J. R. Wasson

J.R. Wasson (1855-1913) [ [http://www.interment.net/data/us/mo/pettis/mtherman/index.htm Mount Herman Cemetery - Pettis County, Missouri ] ] was the first native-born American to be honored with an award of the Order of the Rising Sun, a Japanese Order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. [French-born Charles LeGendre (1830-1899), a naturalized American citizen since 1854, was reported to have been the first among foreigners or Japanese to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 1875 -- [http://academic.reed.edu/formosa/texts/legendrebio.html LeGendre bio notes] ]

The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government. [ [http://www8.cao.go.jp/intro/kunsho/english/kyoku.html Rising Sun ] ] It is the second most prestigious Japanese decoration after the Order of the Chrysanthemum. [http://www.cao.go.jp/about_e/pmf2006/p28.pdf] The order, a civilian and military decoration, has been awarded over four million times in any grade. [ [http://www.xavierb.net/japan/risingsun.htm www.xavierb.net ] ]

A number of others have been traditionally known as the very first non-Japanese to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. However, that singular honor actually belongs to U.S. Army Col. J.R. Wasson who, according to the "New York Times," was given "the decoration of the Rising Sun, of the Imperial Order of Meiji, a distinction no other foreigner ever enjoyed." The "Times" reported that U.S. President Grant sent the colonel to Japan as a military instructor; and Wasson actually commanded Japanese troops during an 1874 punitive expedition against Formosa. In 1875, he was recognized by Emperor Meiji as a consequence of his conduct during this minor military campaign. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E2DB1730E033A25751C2A96E9C94659ED7CF "A Victory for the Chinese; Japanese Driven with Heavy Loss from Ping-yang"] , New York Times," August 22, 1894.]

Notes

References

* [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2801%28196506%2937%3A2%3C171%3AJACVIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-9&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage Gordon, Leonard. (1965). "Japan's Abortive Colonial Venture in Taiwan, 1874"] , "The Journal of Modern History", Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 171-185.
* Yen, Sophia Su-fei. (1965). "Taiwan in China's Foreign Policy, 1836-1974." Hamden, Connecticut: Shoestring Press. [http://books.google.com/books?id=XNjRd1RYvrcC&pg=PA113&dq=Yen,+Sophia+Su-fei++Taiwan+in+China%27s+Foreign+Relations&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U0DELNMQIcpA1g0lX7Lav1LBeey8w#PPA113,M1 Ph.D. dissertation, Yale, 1962.]

External links

* Japanese government official web site: [http://www8.cao.go.jp/english/decoration/kyoku.html Decorations Bureau, Order of the Rising Sun]
* The Last Samurai -- 2003 movie, fictionalized account of a U.S. military instructor in early Meiji period Japan
* Emory University [http://www.history.emory.edu/RAVINA/whoswho.html historical background for "The Last Samurai"]