Japanese currency
Japanese currency has a history covering the period from the 8th century AD to the present. After the traditional usage of rice as a currency medium, Japan adopted currency systems and designs from China before developing a separate system of its own.
History[edit]
Commodity money[edit]
Before the 7th-8th centuries AD, Japan used commodity money for trading. This generally consisted of material that was compact and easily transportable and had a widely recognized value. Commodity money was a great improvement over simple barter, in which commodities were simply exchanged against others. Ideally, commodity money had to be widely accepted, easily portable and storable, and easily combined and divided in order to correspond to different values. The main items of commodity money in Japan were arrowheads, rice grains and gold powder.
This contrasted somewhat with countries like China, where one of the most important items of commodity money came from the southern seas: shells.[1] Since then however, the shell has become a symbol for money in many Chinese and Japanese ideograms.[1]
Early coinage[edit]
The earliest coins to reach Japan were Chinese Ban Liang and Wu Zhu coins, as well as the coins produced by Wang Mang during the first centuries of the first millennium AD; these coins have been excavated all over Japan, but as Japan's economy was not sufficiently developed at the time, these coins were more likely to be used as precious objects rather than a means of exchange; rice and cloth served as the main currencies of Japan at the time.[2]
The first coins produced in Japan are called the Mumonginsen (
Kōchōsen currency system (8th–10th centuries)[edit]
Embassy to the Tang court (630 AD)[edit]
Japan's first formal currency system was the Kōchōsen (Japanese:
This coinage was inspired by the Tang coinage (
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Chinese shell money was widely accepted, easy to carry, and easy to count.
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Japanese commodity money before the 8th century, including arrowheads, rice grains, and gold powder. Now in the Japanese Currency Museum.
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The Japanese embassy to the Tang court.
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The Nihon Shoki entry of 15 April 683 (Tenmu 12th year) mandates the use of copper coins.
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Known coin types of Japan from 708 to 958, chronologically arranged.
Japan's contacts with the Chinese mainland became intense during the Tang period, with many exchanges and cultural imports occurring.[3] The first Japanese embassy to China is recorded to have been sent in 630.[1] The importance of metallic currency appeared to Japanese nobles, probably leading to some coin minting at the end of the 7th century,[3] such as the Fuhonsen coinage (
Currency reform (760)[edit]
Part of a series on |
Numismatics the study of currency |
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The Wadōkaichin soon became debased, as the government rapidly issued coins with progressively lesser metallic content, and local imitations thrived.[1] In 760, a reform was put in place, in which a new copper coin called Man'nen Tsūhō (
Silver minting was soon abandoned however, but copper minting took place throughout the Nara period.[3] A variety of coin types are known, altogether 12 types, including one coin type in gold.[1]
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Japanese gold coin Kaiki Shōhō (
開基 勝 寶 ) from 760. -
A Silver Wadō Kaichin (
和同開珎 ) coin from 8th-century Japan.
Last issues (958)[edit]
The Kōchōsen Japanese system of coinage became strongly debased, with its metallic content and value decreasing. By the middle of the 9th century, the value of a coin in rice had fallen to 1/150th of its value of the early 8th century.
By the end of the 10th century, compounded with weaknesses in the political system, this led to the abandonment of the national currency, with the return to rice as a currency medium.[1] The last official Japanese coin issue was in 958, with very low quality coins called Kengen Taihō (乹元
The last Kōchōsen coins produced after the Wadōkaichin include:[2]
Inscription | Kyūjitai | Shinjitai | Year of introduction (Gregorian calendar) |
Image |
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Wadō Kaichin | 708 | |||
Man'nen Tsūhō | 760 | |||
Jingū Kaihō | 765 | |||
Ryūhei Eihō | 796 | |||
Fuju Shinpō | 818 | |||
Jōwa Shōhō | 835 | |||
Chōnen Taihō | 848 | |||
Jōeki Shinpō | 859 | |||
Jōgan Eihō | 870 | |||
Kanpyō Taihō | 890 | |||
Engi Tsūhō | 907 | |||
Kengen Taihō | 乹元 |
958 |
Chinese coinage (12th–17th centuries)[edit]
Importation of Chinese coinage[edit]
From the 12th century, the expansion of trade and barter again highlighted the need for a currency. Chinese coinage came to be used as the standard currency of Japan, for a period lasting from the 12th to the 17th century.[1] Coins were obtained from China through trade or through "Wakō" piracy.[1] Coins were also imported from Annam (modern Vietnam) and Korea.[1]
There is evidence to suggest that the Yuan dynasty used to extensively export Chinese cash coins to Japan for local circulation. The Sinan shipwreck, which was a ship from Ningbo to Hakata that sank off the Korean coast in the year 1323,[4] carried some 8,000 strings of cash coins,[5] which weighed about 26,775 kg.[6]
Imitations of Chinese coinage[edit]
As the Chinese coins were not in sufficient number as trade and economy expanded, local Japanese imitations of Chinese coins were made from the 14th century, especially imitations of Ming coins, with inscribed names identical to those of contemporary Chinese coins.[1] These coins had a very low value compared to Chinese coins, and several of them had to be exchanged for just one Chinese coin. This situation continued until the beginning of the Edo period, when a new system was put in place.
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Seisō Genbō (
聖 宋 元 宝 ) Japanese imitation of the Song type, 14th–17th centuries. -
Eiraku Tsūhō (
永楽 通宝 ) Japanese imitation of the Ming type, 14th–17th centuries. -
Genpō Tsūhō (
元 豊 通宝 ) Japanese imitation, 14th–17th centuries.
Local experiments (16th century)[edit]
The growth of the economy and trade meant that small copper currency became insufficient to cover the amounts that were being exchanged. During the Sengoku period, the characteristics of the future Edo Period system began to emerge. Local Lords developed trade, abolishing monopolistic guilds, which led to the need for large-denomination currencies. From the 16th century, local experiments started to be made, with the minting of local coins, sometimes in gold. Especially the Takeda clan of Kōshū minted gold coins which were later adopted by the Tokugawa shogunate.[1]
Hideyoshi unified Japan, and thus centralized most of the minting of large denomination silver and gold coins, effectively putting in place the basis of a unified currency system. Hideyoshi developed the large Ōban plate, also called the Tenshō Ōban (
A common practice in that period was to melt gold into copper molds for convenience, derived from the sycee manufacturing method. These were called Bundōkin (
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Kiritomoeban (
桐 巴 判 ), 16th century. -
Kobundō, "Fixed" Tei mark (
定 ), Ishime (石 目 ) emblem. -
An early minting experiment by the Takeda clan of Kōshū (
甲州 金 ) in the 16th century.
Tokugawa currency (17th–19th centuries)[edit]
Tokugawa coinage was a unitary and independent metallic monetary system established by shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1601 in Japan, and which lasted throughout the Tokugawa period until its end in 1867.[8]
From 1601, Tokugawa coinage consisted of gold, silver, and bronze denominations.[8] The denominations were fixed, but the rates actually fluctuated on the exchange market.[8] Tokugawa started by minting Keicho gold and silver coins, and Chinese copper coins were later replaced by Kan'ei Tsuho coins in 1670.
The material for the coinage came from gold and silver mines across Japan. For this purpose, new gold mines were opened, such as the Sado and Toi gold mines in the Izu Peninsula. Regarding diamond[clarification needed] coins, the Kan'ei Tsūhō coin (
Yamada Hagaki, Japan's first notes, were issued around 1600 by Shinto priests also working as merchants in the Ise-Yamada (modern Mie Prefecture), in exchange for silver.[1] This was earlier than the first goldsmith notes issued in England around 1640.[1] The first known feudal note was issued by the Fukui clan in 1661. During the 17th century, the feudal domains developed a system of feudal notes, giving currency to pledged notes issued by the lord of the domain, in exchange for convertibility to gold, silver or copper.[1] Japan thus combined gold, silver, and copper standards with the circulation of paper money.[1]
Tokugawa coinage remained in use during the Sakoku period of seclusion, although it was progressively debased to try to manage government deficits. The first debasement, in 1695, was called the Genroku Recoinage.[1]
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Feudal notes of Japan, Edo period.
Bakumatsu currency (1854–1868)[edit]
The Tokugawa coinage collapsed following the reopening of Japan to the West in 1854, as the silver-gold exchange rates gave foreigners huge opportunities for arbitrage, leading to the export of large quantities of gold. Gold traded for silver in Japan at a 1:5 ratio, while that ratio was 1:15 abroad. During the Bakumatsu period in 1859 Mexican dollars were even given official currency in Japan, by coining them with marks in Japanese and officializing their exchange rate of three "Bu"[clarification needed]. They were called Aratame Sanbu Sadame (
Meanwhile, local governments issued their own currency chaotically, so that the nation's money supply expanded by 2.5 times between 1859 and 1869, leading to crumbling money values and soaring prices. The system was replaced by a new one after the conclusion of the Boshin War, and with the onset of the Meiji government in 1868.[1]
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A Mexican dollar used as currency in Japan, marked with "Aratame sanbu sadame" (Fixed to the value of three bu) (
改 三 分 定 ) from 1859. -
Allegory of inflation and soaring prices during the Bakumatsu era.
Imperial Japan (1871–present)[edit]
Following 1868, a new currency system based on the Japanese yen was progressively established along Western lines, which has remained Japan's currency system to this day.
Immediately after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, previous gold, silver and copper coins, as well as feudal notes, continued to circulate, leading to great confusion. In 1868, the government also issued coins and gold-convertible paper money, called Daijōkansatsu (
Birth of the yen: New Currency Act (1871)[edit]
Through the New Currency Act of 1871, Japan adopted the gold standard along international lines, with 1 yen corresponding to 1.5g of pure gold. The Meiji government issued new notes, called Meiji Tsūhōsatsu (
Silver coins were also issued for trade with Asian countries who favoured silver as a currency, thus establishing a de facto gold-silver standard.[1]
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The First Meiji one yen banknote, Meiji Tsūhōsatsu (
明治 通宝 札 ) from 1871. -
An early 1 yen banknote showing both the front and reverse. National Bank notes, 1873.
National Bank Act (1872)[edit]
The National Bank Act of 1872 led to the establishment of four banks between 1873 and 1874, and there were more than 153 national banks by the end of 1879. The national banks issued identically designed convertible notes, which were effective in funding industry and progressively replaced government notes. In 1876, an amendment allowed the banks to make the banknotes virtually non-convertible. These national banknotes imitated the design of American banknotes, although the name of the issuer was different for each.[1]
Severe inflation broke out with the Seinan Civil War in 1877. This was controlled by the reduction of government spending and the removal of paper currency from circulation. During the Seinan Civil War, an original type of paper money was issued by the rebel leader Saigō Takamori in order to finance his war effort.[1]
In 1881, the first Japanese note to feature a portrait, the Empress Jingū note (
Bank of Japan (1882)[edit]
In order to regularize the issuance of convertible banknotes, a central bank, the Bank of Japan, was established in 1882. The bank would stabilize the currency by centralizing the issuance of convertible banknotes. The first central banknotes were issued by the Bank of Japan in 1885. They were called Daikokusatsu (
Following the devaluation of silver, and the abandonment of silver as a currency standard by Western powers, Japan adopted the gold standard through the Coinage Law of 1897. The yen was fixed at 0.75g of pure gold, and banknotes were issued which were convertible into gold.[1] In 1899, the National Banks banknotes were declared invalid, leaving the Bank of Japan as the only supplier of currency.[1]
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A Bank of Japan gold-convertible yen banknote from 1900.
World Wars[edit]
During World War I, Japan prohibited the export of gold in 1917, as did many countries such as the United States. Gold convertibility was again shortly established in January 1930, only to be abandoned in 1931 when Great Britain abandoned the gold standard. Conversion of banknotes into gold was suspended.[1]
From 1941, Japan formally adopted a managed currency system, and in 1942 the Bank of Japan Law officially suppressed the obligation of conversion.[1]
Modern yen[edit]
In 1946, following the Second World War, Japan removed the old currency (
Since then, together with the economic expansion of Japan, the yen has become one of the major currencies of the world.[9]
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Front of the 1944 one-yen banknote
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Reverse of the 1944 one-yen banknote
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Front of the 1946 fifty-sen banknote
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Reverse of the 1946 fifty-sen banknote
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Daijōkansatsu notes (
太政官 札 ) denominated in Ryō, 1868, Japan. -
American banknote, and Japanese 1873 banknote closely following the U.S. design.
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An early one yen gold coin
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A gold standard one yen banknote from 1916
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Japanese Government Asian banknotes distributed during the World War II, specifically to the Philippines.
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A complete set of "B Yen" notes used by American occupation forces in 1945–1958.
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A Series D 2,000 yen note.
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10 Japanese yen (1981).
See also[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am Japan Currency Museum (
日本 貨幣 博物館 ) permanent exhibit, articles: The History of Japanese Currency, FAQs Japanese Currency - ^ a b c Sakuraki, Shin'ichi; Helen Wang; Peter Kornicki; Nobuhisa Furuta; Timon Screech; Joe Cribb (2010). Catalogue of the Japanese Coin Collection (pre-Meiji) at the British Museum with special reference to Kutsuki Masatsuna (PDF). ISBN 978-086159-174-9. ISSN 1747-3640. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d e The Cambridge history of Japan: Heian Japan John Whitney Hall, Donald H. (Donald Howard) Shively, William H. McCullough p.434
- ^ Richard von Glahn, "The Ningbo-Hakata Merchant Network and the Reorientation of East Asian Maritime Trade, 1150-1350," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 74:2 (2014), 272, 279.
- ^ Amino Yoshihiko, Alan Christy (trans.), Rethinking Japanese History, Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan (2012), 147.
- ^ Portal, Jane (2000). Korea: art and archaeology. British Museum. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-7141-1487-3. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
The Sinan shipwreck found off the western coast of South Korea in 1976 contained 26,775 kg (58,905 lb) of Chinese coins, mostly dating from the Song dynasty.
- ^ The Cambridge History of Japan: Early modern Japan by John Whitney Hall p.61 [1]
- ^ a b c Metzler p.15
- ^ Tavlas, George S.; Ozeki, Yusuru (15 January 1992). The Internationalization of Currencies: An Appraisal of the Japanese Yen. International Monetary Fund. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-55775-197-3.
Further reading[edit]
- Mark Metzler (2006). Lever of empire: the international gold standard and the crisis of liberalism in prewar Japan. Vol. 17 of Twentieth Century Japan: The Emergence of a World Power. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24420-6.
Early Japanese Coins. David Hartill. ISBN 978-0-7552-1365-8