的國民榮耀。軍歌歡唱與尚武風氣逐漸滲透地方日常，激發出高度高漲的「戰爭狂熱」。甚至在村落之間，為了展現地域榮譽而出現互相較勁、過度辦宴迎送的競爭現象。這套由地方主動發起、結合經濟與情感結節的後援機制，成功將國家的對外戰爭內化為村落共同體的集體事業，也成為日後軍國主義風潮的遠因。