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The Yokohama Specie Bank was a pre-war bank based in [[Yokohama]] and the largest bank in Japan specializing in foreign exchange and foreign transactions. Its former headquarters, today the home of the [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa Prefectural]] Museum of History, has been designated an [[Important Cultural Property]].

The Yokohama Specie Bank was a pre-war bank based in [[Yokohama]] and the largest bank in Japan specializing in foreign exchange and foreign transactions. Its former headquarters, today the home of the [[Kanagawa Prefecture|Kanagawa Prefectural]] Museum of History, has been designated an [[Important Cultural Property]].

The bank was first established in [[1880]]/2, with an original investment of 3,000,000 [[yen]], following an application submitted in [[1879]]/11 by [[Nakamura Michita]] and twenty-two others, with the support of [[Fukuzawa Yukichi]] and Lord of the Treasury [[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]].

The bank was first established in [[1880]]/2, with an original investment of 3,000,000 [[yen]], following an application submitted in [[1879]]/11 by [[Nakamura Michita]] and twenty-two others, with the support of [[Fukuzawa Yukichi]] and Lord of the Treasury [[Okuma Shigenobu|Ôkuma Shigenobu]]. Overseas branches were opened in Bombay in [[1894]], Hong Kong in [[1896]], Tianjin in [[1899]], Yantai in [[1900]], and Beijing in [[1902]].<ref>[[Peter Duus]], "Economic Dimensions of Meiji Imperialism," in Peattie and Myers (eds.), ''The Japanese Colonial Empire, 1895-1945'', Princeton University Press (1984), 137.</ref>

Though the official headquarters of the bank remained at the Yokohama office throughout the history of the institution, after 1920, the Tokyo office took over the roles and responsibilities of headquarters in a ''de facto'' manner. The bank suffered major setbacks from the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, and the Shôwa Scare (Great Depression) in 1929-1930, but continued on. Its strengths in the field of foreign investment allowed the Yokohama Specie Bank to serve an important role in supporting the Imperial Japanese military during WWII, but as a result of playing this role, the bank was dismantled in 1946 by GHQ. Tokyo Bank (''Tôkyô ginkô'') then took over Yokohama Specie Bank's position as the dominant Japanese bank in foreign transactions; Tokyo Bank has today become Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank.

Though the official headquarters of the bank remained at the Yokohama office throughout the history of the institution, after 1920, the Tokyo office took over the roles and responsibilities of headquarters in a ''de facto'' manner. The bank suffered major setbacks from the 1923 Great Kantô Earthquake, and the Shôwa Scare (Great Depression) in 1929-1930, but continued on. Its strengths in the field of foreign investment allowed the Yokohama Specie Bank to serve an important role in supporting the Imperial Japanese military during WWII, but as a result of playing this role, the bank was dismantled in 1946 by GHQ. Tokyo Bank (''Tôkyô ginkô'') then took over Yokohama Specie Bank's position as the dominant Japanese bank in foreign transactions; Tokyo Bank has today become Mitsubishi Tokyo UFJ Bank.