This is a famous photo of Emperor Taisho of Japan.
In the photo, Emperor Taisho wearing this suit is a member of the Knights of the King of England.
This knight group is called the Knights of the Guardian, which represents the highest honor the British royal family can give.
This cloak is made of velvet, and the left shoulder is the Saint George's cross with a garter stitched on it.
On the right shoulder is the hood of the cloak.
The hat is also made of black velvet, with white ostrich and black heron feathers on it.
The collar on the neck is made of pure gold and weighs 0.933 kg.
wears a garter belt on the left calf.
The Knights of the Guardian Order originated in the 14th century. It is said that the legendary British King Edward III, who was engaged in the Anglo-French War, was dancing with a Countess of Salisbury. The Countess’ garter belt accidentally dropped, causing laughter. The knight king, who has a tradition of protecting women, picked up the garter belt, tied it on his lap, and announced in public:
"Honi soit qui mal y pense"
(Shame on him who thinks evil of it)
(The person who cherishes evil thoughts is ashamed)
and announced on the spot that the Garter Medal with the blue garter belt as the symbol was established as the highest honor symbol in England. Only 25 living people can enjoy this honor.
The knight who received the Garter Medal will become the king's closest, most loyal and glorious knight, and he has the noble obligation to follow the king to the death.
But where did the emperor of Japan get the number of guardian knights?
In 1813, in order to express gratitude to Tsar Alexander I, an ally who defeated Napoleon, the British awarded him honors. This was the first time that foreigners were awarded the Garter Medal.
Foreigners joining the Knights of the Guardian are not subject to the 25-person limit, but only the monarch is eligible to join.
The Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of Japan to join. With the influence of the Japan-Britain Alliance, as a friendly country to the United Kingdom, Japan received the first Order of the Garter in East Asia.
The Japanese painted the scene of the British awards as propaganda posters.
Obviously the British awarded honors to the Japanese Emperor, but the British suffered a lot. The garter stockings in this garter garter medal can only be tied to the leg. The British envoy squatted on the ground, and the Emperor Meiji arrogantly stretched out his thigh. The appearance was "captured" by a Japanese painter to show the Japanese people how the British Empire bowed to Japan.
In 1912, Emperor Taisho received a medal.
In 1929, Emperor Showa was awarded a medal.
Every time the honor is awarded, the British are happy because the emperor joins his knights, and the Japanese are happy because the world of the British Empire bows to the emperor.
Take what you need.
(Japanese angry youths propaganda on the Internet, "The imperial family is a Japanese traitor, and became the underlings of the British royal family, and joined the Knights as retainers of the family")
When joining the British Knights, will the Emperor of Japan become a loyal knight of the King of England in accordance with the agreement of the award?
is obviously not.
(the current knight leader wears a leader’s uniform)
The British can only join the punishment mechanism, if the wearer of the medal betraysThe king, the king has the right to take away the medal.
During the Second World War, Emperor Showa was deprived of his medal by the British because he declared war on Britain.
But after the war, the British Empire is no longer strong and has no moral integrity.
In 1971, Elizabeth II announced that he would “restore the honor of the Emperor” and once again awarded the Emperor Showa an honour. The Emperor Showa became the only foreign monarch to win the Garde Medal twice.
also made a special chrysanthemum heraldry for the Emperor.
But here comes the problem. Emperor Showa received the medal for the second time. What about his previous medal?
According to the regulations, in fact, after the death of a member of the group, the family members must return the medal. After all, the medal is very expensive.
But in 1976, a department store in Japan actually sold the Garter Medal openly. This was the first time in history.
The highest honor of the British Empire, can the highest asking price get it?
More importantly, according to the appraisal, this is still a treasure. The British royal family was furious upon hearing the news and protested to the Japanese government.
Under British pressure, the auction was forced to terminate.
No one knows who sold this medal.
