Imperial Japanese “China Incident” War Medal Certificate (従軍記章之證)
Issued April 29, 1940 (Shōwa 15) to Army Infantryman First Class Nakamura Masetakezō (仲村柾武造) for participation in the conflict Japan officially called the “China Incident” (支那事変) — the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Signed by Murata Yaso (村田八穂), Chief of the Japanese Decoration Bureau (賞勲局), with the official vermilion seal and serial number 640,679.

Translation of text on the certificate

Right column:
支那事變従軍記章之證
陸軍歩兵一等兵 仲村 柾武造
→ Certificate for the China Incident War Medal – Army Infantryman First Class Nakamura Masetakezō

Center column:
支那事變従軍記章ヲ授與セル
昭和十五年四月二十九日
→ Having hereby conferred the China Incident War Medal – April 29, 1940 (Emperor’s Birthday)

Left column:
賞勲局總裁従軍等下賜康礎ヲ証ス
第六四〇六七九號
村田八穂
→ Certified by the Chief of the Decorations Bureau, Murata Yaso. Serial No. 640,679.

Seal:
日本政府賞勲局印
→ Seal of the Japanese Government Decoration Bureau.

Historical Context

Japan’s 1937 invasion of China was officially described not as a war but as a “China Incident” — bureaucratic language designed to hide aggression behind formality. The medal represented imperial gratitude, not valor. April 29, the Emperor’s birthday, was chosen for many such awards, making every recipient both an honored subject and a reminder of obedience to the state.

The phrase could just as well have been spoken in the days of the shogun reflecting an American Civil War saying [nothing has changed]:

“The Emperor’s (rich man’s) war, the Retainer’s (poor man’s) fight.”

This certificate — a single sheet bearing the name Nakamura Masetakezō — is a small testament to that truth: one cog in a great machine of empire, written in the language of loyalty and sacrifice.

The reverse side bears pencil markings from some later hand, perhaps a game of cribbage — a fitting postscript, turning the Emperor’s war into an ordinary man’s scrap paper.  We can wonder as to the fate of the Private.  And the reverse side, probably a serviceman's game recording from a collected souvenir.  

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