It is believed that the term stems from the usage of the terms shiroboshi (lit: white star) to designate a bout victory, and kuroboshi (black star) to designate a bout defeat. Thus, a `gold star` designates it as a special victory. The word kinboshi first came into popular use in the Taishō period 1912-1926, and the system of monetarily awardin..... Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinboshi