The yen 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.
The Korean won or Korean Empire won, was the official currency of the Korean Empire between 1900 and 1910. It was subdivided into 100 jeon.
The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited, or Dai-ichi Life for short, is the third-largest life insurer in Japan by revenue, behind Japan Post Insurance and Nippon Life.
Shibusawa Eiichi, 1st Viscount Shibusawa was a Japanese industrialist widely known today as the "father of Japanese capitalism", having introduced Western capitalism to Japan after the Meiji Restoration. He introduced many economic reforms including use of double-entry accounting, joint-stock corporations and modern note-issuing banks.
The yen was the currency of 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 into 100 sen. It replaced the Korean won at par and was replaced by the South Korean won and the North Korean won at par.
The Bank of Chōsen or Bank of Joseon, known in 1909-1911 as the Bank of Korea, was a colonial bank that served as bank of issue for Korea under Japanese rule as well as being a commercial bank, with significant operations beyond Korea. Formed in 1909 by transfer of the former Korean operations of Japan's Dai-Ichi Bank, it issued the Korean yen from 1910 to 1945. Its seat was initially established in Seoul, relocated to Tokyo in May 1924, and subsequently relocated back to Keijō. It has been described as "a primary component of Japanese foreign expansionism".
Japanese currency has a history covering the period from the 8th century CE 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.
A bank of issue, also referred to as a note-issuing bank or issuing authority, is a financial institution that issues banknotes.
The 1 yen note (1円券) was a denomination of Japanese yen in seven different series from 1872 to 1946 for use in commerce. These circulated with the 1 yen coin until 1914, and briefly again before the notes were suspended in 1958. Notes from the Japanese government, known as "government notes," were the first to be issued through a company in Germany. Because they were being counterfeited, they were replaced by a new series which included the first portrait on a Japanese banknote. Almost concurrently, the government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States. These national banks were private entities that also released their own notes which were later convertible into gold and silver. All three of these series came to an end due to massive inflation from the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. National bank notes were re-issued as fiat currency before the national banks themselves were abolished. Both national bank and government one yen notes were gradually redeemed for Bank of Japan note starting in 1885. This redemption process lasted until all three series were abolished in 1899.
The Yokohama Specie Bank was a Japanese bank founded in Yokohama in 1880, which dominated the Japanese market for trade finance in subsequent decades. During the 1920s, it accounted for nearly 50 per cent of foreign exchange transactions for Japanese exports and imports, and in 1929 was Japan's largest and most profitable bank aside from the Bank of Japan. It also played a significant role in Japanese colonial ventures, not least in Manchuria and elsewhere in China.
The Dai-Ichi Bank, known from its establishment in 1873 to 1896 as Dai-Ichi Kokuritsu Bank was a major Japanese bank headquartered in Tokyo. Founded and developed for several decades by Shibusawa Eiichi, it expanded into Korea as early as 1878, and became that country's dominant bank as well as its bank of issue in the early 1900s, before handing over that role to the newly established Bank of Korea in 1909. It remained one of the main Japanese banks together with Mitsubishi Bank, Mitsui Bank, Sumitomo Bank, and Yasuda / Fuji Bank.
The 10 sen note (十銭紙幣) was a denomination of Japanese yen issued in four different series from 1872 to 1947 for use in commerce. Meiji Tsūhō notes are the first modern banknotes issued after Japanese officials studied western culture. There circulated alongside ten sen coins until their withdrawal in 1887. The other three series of ten sen notes issued are in some way tied to the impacts of World War I and World War II. Taishō fractional ten sen notes were issued as a response to a coin shortage that was caused by the first of these wars. They were eventually suspended in the early 1920s when things had settled down, and were later demonetized in 1948. The last two series of ten sen notes were issued by the Bank of Japan rather than the treasury. First series notes were issued as ten sen coins could no longer be produced, while the A series was released after the war in a futile attempt to curb inflation. These last two issues were demonetized at the end of 1953 when the Japanese government passed a law abolishing subsidiary notes in favor of the yen. Ten sen notes are now bought and sold as collectors items depending on condition.
The 20 sen note (二十銭紙幣) was a denomination of Japanese yen in three different government issued series from 1872 to 1919 for use in commerce. Meiji Tsūhō notes are the first modern banknotes issued after Japanese officials studied western culture. These notes were replaced due to counterfeting by a redesigned series called "Ōkura-kyō" for "sen" denominations. Both of these series were officially abolished in 1899 in favor of notes issued by the Bank of Japan. Government issued notes only returned during the Taishō era in the form of an emergency issue due to a coin shortage. These were only issued between 1917 and 1919 before they were finally abolished in 1948. Twenty sen notes are now bought and sold as collectors items depending on condition.
The 50 sen note (五十銭紙幣) was a denomination of Japanese yen in six different government issued series from 1872 to 1948 for use in commerce. Those in the "Meiji Tsūhō" series are the first modern banknotes issued after Japanese officials studied western culture. Counterfeiting eventually became an issue which led to the issuance of "Ōkura-kyō" notes in 1882. These were issued as part of a larger series featuring Empress Jingū on the obverse. Both of these series of fifty sen notes circulated alongside fifty sen coins until their abolishment in 1899. No additional notes were issued for this era as the other four series are tied in some way to the world wars. Fifty sen notes returned during the Taishō era in the form of an emergency issue due to a coin shortage and rising silver prices. These were issued between 1917 and 1922 before the situation settled enough to resume coinage. Silver became an issue again during the Shōwa era in lieu of the Second Sino-Japanese War, which prompted the government to issue "Fuji Sakura" notes in 1938. As the war raged on, the notes were changed in design to be more nationalistic. The "Yasukuni" series was issued from 1942 to 1945 depicting images related to State Shinto. These were allowed to be released again for a final time after the war had ended. Fifty sen notes were last issued in 1948 featuring no references to the Emperor. Pre-war notes were abolished on August 31, 1948, while the last series continued to circulate until the end of 1953. Fifty sen notes are now bought and sold as collectors items depending on condition.
The 2 yen note (2円券) was a denomination of Japanese yen issued in two different overlapping series from 1872 to 1880 for use in commerce. Meiji Tsūhō "two yen" notes were the first to be released as inconvertible government notes in 1872. These notes were produced both domestically, and in Germany using western technology. While they had an elaborate design, the notes eventually suffered in paper quality, and were counterfeited. Two yen Meiji Tsūhō notes were not redesigned with other denominations in response to these issues. The series as a whole was affected by massive inflation that occurred during the aftermath of the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. Too many non convertible notes had been issued to pay for the expenses incurred. Government notes stopped being issued in 1879, and the Bank of Japan was established in 1882 as a way to redeem old notes for new ones issued by the bank. This redemption period expired when the notes were abolished on December 9, 1899.
Japanese military currency (日本軍用手票) is the name given to money used by the Japanese armed forces for the purchase of supplies in occupied territories. It was mainly issued in denominations of yen, and subsidiary currency of sen with the exception of the first Sino-Japanese War series. This particular article covers pre-Shōwa era currency issued from 1894 to 1918 in three different periods. During this time Japan was militarily involved in the First Sino-Japanese War, Russo-Japanese War, and events during World War I such as the Siberian intervention. The military currency issued during these events circulated in Japanese Korea, the Republic of China (Manchuria), and the Russian State. All of the notes issued share a similar design which resembles government issued civilian currency which circulated in Japan from 1872 to 1899. Japanese military currency was exchangeable at the given time for both silver and gold bullion. Most of these events were not long term which impacted the amount of surviving currency in different ways. It was also routine after each event for officials to exchange the military currency issued for bullion or other forms of payment such as banknotes. Unredeemed notes were thus either held by the public as commemorates or eventually lost in the decades that followed. Those that remain today are collected and traded depending on the condition and surviving rate of the series.
The 5 yen note (5円券) was a denomination of Japanese yen in twelve different series from 1872 to 1955 for use in commerce. Only those from the "A series", which was issued from 1946 to 1955 are legal tender today.
Meiji Tsūhō (明治通宝) refers to the first paper currency that was issued by the Imperial Japanese government during the early Meiji era. After the "yen" was officially adopted in 1871, the Japanese looked to the Western world for their improved paper currency technology. An agreement was made with Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone, who designed 6 denominations of Yen, and 3 denominations of Sen. The Japanese Government's decision to issue these notes as fiat currency ended in disaster as inflation rose following the Satsuma Rebellion. Meiji Tsūhō notes were ultimately demonetized towards the end of the 19th century.
The 10 yen note (10円券) was a denomination of Japanese yen for use in commerce.
The Fifteenth National Bank, from 1897 the Fifteenth Bank, established in 1877 in Tokyo, was initially the largest of the early National Banks in Meiji Japan. Its failure in 1927 was a climactic point of the Shōwa financial crisis. It was subsequently reorganized by the Japanese government, and eventually absorbed in 1944 by the Teikoku Bank, itself a predecessor of SMBC Group.
