Japanese numismatic charms (Japanese: 絵銭 or 画銭), also known as ''Japanese

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protect ...

s'', ''Japanese

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

s'', or simply ''Japanese charms'', refer to a family of cash coin-like and other numismatic inspired types of charms that like the

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

and Vietnamese variants are derived from

Chinese numismatic charm Yansheng Coins (), commonly known as Chinese numismatic charms, refer to a collection of special decorative coins that are mainly used for rituals such as fortune telling, Chinese superstitions, and Feng shui. They originated during the Wester ...

s (also referred to as ''Yansheng coins'' or ''huāqián''), but have evolved around the customs of the

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ances ...

. Although most of these charms resemble Japanese cash coins and the amulet coins of China, they contain their own categories unique to Japan. In the case of these coins, "charm" in this context is a catchall term for coin-shaped items which were not official (or counterfeit) money. However, these numismatic objects were not all necessarily considered "magical" or "lucky", as some of these Chinese numismatic charms can be used as "

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and image ...

coins".

Kokuji charms

Japanese numismatic charms can include characters never used on any official coins such as

Kokuji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subseque ...

, which is a national script unique to Japan similar to Gukja in Korea or

Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ; ) is a logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language. It uses Chinese characters ('' Chữ Hán'') to represent Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary and some native Vietnamese words, with other words represent ...

in Vietnam, these charms, with the pronunciation ''sa mu ha ra'' (, さ・む・は・ら), were usually given by village elders to soldiers when they left to fight in the

Second Sino-Japanese war The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific T ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, currently these charms are being used by travellers for supposed protection and are usually sold by shops at shrines. These charms serve a similar function as

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher ( el, Ἅγιος Χριστόφορος, ''Ágios Christóphoros'') is venerated by several Christian denominations as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman emperor Decius (reigned 249–251) or alternatively ...

medals do in the Western world. According to the article published in the August 1992 issue of the Japanese magazine "Collections" (收集), a number of Kokuji charms were created in the year 1937 ( Shōwa 12) by the director of the

Japan Mint The is an Independent Administrative Institution of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its head office in Osaka with branches in Saitama and Hiroshima. The Japan Mint does no ...

to be used as a kind of protective amulet. The design of these Kokuji amulets resembles the base of the canon emplacements that were used in the past to protect the shores of Japan from hostile

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

ships. During World War II, it was further customary for some Japanese people to write Kokuji on a piece of paper and then attach the inscription to the roofs of their houses. This was done in the belief that the paper Kokuji amulets would protect them from incendiary bombs dropped by the allied forces, such as the United States, during the war.

Japanese numismatic Buddhist charms

Japanese numismatic Buddhist charms are

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

charms often shaped like cash coins and bear inscriptions asking various figures from the Buddhist faith for blessings or protection, these inscriptions typically have a legend like "大佛鐮倉" ("(The) Great Buddha of

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

"). The Buddhist "且空藏棄" Japanese numismatic charm cast during the years 1736–1740 in Japan during the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

dedicated to the Ākāśagarbha Bodhisattva based on one of the favourite mantras of

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon se ...

is frequently found in China. Ākāśagarbha one of the 8 immortals who attempts to free people from the cycle of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

with compassion. These coins were brought to China in large numbers by Japanese Buddhist monks, another Japanese Buddhist charm frequently found in China has the inscription "南無阿彌陀佛" ("I put my trust in (the)

Amitābha Buddha Amitābha ( sa, अमिताभ, IPA: ), also known as Amitāyus, is the primary Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism, he is known for his longevity, discernment, pure perception, purification of aggregates, and deep awaren ...

").Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedi
Buddhist Symbols
Retrieved: 12 May 2018.

Inari Ōkami charms

Inari Ōkami charms depict

Inari Ōkami , also called , is the Japanese ''kami'' of foxes, fertility, rice, tea and sake, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of Shinto. In earlier Japan, Inari was also the patron of ...

, the Japanese ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' of

foxes Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

, of

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Ferti ...

, rice, tea and

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...

, of agriculture and industry, of general prosperity and worldly success, and one of the principal kami of

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shint ...

. Inari may be represented by the image of a fox or a pair of fixes, hence these amulets are known as "Japanese fox charms". On some Inari Ōkami charms a pair of foxes are depicted standing before a plate of "''tama''" jewels. The ''tama'' in this context refers to both Inari Ōkami and to the worldy benefits, such as wealth, which the ''kami'' has to offer. On the bottom of these amulets is a depiction of a traditional Japanese warehouse key, in reference to the key that is used to unlock the treasure house of Inari Ōkami. It is suspected that these fox charms were carried around by worshippers of Inari Ōkami in their purses in the hope of accumulating riches of wealth. Another Inari Ōkami charm has the inscription "Fushimi" in reference to the largest Inari Ōkami shrine in Japan, which is located south of the city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

. These Japanese fox charms have the reverse inscription "raising the kingpost", and the reverse outer rim of these amulets state "Happiness in all the more than 60

provinces of Japan were first-level administrative divisions of Japan from the 600s to 1868. Provinces were established in Japan in the late 7th century under the Ritsuryō law system that formed the first central government. Each province was divided into an ...

". Because the inscription makes a reference to the construction of a building it might have been used as a gift to people that have contributed money to the rebuilding a shrine.

Ebisu and Daikokuten charms

Ebishu and

Daikokuten Daikokuten ( 大黒天) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi. Overview Mahākāla in East As ...

charms depict two of the

Seven Lucky Gods In Japanese mythology, the Seven Lucky Gods or Seven Gods of Fortune (, shichifukujin in Japanese) are believed to grant good luck and are often represented in netsuke and in artworks. One of the seven (Jurōjin) is said to be based on a historic ...

. Namely Ebishu, the Japanese god of fishermen and

luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

, and Daikokuten, the Japanese god of great darkness or blackness, or the god of five cereals. On these numismatic charms Ebisu is depicted holding a

fishing pole A fishing rod is a long, thin rod used by anglers to catch fish by manipulating a line ending in a hook (formerly known as an ''angle'', hence the term "angling"). At its most basic form, a fishing rod is a straight rigid stick/pole with a ...

with a freshly caught

sea bream The Sparidae are a family of fish in the order Perciformes, commonly called sea breams and porgies. The sheepshead, scup, and red seabream are species in this family. Most sparids are deep-bodied compressed fish with a small mouth separated b ...

, and Daikokuten always depicted as sitting on large bales of rice.

Minatogawa Shrine souvenirs

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

the Minatogawa Shrine, in Chūō-ku, Kobe, began to issue

souvenir A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...

s that resemble cash coins. These souvenirs have the inscription ''Gishi Kuyō'', which translates into English as "Offerings to the Spirits of the Righteous Warriors". The term ''Gishi'' refers to a "righteous warriors" which is mainly used to refer to soldiers that have fought in the name of the

Emperor of Japan The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the ...

. These souvenirs continued to be produced into the 20th century.

Other categories of Japanese numismatic charms

* Marriage coin charm * Open-work charm

References

{{Japanese currency and coinage Asian numismatic charms