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==Early Coinage==
==Early Coinage==
The first currency to be produced in Japan was minted in the Wadô era (708-715), an era named after the discovery of copper in [[Musashi province]] (Wadô 和銅 literally means "Japanese copper"). These coins, with a face value of one ''mon'', were based on the ''kai yuan tong bao'' coinage then circulating in [[Tang Dynasty]] China. These small round coins with square holes in the middle would serve as the standard model for the shape or form of coins in both China and Japan for many centuries.
By the time of the issuing of the Engi taihô (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 it fell out of circulation.
After the so-called Wadô kaihô ("Wadô coins"), other currencies continued to be produced until the mid-10th century, each named after the [[Imperial reign era]] in which they were produced. These included the Mannen tsûhô, Jinkô kaihô, Ryûhei eihô, Fûju shinpô, Shôwa shôhô, Chônen taihô, Jôeki shinpô, Jôgan eihô, Kanpyô taihô, and Engi tsûhô.<ref>Kobata. p98n1.</ref>
Coinage at this time was used only by the aristocracy or religious elites, while the rest of the population functioned on a barter system in which value or buying power tended to be expressed in terms of silk, cloth, or rice.<ref>When a good was used as payment, its value was often counted in terms of ''jun-kinu'' 準絹, ''jun-nuno'' 準布, or ''jun-kome'' 準米, that is, in terms of how much silk, cloth, or rice it would have been worth.</ref> One ''hiki'' 疋 of silk was generally valued as equal to one ''[[koku]]'' of rice (1 ''koku'' = 10 ''to'' 斗 = 100 ''shô'' 升), though this varied. Still, on average, from the [[Heian period]] through the [[Sengoku period]], one ''koku'' of rice was considered equivalent to one ''kanmon'', or 1000 ''mon'' in coins; one ''hiki'' remained steadily equivalent to ten ''mon'' of coins through the Edo period.<ref>Kobata. pp98-99.</ref> The direct association of goods, especially rice, with value, would continue through the mid-19th century; in the Edo period (1600-1868), lands would be valued in terms of their agricultural production, taxes would be paid in rice (or equivalents), and samurai would be paid their stipends in rice.
These early currencies fell out of usage, however, in the tenth century. By the time of the issuing of the Engi taihô (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 it fell out of circulation.
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. 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>
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. 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>
==Muromachi Period and Ming Trade==
Chinese coins continued to be a major presence in Japanese markets - at least among the elites - into the [[Muromachi period]] (1333-1573). The [[Ashikaga shogunate]] entered into [[kango boeki|formal trade relations]] with [[Ming Dynasty]] China in the late 14th century, and maintained relations until the mid-16th. Coins associated with the reign of the [[Yongle Emperor]] (1403-1425) were particularly numerous in Japan due to the close Sino-Japanese relations during that period, under [[Shogun]] [[Ashikaga Yoshimitsu]], but coins issued in the Hongwu (1368-98) and Xuande (1425-35) reigns in particular have also been found in considerable numbers. The export of gold, silver, and copper from China remained forbidden in this period, but copper coins ended up being taken back to Japan by the [[tribute]] envoys anyway, after selling their cargoes in China.
The use of currency expanded considerably in Japan in the [[Kamakura period|Kamakura]] (1185-1333) and Muromachi periods. Taxes previously paid in rice or other crops were now increasingly paid in Chinese coinage (though payment in crops was still very common), and coins circulated more widely. Systems of moneylenders called ''kariage'' or ''dosô'' emerged. But the currency being used was almost exclusively Chinese coins.<ref name=kobata99>Kobata. pp99-100.</ref>
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 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==
Samurai stipends in the Edo period were paid out in ''[[koku]]'', i.e. in rice. However, gold and silver coinage was used in everyday exchanges (especially among ''[[chonin|chônin]]''/commoners - peasants, merchants, artisans, etc.). In Edo, gold was more widely circulated, while in [[Kamigata]] (the Kyoto-Osaka area), silver was more commonly the mode of exchange. Gold was exchanged in relatively standardized coins issued by the [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]], known as ''koban'', and worth one ''ryô'' apiece.
Samurai stipends in the Edo period were paid out in ''koku'', i.e. in rice. However, gold and silver coinage was used in everyday exchanges (especially among ''[[chonin|chônin]]''/commoners - peasants, merchants, artisans, etc.). In Edo, gold was more widely circulated, while in [[Kamigata]] (the Kyoto-Osaka area), silver was more commonly the mode of exchange. Gold was exchanged in relatively standardized coins issued by the [[Tokugawa shogunate|shogunate]], known as ''koban'', and worth one ''ryô'' apiece.
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>
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==Denominations Chart==
{| border=1
|-
! Gold
|-
| 1 ''bu'' 分
| 1/10 ''monme''
| .375 grams
|-
| 1 ''monme'' 匁
| 10 ''bu''
| 3.75 grams
|-
| 1 ''ryô'' 両
| 4 ''monme'' + 3 ''bu''
| 1 ''koku'' of rice
|-
! Silver
|-
| 1 ''ryô'' 両
| 4 ''monme'' + 3 ''bu''
|-
! Rice
|-
| 1 ''koku'' 石
| 10 ''to'' 斗
| 100 ''shô'' 升
| 1 ''ryô'' of gold
| 1 ''hiki'' of silk
|-
! Silk
|-
| 1 ''hiki'' 疋
| 1 ''koku'' of rice
|}
==References==
==References==
