Changes

==Eighteenth Century==

==Eighteenth Century==

The dearth of silver in the country led to numerous remintings and depreciations of the [[currency]], with the Yotsuhô currency issued in [[1711]] the most depreciated in the period, at only 20% pure silver. One of the first major instances of this took place in [[1695]], when the government moved from 80% silver Keichô coins to 64% silver [[Genroku]] coins. A series of coins minted in [[1736]], known as Genbun coins, were 46% silver.

The dearth of silver in the country led to numerous remintings and depreciations of the [[currency]], with the Yotsuhô currency issued in [[1711]] the most depreciated in the period, at only 20% pure silver. One of the first major instances of this took place in [[1695]], when the government moved from 80% silver Keichô coins to 64% silver [[Genroku]] coins. Gold coins were reduced to 57% gold at that same time.<ref>Hellyer, 59.</ref> A series of coins minted in [[1736]], known as Genbun coins, were 46% silver. These debasements brought much-needed savings, or profits, for the shogunate's finances, typically worth millions of ''ryô''. They created problems at times, however, for foreign trade, as the 80% silver Keichô ingots used throughout the 17th century were highly trusted and widely able to be circulated throughout the region, second only to the 90% silver [[Mexican silver dollar]], the standard means of exchange for both East Asian and European traders at the time. Following the Genroku debasement, Korean merchants trading with agents from [[Tsushima han]] feared that the newly debased Japanese ingots might not be easily accepted by Chinese merchants, and so were hesitant to accept them; prices rose, and Tsushima's revenues for the year were severely negatively impacted.<ref>Hellyer, 60.</ref>

Throughout the Edo period, however, silver was measured chiefly by weight, not by coin, in everyday market interactions in [[Kamigata]] ([[Kansai]]), where it was the standard mode of currency (gold was more standard in [[Edo]]). The most common denomination of silver was a 43 ''[[Japanese Measurements|momme]]'' nugget called a ''chôgin''.<ref>[[Timon Screech]], ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 79.</ref>

Throughout the Edo period, however, silver was measured chiefly by weight, not by coin, in everyday market interactions in [[Kamigata]] ([[Kansai]]), where it was the standard mode of currency (gold was more standard in [[Edo]]). The most common denomination of silver was a 43 ''[[Japanese Measurements|momme]]'' nugget called a ''chôgin''.<ref>[[Timon Screech]], ''Obtaining Images'', University of Hawaii Press (2012), 79.</ref>