Orders, decorations, and medals of Metzetta
The current Metzettan Honours System began in 1860 with Emperor Daeku's reforms; he created The Order of The Magnolia Tree, The Order of The Sacred Lotus, the Imperial Medals of Honour, and formalised Metzetta's ancient peerage system.
Current Orders
Supreme Order of Taeyang
Established in 2000 by Empress Joya as the premier order of Metzetta. Only a single class exists, the Grand Cordon. It is the highest possible honour that may be conferred. Normally awarded only to reigning Emperors and to foreign monarchs as a courtesy but may also be granted to extremely important government officials, Imperial Family members, certain non-royal foreign heads of state or high-ranking military personnel in rare instances. Taeyang is the Metzettan sun deity and supposed great-grandmother of Emperor Yang-jo, legendary founder of Metzetta. This order is always conferred by the Emperor personally.
Order of The Magnolia Tree
Established in 1860 by Emperor Daeku. It is conferred in six classes; Grand Cordon, Gold Star with Rosette, Gold Star, Silver Star, Gold Rays and Silver Rays. Originally the highest order awarded, it is typically bestowed upon senior government officials, select foreign heads of government, Imperial Family members, distinguished judges and senior military personnel.
Order of The Sacred Lotus
Established in 1860 by Emperor Daeku. It is conferred in nine classes; Grand Cordon, Gold Star with Rosette, Gold Star, Silver Star, Gold Rays, Silver Rays, White Blossom, Purple Blossom and Red Blossom. The Grand Cordon of the order is typically awarded to foreign heads of government, chairpersons of prominent international organizations and leading politicians, business leaders and diplomats or ambassadors who have made "significant contributions to the friendships Metzetta enjoys abroad," to both Metzettan ambassadors abroad and foreign ambassadors to Metzetta. The second class is typically conferred upon prominent academics, politicians and military officers. The third through ninth classes are ordinarily conferred upon individuals who have made significant contributions to Metzetta in varying degrees.
Order of Riwa
Established in 1943 by Emperor Jan-Hu following the conclusion of the Second Great War. It is conferred in seven classes; Grand Cordon, Rose Class, Cherry Class, Willow Class, Birch Class, Pine Class and Oak Class. Mount Riwa is a holy site in Metzetta. The order has been awarded to civil servants for their long-term contributions. They include government and local officials, military personnel, scholars of national universities, and school teachers.
Order of Culture
Established in 1943 by Emperor Jan-Hu following the conclusion of the Second Great War, as a single-class honour, to individuals who have made significant contributions to Metzettan culture.
Order of Dalrae
Established in 2000 by Empress Joya to recognise the achievements of women. It is offered in three classes; Collar, Grand Cordon and Sword of The Empress. It is only conferred upon female recipients in light of significant achievement; both Metzettan women and foreign women are eligible.
Imperial Medals of Honour
Established in 1860 by Emperor Daeku to honour individuals who have made distinguished achievements in their respective fields of society. Medals are awarded with several ribbon colours denoting the reason for the honour; red, green, yellow and violet were the original colours awarded, with Emperor Ingun-Hu adding a blue award in 1914 and Empress Joya adding indigo and teal for the year 2000.
| Colour | Established | Reason for award |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 1860 | Risking own life to save others |
| Green | 1860 | Moral service to society |
| Yellow | 1860 | Public role model |
| Violet | 1860 | Services to academics and the arts |
| Blue | 1914 | Services to public welfare and education |
| Indigo | 2000 | Generous charitable donations |
| Teal | 2000 | Services to Metzettan-foreign relations and international peace |
Peerages
Noble titles are treasured possessions of the Metzettan aristocracy. The translations chosen for titles do not necessarily match the functions they have in Western countries. The highest ranking title is Emperor, held by the current monarch, followed by Empress-Consort for his spouse. Empress and Emperor-Consort are used in the event of a female ruler. All children and grandchildren of any Emperor and their spouses are automatically granted the title of Prince or Princess, and their great-grandchildren are given the title of Count or Countess. The Emperor's mother is referred to as the Empress Dowager. The Emperor will initiate one of his or her children as the Crown Prince or Princess to indicate they will take over after their death; the oldest son is preferred but the eldest daughter is chosen in the event of no male children being born. The most senior prince or princess is sometimes referred to as Prince-jo or Princess-jo (Great Prince or Great Princess). All other titles are considered peerages and are inheritable by one child of the title-holder's choosing; if the owner of a peerage dies childless it is returned to the Emperor who will bestow it upon another person of their choosing.
Metzetta's peerages are translated as dukedoms, earldoms and baronies. There are 25 Dukedoms; one for each major administrative division of Metzetta. Earldoms exist for each metropolitan city district and provincial county. Baronies exist for each provincial prefecture. Metzetta's historic clans (Ssuseol, Pyeolhae, Apsu, Kino, Haruka, Migyung, Zuzeonhwa and Jaenan) hold a significant percentage of these prestigious titles, with some clans being very protective over specific titles. Minor members of the Imperial clan are also regularly offered peerages.
Past System and History
Previously the Metzettan honours system had conferred the medal of the Order of The Bear (Classes of Full Moon, Half Moon and Crescent Moon) to military recipients and the medal of the Order of Yang-jo (Classes of Acorn, Plum and Apple) to civilian recipients; these orders were abolished when the current system was developed in 1860.