Imperial Japanese Tateyama Naval Gunnery School graduation medal

Imperial Japanese Navy Artillery Academy graduation badge with pink, grey, yellow, blue, and purple striped ribbon. The triangular metal alloy medal has an antique silver finish with gold highlights and shows gold characters above an eagle with upswept wings holding a circle bearing a cherry blossom above an artillery piece in its talons, with stylised ocean waves at the bottom of the triangle. The Japanese characters read 'General Course / Gunnery". The reverse has an inscription of three columns of raised characters, below the date '2601' (corresponding to the year 1941). The inscription reads: "Tateyama Naval Gunnery School"; "In memory of graduation" and "General-course student of the first graduating class". The recipient appears to have scratched his name on the left side of the characters.

The Tateyama Naval Gunnery School was founded on 1 June, 1941 in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, as a branch of Yokosuka Naval Gunnery School. The purpose of the school was teach the students the skills of landing operations and land fighting. The paratroopers who attacked Kupang Airfield in East Timor were trained in this school. As the medal inscription notes, this medal was award at the end of the first course that was conducted at the school conducted after its inception.