Changes

Japanese coins first began to re-appear, and the volume of Chinese coins in circulation in Japan to drop, in the mid-15th century. Due to price fluctuations, Japanese merchants / tribute envoys in China found it more profitable to purchase goods - such as silk - in China to resell in Japan, rather than bringing Chinese coin back. Some areas in western Japan even began minting their own coins in imitation of the Chinese ones, and sending traders with Japanese coins to China to buy Chinese goods. Chinese coins from the late 15th century, e.g. those minted in the Hongzhi (1488-1506) reign, are quite rare finds for archaeologists in Japan today, and those from later reigns are almost entirely absent.<ref name=kobata99/>

Japanese coins first began to re-appear, and the volume of Chinese coins in circulation in Japan to drop, in the mid-15th century. Due to price fluctuations, Japanese merchants / tribute envoys in China found it more profitable to purchase goods - such as silk - in China to resell in Japan, rather than bringing Chinese coin back. Some areas in western Japan even began minting their own coins in imitation of the Chinese ones, and sending traders with Japanese coins to China to buy Chinese goods. Chinese coins from the late 15th century, e.g. those minted in the Hongzhi (1488-1506) reign, are quite rare finds for archaeologists in Japan today, and those from later reigns are almost entirely absent.<ref name=kobata99/>

In the Sengoku period (1467-1600), and especially as Japan began to become more integrated in the mid-to-late 16th century, regional ''daimyô'' began to expand their mining efforts, and gold and silver came to be more widely circulated, and exported. Gold dust had long been a common element in gifts (tribute) paid by samurai lords and shogunates to the Imperial Court; bags of gold dust of a designated size, called ''nô'' (納), were valued at 20 ''ryô''.<ref name=kobata101>Kobata. p101.</ref>

In the Sengoku period (1467-1600), and especially as Japan began to become more integrated in the mid-to-late 16th century, regional ''daimyô'' began to expand their mining efforts, and gold and silver came to be more widely circulated, and exported. Gold dust had long been a common element in gifts (tribute) paid by samurai lords and shogunates to the Imperial Court; bags of gold dust of a designated size, called ''nô'' (納), were valued at 20 ''ryô''.<ref name=kobata101>Kobata. p101.</ref> In the central regions of the country, where mining was most prevalent, taxes came to increasingly be paid in gold and silver; this was then exchanged for coins or rice. ''Kin'ya'' and ''gin'ya'' (gold and silver dealers) emerged and enabled these conversion (exchange) transactions.

In the Edo period, the ''ryô'' would become one of the more common monetary denominations, and would become intricately tied into the ''koku'', a measure of rice. However, prior to that time, the ''ryô'' was more closely related to a Japanese adaptation of the Tang system of measuring precious metals. In Tang China, precious metals were measured in "big" ''chin'' (J: ''kin'', 斤) and "small" ''chin'', and in "big" ''liang'' (J: ''ryô'') and "small" ''liang'',<ref>That is, ''da-chin'' 大斤 (J: ''dai-kin'') and ''xiao-chin'' 小斤 (J: ''shô-kin''), ''da-liang'' 大両 (J: ''dai-ryô'') and ''xiao-liang'' 小両 (J: ''shô-ryô'').</ref> with the smaller denomination being one-third that of the "large" denomination.<ref name=kobata101/> In the [[Nara period|Nara]] and Heian periods, Japan simply made use of the "small" Chinese denominations as a standard denomination, omitting the "small" designation. But by the end of the 13th century, the Japanese implemented their own system of denominations, equating one ''ryô'' of gold to four ''monme'' and five ''bu''<ref>With one ''monme'' being 3.75 grams, or ten ''bu''.</ref>.

In the Edo period, the ''ryô'' would become one of the more common monetary denominations, and would become intricately tied into the ''koku'', a measure of rice. However, prior to that time, the ''ryô'' was more closely related to a Japanese adaptation of the Tang system of measuring precious metals. In Tang China, precious metals were measured in "big" ''chin'' (J: ''kin'', 斤) and "small" ''chin'', and in "big" ''liang'' (J: ''ryô'') and "small" ''liang'',<ref>That is, ''da-chin'' 大斤 (J: ''dai-kin'') and ''xiao-chin'' 小斤 (J: ''shô-kin''), ''da-liang'' 大両 (J: ''dai-ryô'') and ''xiao-liang'' 小両 (J: ''shô-ryô'').</ref> with the smaller denomination being one-third that of the "large" denomination.<ref name=kobata101/> In the [[Nara period|Nara]] and Heian periods, Japan simply made use of the "small" Chinese denominations as a standard denomination, omitting the "small" designation. But by the end of the 13th century, the Japanese implemented their own system of denominations, equating one ''ryô'' of gold to four ''monme'' and five ''bu''<ref>With one ''monme'' being 3.75 grams, or ten ''bu''.</ref>.

==Edo Period==

==Edo Period==

A ''ryô'' was considered to be roughly equal to one ''koku'', which in turn is said to have been roughly the amount of rice needed to feed a man for a year. However, rice and gold prices fluctuated dramatically over the course of the period, and the exact amount of rice that comprised a ''koku'' is, in any case, a subject of debate. Over the course of the Edo period, the cost of rice dropped dramatically relative to the value of gold, making samurai (who relied on stipends paid in ''koku'') less and less wealthy than members of the [[chonin|merchant class]] who earned their incomes in gold and silver.<ref>Screech, Timon. "Owning Edo-Period Paintings." in Lillehoj, Elizabeth (ed.) ''Acquisition: Art and Ownership in Edo-Period Japan''. Floating World Editions, 2007. p34.</ref>

A ''ryô'' was considered to be roughly equal to one ''koku'', which in turn is said to have been roughly the amount of rice needed to feed a man for a year. However, rice and gold prices fluctuated dramatically over the course of the period, and the exact amount of rice that comprised a ''koku'' is, in any case, a subject of debate. Over the course of the Edo period, the cost of rice dropped dramatically relative to the value of gold, making samurai (who relied on stipends paid in ''koku'') less and less wealthy than members of the [[chonin|merchant class]] who earned their incomes in gold and silver.<ref>Screech, Timon. "Owning Edo-Period Paintings." in Lillehoj, Elizabeth (ed.) ''Acquisition: Art and Ownership in Edo-Period Japan''. Floating World Editions, 2007. p34.</ref>

The use of the gold ''koban'', however, was most common in and around [[Edo]], and the farther one traveled from Edo, the less standard it became. At the beginning of the Edo period, there were over one hundred types of gold coins in circulation,<ref>Crawcour and Yamamura. p490.</ref> and so in many parts of the country, particularly the active commercial centers of [[Kyoto]] and [[Osaka]], and other areas at a considerable distance from Edo, currency continued to be valued by weight, and not by face value. While gold coins were particularly standard in Edo, in the rest of the country, silver and copper coins remained quite common, and were valued by their weight, in ''momme''. One hundred ''momme'' were worth roughly one ''momme'' of silver, and one thousand ''momme'' was called one ''kanme''.

The use of the gold ''koban'', however, was most common in and around [[Edo]], and the farther one traveled from Edo, the less standard it became. At the beginning of the Edo period, there were over one hundred types of gold coins in circulation,<ref>Crawcour and Yamamura. p490.</ref> and so in many parts of the country, particularly the active commercial centers of [[Kyoto]] and [[Osaka]], and other areas at a considerable distance from Edo, currency continued to be valued by weight, and not by face value. While gold coins were particularly standard in Edo, in the rest of the country, silver and copper coins remained quite common, and were valued by their weight, in ''momme''. One hundred ''momme'' were worth roughly one ''momme'' of silver, and one thousand ''momme'' was called one ''kanme''. Weights, previously not fully standardized, were in the Edo period restricted to those produced by the [[Goto family|Gotô family]], whose weights were to be used in all transactions for weighing out, for example, gold or silver. (Rice was measured by volume, not by weight.) [[Goto Tokujo|Gotô Tokujô]], who produced weights and coins for [[Oda Nobunaga]], and gold engraver [[Goto Yujo|Gotô Yûjô]] (1440-1512) were members/ancestors of this family.

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