Order of the Rising Sun

The  is a Japanese government honor established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government, It was created on April 10, 1875 by decree of the Council of State.

The modern version of this honor has been given to non-Japanese recipients beginning in 1981.

The awarding of the Order is administered by the Decoration Bureau of Office of the Prime Minister. It is awarded in the name of the Emperor.

 Classes 
The Order was awarded in nine classes until 2003. Since then, it has been awarded in seven classes.

Selected recipients
These lists are not finished; you can help Wikipedia by adding to them.

1st Class, Order of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cordon
85px|ribbon bar
 Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967)Honor conferred 1963 --  Konrad Adenauer Stiftung :  Biographie, Orden und Ehrenzeichen ; Kyokujitsu-sho, Orden der Aufgehenden Sonne, 1. Klasse, Großkreuz (22 März 1960); Kyokujitsu Tokwa Daiju-sho (Orden der Aufgehenden Sonne mit Paulownia-Blüten ((2 Dezember 1963). 
 Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964)Department of the Army, Headquarters: General Orders, No. 13. April 6, 1964.

 1st Class, Grand Cordon 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Edmund Barton, 1905Rutledge, Martha. (1979).  "Barton, Sir Edmund (1849 - 1920),"  Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, pp 194–200; Scaramouche. "Sir Edmund Barton"
 Sepp Blatter, 2009FIFA:  Honors, Sepp Blatter .
 Malcolm Fraser, 2006
 Daniel Inouye (1924-2012)Honor awarded 2000 --  Awards ; Cillizza, Chris.  "Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye dies at age 88," Washington Post. December 17, 2012; retrieved 2012-12-17.
 Wangari Maathai, 2009Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Japan: Wangari Maathai , 2009.
 John McEwen 1973
 Robert Menzies (1894–1978)Honor awarded 1973 --  National Archives of Australia 
 Goh Chok Tong, 2011S Ramesh. "Goh Chok Tong to receive award from Japanese emperor ". channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
 Gough Whitlam, 2006

 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Momofuku Ando (1910–2007), 2002NNDB: Order of the Rising Sun
 Donald Keene, 1993Keene Center of Japanese Culture, About Donald Keene ; retrieved 2012-11-02.

 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon 
85px|ribbon bar 
Clint Eastwood, 2009"Japan honors Clint Eastwood in spring decorations,"  Japan Today. April 29, 2008.
 Ian Nish, 1991Kenrick, Vivienne.  "Personality Profile: Ian Nish," Japan Times. September 18, 2004.
Raaj Sah, 2017

 4th Class, Gold Rays with Rosette 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Martha Argerich, 2005
 George Takei, 2004
 H. Paul Varley, 1966Honor awarded 1996 -- Columbia University, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Faculty Profiles

 5th Class, Gold and Silver Rays 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Yoshizawa, Akira (1911–2005)Honor awarded 1983 -- "Origami artist of stunning originality who became an ambassador for Japanese culture and his art" . The Times (London). March 30, 2005;  Lister, David. "Obituary: Akira Yoshizawa; Japanese craftsman who singlehandedly revived the art of origami," The Guardian (Manchester). April 8, 2005.
 Hiroshi Arisumi, 2010 (1920-2019)

 6th Class, Silver Rays 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Henry Hajimu Fujii (1886–1976)Honor awarded on 1971 -- Henshall, Mary. "Pioneer Portraits: Henry and Fumiko Fujii," Idaho Yesterdays,  Spring, 1975, pp. 20–27; Washington State University Libraries:   "Furthering friendship between Japan and the United States, April 1971" 
 Tsuyako Coveney (2017) 2017 Autumn Conferment of the Order of the Rising Sun, Silver Rays on Mrs. Tsuyako Sogawa Coveney, Consulate-General of Japan in Perth:  

 7th Class, Green Paulownia Leaves Medal 
85px|ribbon bar 
In 2003, this grade of the Order was abolished.

 8th Class, White Paulownia Leaves Medal 
85px|ribbon bar 
In 2003, this grade of the Order was abolished.

 Class unknown 
85px|ribbon bar 
 Aung San (1915–1947)

 References 

Further reading
 Peterson, James W., Barry C. Weaver and Michael A. Quigley. (2001). Orders and Medals of Japan and Associated States. San Ramon, California: Orders and Medals Society of America. 

Other websites

 Japan, Cabinet Office: Decorations and Medals 
 Decoration Bureau: Order of the Paulownia Flowers 
 Decoration Bureau: Order of the Rising Sun 
 Japan Mint: Production Process 

Category:1875 establishments in Asia

Category:1870s establishments in Japan