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==Meiji Period==
==Meiji Period==
The [[Meiji government]] began printing its own money almost immediately, in [[1868]]. These first notes were called ''Dajôkansatsu'', after the [[Dajokan|Dajôkan]] (Imperial Council of State). A new Currency Act was passed in [[1871]], establishing the [[yen]] as the core denomination of currency. The first national bank notes to feature a person's portrait depicted [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], and came out in [[1881]].<ref name=currencymuseum/>
The [[Meiji government]] began printing its own money almost immediately, in [[1868]]. These first notes were called ''Dajôkansatsu'', after the [[Dajokan|Dajôkan]] (Imperial Council of State). A new Currency Act was passed in [[1871]], establishing the [[yen]] as the core denomination of currency. The first national bank notes to feature a person's portrait depicted [[Empress Jingu|Empress Jingû]], and came out in [[1881]].<ref name=currencymuseum/> The first one-yen coin was quite large by today's standards, possibly in emulation of the standard size of the internationally standard [[Spanish dollar|trade dollar]].<ref name=onaga>Conversation with Onaga Yoshiaki 翁長良明 of Narumi-dô antiques shop, Naha, Okinawa.</ref> The one-yen coin used today is dramatically smaller in size, and dramatically smaller in value (in terms of real purchasing power), due to inflation and other economic shifts over the years. Made of aluminum, it is made to be precisely two centimeters in diameter and one gram in weight.<ref name=onaga/>
The [[Bank of Japan]] was established in [[1882]], and issued its first notes in [[1885]]; these notes, known as ''Daikoku satsu'', featured images of [[Daikoku]], one of the [[Seven Lucky Gods]]. A Coinage Law passed in [[1897]] set the economy onto the gold standard.<ref name=currencymuseum/>
The [[Bank of Japan]] was established in [[1882]], and issued its first notes in [[1885]]; these notes, known as ''Daikoku satsu'', featured images of [[Daikoku]], one of the [[Seven Lucky Gods]]. A Coinage Law passed in [[1897]] set the economy onto the gold standard.<ref name=currencymuseum/>
The five-yen coin bears designs of sheaves of wheat, waves of water, and gear spokes, representing the agricultural, maritime, and industrial strengths of Japan.<ref name=onaga/>
==References==
==References==
