Tokugawa coinage
Encyclopedia
Tokugawa coinage was a unitary and independent metallic monetary system established by Shogun
Tokugawa Ieyasu
in 1601 in Japan
, and which lasted throughout the Tokugawa period until its end in 1867.
bronze coins for its currency. Tokugawa coinage lasted for more than two centuries, and ended with the events of the Boshin war
and the establishment of the Meiji restoration
.
The first attempt at a new currency were made by Hideyoshi, who developed the large Ōban
plate, also called the Tensho
Ōban (天正大判), in 1588.
From 1601, Tokugawa coinage consisted in gold, silver, and bronze denominations. The denominations were fixed, but the rates actually fluctuated on the exchange market.
The material for the coinage came from gold and silver mines across Japan. To this effect, gold mines were newly opened and exploited, such as the Sado
gold mine or the Toi gold mine
in Izu Peninsula
.
. As gold and silver were in short supply, and also because the government was running a deficit, the content of gold in coins was decreased on two occasions, in 1695 and 1706-1711, in order to generate more revenues from seigneurage
, but with the effect of generating inflation.
With the beginning of the 18th century, Japan started to restrict the export of bullion currency, which came to be seen as a loss for the country. An export ban on monetary specie was imposed by Arai Hakuseki
in 1715. Trade substitution was encouraged, but remained limited anyway due to the policy of closure, or Sakoku
. Upon Arai Hakuseki's suggestion the government increased again the gold and silver content of coinage in 1714-1715, but this led to crippling deflation this time. In 1736, Japan abandoned this policy and again increased the money supply, with a resulting price stability for the next 80 years.
In the early 19th century, budgetary problems resulting from natural disasters and large Tokugawa governmental expenditures led the government to increase the money supply and the seigneurage associated to it. From 1818 to 1829 the money supply increased by 60%, and from 1832 to 1837 by 20%. Severe inflation again followed as prices nearly doubled.
. One Ryō was worth 4 Bu
, 16 Shu
, or 4,000 Mon (a cheap bronze coin).
(大判) was a very large gold coin plate, equivalent to ten Ryō
s, or ten Koban (小判) plates.
Koban (minted from 1601) had a weight of 18.20g. The 1714 Sado Koban (佐渡小判金, 4th year of Shōtoku
) also had a weight of 18.20g and was made with an alloy
of typically 85.69% of gold and 14.25% of silver.
The Ichibuban
(一分判) could be either made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban. The gold Ichibuban of 1714 (佐渡一分判金) had a weight of 4.5 g, with 85.6% of gold and 14.2% of silver. The silver Ichibuban from 1837 to 1854 (Tenpō
Ichibugin, 天保一分銀 , "Old Ichibuban") weighed 8.66 g, with an alloy of 0.21% gold and 98.86% silver.
bronze coins.
From 1853 to 1865, the silver Isshuban (Kaei
Isshugin, 嘉永一朱銀) weighed 1.88 g, with an alloy of 1.7% gold, 98.7% silver and 1.12% copper.
piracy, had been the main currency of Japan.
or fiduciary coinage, and a characteristic of modern coinage. This technique was introduced later in England
, in 1816, with its adoption of the full gold standard
. At the market rates of 1858, in weight, 10 silver units could be exchanged for 1 gold unit, whether at face value, 5 silver units claimed the value of 1 gold unit. This permitted an increase of monetary circulation without actual production of more bullion, and provided great profit (seigniorage
) for the Bakufu.
World ratios for silver and gold were significantly different, gold being generally value much higher than silver, at about 15 to 16 weights of silver for 1 weight of gold. This difference motivated foreigners to bring silver to Japan, to exchange it for gold at a very interesting rate.
In 1858, Western countries, especially the United States
, France
and Great Britain
imposed through "unequal treaties
" (Treaty of Amity and Commerce
") free trade
, free monetary flow, and very low tariffs, effectively taking away Japanese control of its foreign exchange: The 1715 export embargo on bullion was thus lifted:
This created a massive outflow of gold from Japan, as foreigners rushed to exchange their silver for "token" silver Japanese coinage and again exchange these against gold, giving a 200% profit to the transaction. In 1860, about 4 million ryō
s thus left Japan, that is about 70 tons of gold. This effectively destroyed Japan's gold standard system, and forced it to return to weight-based system with International rates. The Bakufu instead responded to the crises by debasing the gold content of its coins by two thirds, so as to match foreign gold-silver exchange ratios.
As a consequence, the Bakufu lost the major profit source of recoinage (seniorage), and was forced to issue unbacked paper money, leading to major inflation. This was one of the major causes of discontent during the Bakumatsu period, and one of the causes of the demise of the Shogunate.
Shogun
A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...
Tokugawa Ieyasu
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan , which ruled from the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. Ieyasu seized power in 1600, received appointment as shogun in 1603, abdicated from office in 1605, but...
in 1601 in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and which lasted throughout the Tokugawa period until its end in 1867.
History
The establishment of Tokugawa coinage followed a period in which Japan was dependent on ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
bronze coins for its currency. Tokugawa coinage lasted for more than two centuries, and ended with the events of the Boshin war
Boshin War
The was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court....
and the establishment of the Meiji restoration
Meiji Restoration
The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868...
.
The first attempt at a new currency were made by Hideyoshi, who developed the large Ōban
Ōban
An Ōban was a monetary ovoid gold plate, and the largest denomination of Tokugawa coinage. Tokugawa coinage worked according to a triple monetary standard, using gold, silver and bronze coins, each with their own denominations....
plate, also called the Tensho
Tensho
was a after Genki and before Bunroku. This period spanned the years from July 1573 through December 1592. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:* 1573 : The new era name was created to mark a number of regional wars...
Ōban (天正大判), in 1588.
From 1601, Tokugawa coinage consisted in gold, silver, and bronze denominations. The denominations were fixed, but the rates actually fluctuated on the exchange market.
The material for the coinage came from gold and silver mines across Japan. To this effect, gold mines were newly opened and exploited, such as the Sado
Sado, Niigata
is a city located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized...
gold mine or the Toi gold mine
Toi gold mine
-Galleries:The galleries of the mine total about 100 kilometers in length, over a surface of 37 hectares, and go as deep as 180 meters below sea level. The area visible for tourism is about 350m long, and goes about 150 meters deep into mountain rock.-Legacy:...
in Izu Peninsula
Izu Peninsula
The is a large mountainous peninsula with deeply indented coasts to the west of Tokyo on the Pacific coast of the island of Honshū, Japan. Formerly the eponymous Izu Province, Izu peninsula is now a part of Shizuoka Prefecture...
.
Devaluations and re-evaluations
Initially, the coinage was used essentially for export purposes in order to pay for imports of luxury goods from China, such as silkSilk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
. As gold and silver were in short supply, and also because the government was running a deficit, the content of gold in coins was decreased on two occasions, in 1695 and 1706-1711, in order to generate more revenues from seigneurage
Seigniorage
Seigniorage can have the following two meanings:* Seigniorage derived from specie—metal coins, is a tax, added to the total price of a coin , that a customer of the mint had to pay to the mint, and that was sent to the sovereign of the political area.* Seigniorage derived from notes is more...
, but with the effect of generating inflation.
With the beginning of the 18th century, Japan started to restrict the export of bullion currency, which came to be seen as a loss for the country. An export ban on monetary specie was imposed by Arai Hakuseki
Arai Hakuseki
was a Confucianist, scholar-bureaucrat, academic, administrator, writer and politician in Japan during the middle of the Edo Period, who advised the Shogun Tokugawa Ienobu. His personal name was Kinmi or Kimiyoshi . Hakuseki was his pen name...
in 1715. Trade substitution was encouraged, but remained limited anyway due to the policy of closure, or Sakoku
Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633–39 and remained in effect until...
. Upon Arai Hakuseki's suggestion the government increased again the gold and silver content of coinage in 1714-1715, but this led to crippling deflation this time. In 1736, Japan abandoned this policy and again increased the money supply, with a resulting price stability for the next 80 years.
In the early 19th century, budgetary problems resulting from natural disasters and large Tokugawa governmental expenditures led the government to increase the money supply and the seigneurage associated to it. From 1818 to 1829 the money supply increased by 60%, and from 1832 to 1837 by 20%. Severe inflation again followed as prices nearly doubled.
Structure
Tokugawa coinage worked according to a triple monetary standard, using gold, silver and bronze coins, each with their own denominations. The systems worked by multiples of 4, and coins were valued according to the RyōRyo
Ryo may refer to:* The Japanese kana digraph ryo, ryō, or ryoh * Ryō , a gold piece in pre-Meiji era Japan worth about sixty monme or four kan...
. One Ryō was worth 4 Bu
BU
BU may stand for:* Backup* Bus Interface Unit, also called BIU* Brabender Units, used in flour anaylsis* Bethesda unit, a measure of inhibitor activity relating to a coagulation factor...
, 16 Shu
Shu
Shu may refer to:*Shū ** , Japanese Kanji.*Shu * 蜀 , an abbreviation of Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China, as well as the following historical regimes that have existed in this region:...
, or 4,000 Mon (a cheap bronze coin).
Ōban
The ŌbanŌban
An Ōban was a monetary ovoid gold plate, and the largest denomination of Tokugawa coinage. Tokugawa coinage worked according to a triple monetary standard, using gold, silver and bronze coins, each with their own denominations....
(大判) was a very large gold coin plate, equivalent to ten Ryō
Ryo
Ryo may refer to:* The Japanese kana digraph ryo, ryō, or ryoh * Ryō , a gold piece in pre-Meiji era Japan worth about sixty monme or four kan...
s, or ten Koban (小判) plates.
Koban
The Koban (小判) was a regular ovoid gold coin, equivalent to one Ryō. The initial KeichōKeicho
was a after Bunroku and before Genna. This period spanned from October 1596 to July 1615. The reigning emperors were and .-Change of era:* 1596 : The era name was changed to Keichō to mark the passing of various natural disasters...
Koban (minted from 1601) had a weight of 18.20g. The 1714 Sado Koban (佐渡小判金, 4th year of Shōtoku
Shotoku (era)
was a after Hōei and before Kyōhō. This period spanned the years from April 1711 through June 1716. The reigning emperor was .-Change of Era:...
) also had a weight of 18.20g and was made with an alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
of typically 85.69% of gold and 14.25% of silver.
Nibuban and Ichibuban
The Nibuban (二分判) was worth half a Koban and was rectangular gold coin.The Ichibuban
Ichibuban
The was a monetary unit of Japan. The Ichibuban could be either made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban.The gold Ichibuban of 1714 had a weight of 4.5 g, with 85.6% of gold and 14.2% of silver...
(一分判) could be either made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban. The gold Ichibuban of 1714 (佐渡一分判金) had a weight of 4.5 g, with 85.6% of gold and 14.2% of silver. The silver Ichibuban from 1837 to 1854 (Tenpō
Tenpo
was a , also known as Tempō, after Bunsei and before Kōka. The period spanned the years from December 1830 through December 1844...
Ichibugin, 天保一分銀 , "Old Ichibuban") weighed 8.66 g, with an alloy of 0.21% gold and 98.86% silver.
Nishuban and Isshuban
There were then Nishuban (二朱判) and Isshuban (一朱判) small denominations of silver or gold, before getting to the Mon or SenSen
Sen may refer to:-Currency:* Sen, a unit of currency that is the original subdivision of:** Cambodian riel** Malaysian ringgit** Japanese yen-People:* Sen , a Bengali name** Ballal Sen ** Lakshman Sen...
bronze coins.
From 1853 to 1865, the silver Isshuban (Kaei
Kaei
was a after Kōka and before Ansei. This period spanned the years from February 1848 through November 1854. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:...
Isshugin, 嘉永一朱銀) weighed 1.88 g, with an alloy of 1.7% gold, 98.7% silver and 1.12% copper.
Kan'ei tsūhō
Regarding copper coins, the Kan'ei tsūhō coin (寛永通宝) came to replace the Chinese coins that had been in circulation in Japan, as well as those that were minted privately, and became the legal tender. This put an end to more than four centuries during which Chinese copper coins, obtained through trade or WakōWokou
Wokou , which literally translates as "Japanese pirates" in English, were pirates of varying origins who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century onwards...
piracy, had been the main currency of Japan.
Demise
From 1772, the silver coins had a denomination in function of their value in gold, and had significantly less silver than their face value (rather than being just silver-by-weight) so as to cover coinage expenses, a practice known as tokenToken coin
In the study of numismatics, tokens are coin-like objects used instead of coins. The field of tokens is part of exonumia. Tokens are used in place of coins and either have a denomination shown or implied by size, color or shape...
or fiduciary coinage, and a characteristic of modern coinage. This technique was introduced later in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, in 1816, with its adoption of the full gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
. At the market rates of 1858, in weight, 10 silver units could be exchanged for 1 gold unit, whether at face value, 5 silver units claimed the value of 1 gold unit. This permitted an increase of monetary circulation without actual production of more bullion, and provided great profit (seigniorage
Seigniorage
Seigniorage can have the following two meanings:* Seigniorage derived from specie—metal coins, is a tax, added to the total price of a coin , that a customer of the mint had to pay to the mint, and that was sent to the sovereign of the political area.* Seigniorage derived from notes is more...
) for the Bakufu.
World ratios for silver and gold were significantly different, gold being generally value much higher than silver, at about 15 to 16 weights of silver for 1 weight of gold. This difference motivated foreigners to bring silver to Japan, to exchange it for gold at a very interesting rate.
In 1858, Western countries, especially the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
imposed through "unequal treaties
Unequal Treaties
“Unequal treaty” is a term used in specific reference to a number of treaties imposed by Western powers, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, on Qing Dynasty China and late Tokugawa Japan...
" (Treaty of Amity and Commerce
Treaty of Amity and Commerce
There have been several treaties named the Treaty of Amity and Commerce:* 1778 – Treaty of Amity and Commerce * 1782 – Treaty of Amity and Commerce...
") free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...
, free monetary flow, and very low tariffs, effectively taking away Japanese control of its foreign exchange: The 1715 export embargo on bullion was thus lifted:
This created a massive outflow of gold from Japan, as foreigners rushed to exchange their silver for "token" silver Japanese coinage and again exchange these against gold, giving a 200% profit to the transaction. In 1860, about 4 million ryō
Ryo
Ryo may refer to:* The Japanese kana digraph ryo, ryō, or ryoh * Ryō , a gold piece in pre-Meiji era Japan worth about sixty monme or four kan...
s thus left Japan, that is about 70 tons of gold. This effectively destroyed Japan's gold standard system, and forced it to return to weight-based system with International rates. The Bakufu instead responded to the crises by debasing the gold content of its coins by two thirds, so as to match foreign gold-silver exchange ratios.
As a consequence, the Bakufu lost the major profit source of recoinage (seniorage), and was forced to issue unbacked paper money, leading to major inflation. This was one of the major causes of discontent during the Bakumatsu period, and one of the causes of the demise of the Shogunate.