Changes

The court stopped producing new coin in 958. By the time of the issuing of the ''Engi taihô'' ("Great Laws of Engi," c. [[901]]-[[923]]), the currency had become debased, meaning that a given coin, despite officially having a certain denomination, actually contained less precious metal than its nominal value. In other words, there was severe inflation, as a given amount of currency no longer had the value (or buying power) it once did. And so, people lost confidence in the currency, and the government stopped minting coins for a time. With silk, rice, and other commodities as far more widely standard, widely used, modes of exchange or measures of value, the court realized there simply was not a need - or an advantage - in making the effort and expenditures to produce hard currency. Around [[1068]]-[[1074]], the court then instituted official exchange values (''kokahô'', 沽価法) for silk, gold, rice, and certain other commodities, in order to standardize the amounts paid to the court in [[tribute]] by [[kuge|court nobles]] and others.<ref>Von Glahn, 256-257.</ref>

The court stopped producing new coin in 958. By the time of the issuing of the ''Engi taihô'' ("Great Laws of Engi," c. [[901]]-[[923]]), the currency had become debased, meaning that a given coin, despite officially having a certain denomination, actually contained less precious metal than its nominal value. In other words, there was severe inflation, as a given amount of currency no longer had the value (or buying power) it once did. And so, people lost confidence in the currency, and the government stopped minting coins for a time. With silk, rice, and other commodities as far more widely standard, widely used, modes of exchange or measures of value, the court realized there simply was not a need - or an advantage - in making the effort and expenditures to produce hard currency. Around [[1068]]-[[1074]], the court then instituted official exchange values (''kokahô'', 沽価法) for silk, gold, rice, and certain other commodities, in order to standardize the amounts paid to the court in [[tribute]] by [[kuge|court nobles]] and others.<ref>Von Glahn, 256-257.</ref>

Several centuries later, beginning in the 12th century, [[Song dynasty]] Chinese coins began to be imported in considerable volumes, as a natural result of increased trade with China, and increased market desire for a convenient currency. The Northern Song, in fact, minted more copper coins than any other Chinese dynasty, and though the export of coinage from China was banned, Chinese coins nevertheless flowed throughout the East Asia region.<ref>Kobata. p98.</ref> The court noble [[Saionji Kintsune]] alone is known to have imported as much as 100,000 ''kan'' of Song coins, enough to fund the construction of a dozen or more buildings. Song coins circulated so widely that as early as 1240 the [[Kamakura shogunate]] had reversed its various bans on the usage of cash, permitting its use everywhere but in the northernmost provinces.<ref>Kang, David C. “Hierarchy in Asian International Relations: 1300-1900.” Asian Security 1, no. 1 (2005), 65.</ref>

Several centuries later, beginning in the 12th century, [[Song dynasty]] Chinese coins began to be imported in considerable volumes, as a natural result of increased trade with China, and increased market desire for a convenient currency. The Northern Song, in fact, minted more copper coins than any other Chinese dynasty, and though the export of coinage from China was banned, Chinese coins nevertheless flowed throughout the East Asia region.<ref>Kobata. p98.</ref> The court noble [[Saionji Kintsune]] alone is known to have imported as much as 100,000 ''kan'' of Song coins, enough to fund the construction of a dozen or more buildings. However, this great influx of Chinese coins caused the prices (or values) of rice, silk, and certain other commodities to drop, disrupting the ''kokahô'' system and having a significant and negative impact on court revenues and landholding aristocrats' wealth.<ref>von Glahn, 258.</ref> The court banned the use of coin in [[1193]], but once the end of the [[Genpei War]] brought peace and greater inter-regional economic integration (thus diminishing troublesome regional disparities in exchange values), the [[Kamakura shogunate]] reversed these bans in [[1226]].<ref>von Glahn, 259.</ref>

==Muromachi Period and Ming Trade==

==Muromachi Period and Ming Trade==