Meiji Tsuho
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

refers to the first paper currency that was issued by the Imperial Japanese government during the early
Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...
. After the "
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...
" was officially adopted in 1871, the Japanese looked to the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
for their improved paper currency technology. An agreement was made with Italian engraver
Edoardo Chiossone Edoardo Chiossone (January 21, 1833 – April 11, 1898) was an Italian engraver and painter, noted for his work as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Japan, and for his collection of Japanese art. He designed the first Japanese bank notes. Bio ...
, who designed 6 denominations of Yen, and 3 denominations of Sen. The Japanese Government's decision to issue these notes as
fiat currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...
ended in disaster as inflation rose following the
Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...
. Meiji Tsūhō notes were ultimately demonetized towards the end of the 19th century.


Background

During the
Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, feudal domains issued their own
scrip A scrip (or ''wikt:chit#Etymology 3, chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit (finance), credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitative payment of employees un ...
called . While this
currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...
supplemented the coinage of the
Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...
, notes were restricted to circulation within the domains that issued them. This caused a wide variety of miscellaneous paper currency that was issued by the public and private sectors to circulate, which led to rampant counterfeiting and public confusion. During the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
in 1868 the new government stepped in and tried to put an improved currency system into place. Their first attempt was with Dajōkansatsu notes in denominations of "
Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...
", "Bu", and "Shu". These notes proved to be unpopular, and were discredited by the public which caused their value to fall. The final straw came in 1870, when prime minister
Matsukata Masayoshi Prince was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1891 to 1892, and from 1896 to 1898. Born in the Satsuma Domain to a samurai family, Matsukata served as finance minister for 15 of the 20 years between 1881 and 1901, ...
took notice of a major incident involving a domain counterfeiting Dajōkansatsu notes . This was attributed to two major defects which included "imperfect manufacturing" , and the poor materials that were used for the notes. Masayoshi came to the conclusion that modern paper currency should be introduced with the soon to be adopted "
yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the euro. T ...
".


History

The first notes adopted and released by the Japanese government are part of a series known as . These notes were the first Japanese currency ever to be printed using western printing at Dondorf and Naumann, which was located in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. Meiji Tsuho notes were designed by
Edoardo Chiossone Edoardo Chiossone (January 21, 1833 – April 11, 1898) was an Italian engraver and painter, noted for his work as a foreign advisor to Meiji period Japan, and for his collection of Japanese art. He designed the first Japanese bank notes. Bio ...
sometime in 1870 while he was working for Dondorf Naumann on behalf of ''The National Bank in the Kingdom of Italy''. The process of making Chiossone's proposed design a reality started with the establishment of the " Imperial Printing Bureau of Japan" in 1871 (4th year of Meiji). In order to produce the currency the Japanese government reached out to Dondorf and Naumann to gain access to Western technology. Chiossone had a falling out with Italian Bank as his relationship with them had hit a breaking point. When the company suggested Chiossone for the role as engraver, he quickly accepted the offer. The production of money was handed over to the Imperial Printing Bureau in January 1872 when banknotes began to arrive from Germany. All of these arrivals were purposely left incomplete due to security reasons, as the words "Meiji Tsuho" and the mark of the
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
were added in Japan by the Imperial Printing Bureau. Dondorf and Naumann eventually sold their printing equipment to the Japanese government towards the end of 1873 (6th year of Meiji) due to financial issues. The original drawings of Meiji Tsuho were given to Japan in the following year, and engineers were hired for technical guidance. Production of Meiji Tsuho notes were this shifted to domestic production for the rest of their issuance. These notes feature an elaborate design that was difficult to forge at the time as counterfeiting was previously rampant with clan notes. The elaborate design worked against counterfeiters for an unknown period of time before they found a way around it. Unstamped notes sent to Japan from Germany were legally obtained by these thieves. Normally Japanese officials would add stamps to the notes finalizing the process, where in this case the counterfeiters added their own stamps. Another major issue was the
Satsuma Rebellion The Satsuma Rebellion, also known as the , was a revolt of disaffected samurai against the new imperial government of the Empire of Japan, nine years into the Meiji era. Its name comes from the Satsuma Domain, which had been influential in ...
in February 1877, which helped lead to massive inflation due to the amount of inconvertible notes issued for payment. The Japanese government responded by halting the issuance of government notes in 1879 as a hopeful remedy to the situation. During this time legal tender Meiji Tsuho notes of all denominations had issues with paper quality, and were circulating with counterfeits. These problems led the Japanese government to issue redesigned banknotes in 1882 to replace the old Meiji Tsuho notes. Additional measures were subsequently put into place which included the establishment of a centralized bank known as the
Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...
. All of the remaining Meiji Tsuho notes in circulation that weren't already redeemed were to be retired in favor of either gold coinage or newly printed Bank of Japan notes. This period of exchange lapsed when Meiji Tsuho notes were abolished on December 9, 1899.


Series overview


See also

*
Scrip of Edo period Japan During the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called for use within the domain. This paper currency supplemented the coinage of the Tokugawa shogunate. Most scrip carried a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip a ...
*
Japanese military currency (1894–1918) is the name given to money used by the Armed Forces of the Empire of Japan, Japanese armed forces for the purchase of supplies in occupied territories. It was mainly issued in denominations of Japanese yen, yen, and subsidiary currency of sen wi ...
*
Korean yen The yen was the currency of Korea under Japanese rule, Korea, Empire of Japan between 1910 and 1945. It was equivalent to the Japanese yen and consisted of Japanese currency and banknotes issued specifically for Korea. The yen was subdivided i ...
*
Taiwanese yen The was the currency of Japanese Taiwan from 1895 to 1946. It was on a par with and circulated alongside the Japanese yen. The yen was subdivided into 100 . It was replaced by the Old Taiwan dollar in 1946, which in turn was replaced by the New ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meiji Tsuho Currencies of Japan