The is a Japanese order, established on January 4, 1888 by Emperor Meiji of Japan. Since the Order of the Rising Sun at that time was an Order for men, it was established as an Order for women. In 2003 the Order of the Rising Sun, previously reserved for males, was made available to women as well, and the lowest two classes of the Order of the Precious Crown were abolished.

In 1907, medals of the Order of the Crown were bestowed upon twenty-nine Americans who participated in the Russo-Japanese War. This unusual list of honorees was composed of ten women volunteer nurses and nineteen correspondents of American newspapers.

<gallery mode="packed" style="text-align: center;" heights="200" perrow="3">

File:Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown.png|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (1st class)

File:The Order of the Precious Crown, Peony.png|The Order of the Precious Crown, Peony (2nd class)

The Order of the Precious Crown, Butterfly.png|The Order of the Precious Crown, Butterfly (3rd class)

File:The Order of the Precious Crown, Wistaria.png|The Order of the Precious Crown, Wistaria (4th class)

File:The Order of the Precious Crown, Apricot.png|The Order of the Precious Crown, Apricot (5th class)

File:The Order of the Precious Crown, Ripple.png|The Order of the Precious Crown, Ripple (6th class)

File:MET 06 417 F.jpeg|7th Class (Abolished in 2003)

File:MET 06 418 F.jpeg|8th Class (Abolished in 2003)

</gallery>

{|align=center class=wikitable width=58%

!colspan=4|Ribbon bars

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|width=25% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Grand Cordon, Paulownia</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Second Class, Peony</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Third Class, Butterfly</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Fourth Class, Wisteria</small>

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|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Fifth Class, Apricot</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Sixth Class, Ripples</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Seventh Class, Medal (abolished 2003)</small>

|width=20% valign=top align=center|100px|center<small>Eighth Class, Medal (abolished 2003)</small>

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Selected recipients

First Class, Grand Cordon

thumb|300px|Order of the Precious Crown, 1st class plaque. End of the 19th century. [[Musée de la Légion d'honneur.]]

  • Empress Michiko
  • Empress Masako
  • Kiko, Crown Princess Akishino
  • Aiko, Princess Toshi
  • Mako Komuro
  • Princess Kako of Akishino
  • Sayako Kuroda
  • Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
  • Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita of Tonga
  • Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
  • Empress Farah of Iran
  • Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother
  • Queen Paola of Belgium
  • Queen Silvia of Sweden
  • Queen Sirikit of Thailand
  • Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
  • Queen Mathilde of Belgium
  • Queen Sofia of Spain
  • Queen Letizia of Spain
  • Queen Sonja of Norway
  • Crown Princess Bangja of Korea
  • Tuanku Budriah of Malaysia
  • Tuanku Bainun of Malaysia
  • Tuanku Fauziah of Malaysia
  • Tuanku Hajah Haminah Hamidun of Malaysia
  • Princess Madeleine of Sweden
  • Princess Srinagarindra of Thailand
  • Princess Sirindhorn of Thailand
  • Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand
  • Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon
  • Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
  • Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway
  • Princess Basma bint Talal of Jordan
  • Empress Dowager Cixi of China
  • Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii
  • Queen Kapiolani of Hawaii
  • Te Atairangikaahu
  • Princess Sarvath al-Hassan of Jordan
  • Princess Alia bint Hussein of Jordan
  • Margaret, Baroness Thatcher, (former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom)
  • Imelda Romualdez Marcos, (former First Lady of the Philippines)
  • Siti Hartinah (former First Lady of the Republic of Indonesia)

Second Class, Peony

  • Noriko Senge
  • Princess Tsuguko of Takamado
  • Ayako Moriya
  • Princess Akiko of Mikasa
  • Princess Yōko of Mikasa
  • Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg

Third Class, Butterfly

  • Joyce Ackroyd, 1918&ndash;1991
  • Eleanor Jorden, 1920&ndash;2009
  • Elizabeth Gray Vining, 1902&ndash;1999
  • Lillian Moller Gilbreth, 1878&ndash;1972, Honor conferred 1968
  • Yoshi Kasuya, 1894–1994
  • Chika Kuroda, 1884–1968
  • Margaret Sanger, 1879–1966, Honor conferred 1965
  • Sugino Yoshiko, 1892-1978
  • Kono Yasui, 1880–1971
  • Toshiko Yuasa, 1909–1980

Fourth Class, Wistaria

  • Michiyo Tsujimura (1888–1969)
  • Miwa Kai (1913–2011)
  • Yvette Giraud (1916-2014)
  • Machiko Hasegawa (1920–1992)
  • Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (1926–2014)

Fifth Class, Apricot

  • Fujima Kansuma (1918–2023)
  • Helen Kawagoe (1927–2020)

Sixth Class, Ripple

  • Anita Newcomb McGee,(1864–1940)

Seventh Class

  • William H. Brill, (1871–1923), Associated Press and Reuter's Telegram Company (c. 1844 – 1929) Travel Magazine