The was a denomination of Japanese yen in seven different series from 1872 to 1946 for use in commerce. These circulated with the 1 yen coin until 1914, and briefly again before the notes were suspended in 1958. Notes from the Japanese government, known as "government notes," were the first to be issued through a company in Germany. Because they were being counterfeited, they were replaced by a new series which included the first portrait on a Japanese banknote. Almost concurrently, the government established a series of national banks modeled after the system in the United States. These national banks were private entities that also released their own notes which were later convertible into gold and silver. All three of these series came to an end due to massive inflation from the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877. National bank notes were re-issued as fiat currency before the national banks themselves were abolished. Both national bank and government one yen notes were gradually redeemed for Bank of Japan note starting in 1885. This redemption process lasted until all three series were abolished in 1899.
In 1882, the Bank of Japan was established to deal with the inflation problem. This was remedied by the gradual reduction of notes in circulation for notes issued by the centralized bank. From the time of the first issuance in 1885 to their suspension in 1958, one yen notes from four different series were issued by the bank. Their demise came from the aftermath of World War II due to massive inflation which devalued the yen. The last notes issued were poorly made and outsourced to the private sector for printing and production. All four series were suspended (de jure) by the Bank of Japan on October 1, 1958, in favor of the one yen aluminum coin. While one yen notes issued by the Bank of Japan remain legal tender today, they are worth much more in the collector's market.
Government and National Bank Notes
Meiji Tsuho (1872-1879)
The first one yen notes adopted and released by the Japanese government were part of a series known as . These notes were the first Japanese currency ever to be printed using western printing at Dondorf and Naumann, which was located in Frankfurt. Meiji Tsuho notes were designed by Edoardo Chiossone sometime in 1870 while he was working for Dondorf Naumann on behalf of the National Bank of the Kingdom of Italy. The process of making Chiossone's proposed design a reality started with the establishment of the "Imperial Printing Bureau of Japan" in 1871 (4th year of Meiji). In order to produce the currency the Japanese government reached out to Dondorf and Naumann to gain access to Western technology. Chiossone had a falling out with Italian Bank as his relationship with them had hit a breaking point. When the company suggested Chiossone for the role as engraver, he quickly accepted the offer. The production of money was handed over to the Imperial Printing Bureau in January 1872 when banknotes began to arrive from Germany. All of these arrivals were purposely left incomplete due to security reasons, as the words "Meiji Tsuho" and the mark of the Minister of Finance were added by the Imperial Printing Bureau. Woodblock printing was eventually employed to save hundreds of people the work of handwriting the characters "Meiji Tsuho" on each individual note. One yen notes in particular were released in April 1872 (year 5), with subsidiary notes of 10, 20, and 50 sen. These notes measure 113mm x 71mm in size, and featured an elaborate design that was difficult to forge at the time as counterfeiting was previously rampant with clan notes. Eventually enough Western technology was brought over to Japan as the Japanese government produced some one yen Meiji Tsūhō notes domestically.
The elaborate design worked against counterfeiters for an unknown period of time before they found a way around it. Unstamped notes sent to Japan from Germany were legally obtained by these thieves. Normally Japanese officials would add stamps to the notes finalizing the process, where in this case the counterfeiters added their own stamps. Another major issue was the Satsuma Rebellion in February 1877, which helped lead to massive inflation due to the amount of inconvertible notes issued for payment. The Japanese government responded by stopping the issuance of government notes in 1879 as a hopeful remedy to the situation. During this time legal tender Meiji Tsuho one yen notes had issues with paper quality, and were circulating with counterfeits. These problems led the Japanese government to issue redesigned banknotes in 1881 to replace Meiji Tsuho notes. Additional measures were subsequently put into place which included the establishment of a centralized bank known as the Bank of Japan. All of the remaining Meiji Tsuho notes in circulation that weren't already redeemed were to be retired in favor of either silver coinage or newly printed Bank of Japan notes. This period of exchange lapsed when Meiji Tsuho notes were abolished on December 9, 1899.
National Bank Notes (1873-1880)
The idea for in Japan came from Itō Hirobumi when he was studying the United States in 1871. During this time the Meiji government was working to establish a gold-backed monetary system based on Hirobumi's recommendation. The Japanese government accepted Hirobumi's proposal for national bank notes in 1872 by establishing the "National Bank Act" which organized a decentralized "U.S.-style" system of national banks. Each of these banks was chartered by the state to issue notes exchangeable for gold from reserves held by the banks. Permission was eventually given to these private banks allowing national bank notes to be issued in August 1873. The first bank notes issued are also referred to as . One yen national bank notes in particular measure 80 mm x 190 mm in size, and are modeled after their counterparts in the United States. The obverse features samurai , a warship, and bank seals, while the reverse depicts a Mongol invasion. These circulated as convertible notes for roughly three years before the rising price of gold became an issue. An amendment to the National Bank Act was adopted in August 1876 making the notes inconvertible. Under this amendment there was no limit on the amount of paper money that could be issued. This action also allowed private banks to redeem national bank notes for government issued inconvertible Meiji Tsuho notes rather than for gold. Negative effects from this amendment in the form of inflation were greatly amplified by the Satsuma Rebellion in February 1877. While the rebellion was quickly resolved, the Japanese government had to print a large amount of fiat notes as payment.
National fiat banknotes are also referred to as as they differ from their older counterparts in place of origin. These notes were produced domestically rather than the more difficult task of outsourcing them to the United States for printing. One yen fiat notes measure 74mm x 156mm in size, and are commonly known as due to the design. This obverse design depicts two sailors along with seals from the corresponding bank of issuance. The reverse side meanwhile features the Japanese god of fishermen and luck (Ebisu). In July 1877 then prime minister Ōkuma Shigenobu realized that keeping Japan on a gold standard was pointless given the low price of silver. The silver one yen coin was thus brought into domestic commerce on May 27, 1878 switching Japan to a de facto silver standard. This did little good for fiat currency as it continued to lose its value against silver coinage. The issuance of national fiat banknotes was ultimately suspended in 1880 by then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi. During this time Matsukata introduced a policy of fiscal restraint that resulted in what has come to be called the "Matsukata Deflation". The most significant of these policies established a centralized banking system through the "Bank of Japan Regulation" on June 27, 1882 by proclamation No. 32. In order to decrease inflation all of the old notes were to be collected and exchanged by notes from the central bank. The first step of this process came with an amendment to the regulation in May 1883, which provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes. As the amount of paper currency in circulation decreased, the amount of silver reserves increased. This drove up the value of paper currency until it was about equal to that of silver coins by the end of 1885. The National Bank Act was amended again in March 1896, providing for the dissolution of the national banks on the expiration of their charters. This amendment also prohibited national bank notes from circulating after December 31, 1899. The ongoing redemption process took additional time as national bank notes were not fully removed from circulation until 1904.
Modified "Jingū" Banknotes (1881-1886)
Previous Meiji Tsūhō one yen notes were printed using western technology which had its disadvantages in terms of quality. Over time these fragile notes became discolored easily due to the climate of Japan. Counterfeiting was another issue as these thieves eventually found a way around the elaborate Meiji Tsūhō design. The Japanese government took action by releasing a new series referred to as . Notes for this particular denomination measure 77mm x 131mm in size, and are commonly referred to as because of their design. These notes feature an artist's representation of Empress Jingū that was commissioned by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone. This design is notable for being the first portrait on a Japanese banknote, and the only female depicted in the history of Japanese paper currency.. Also present on the obverse are counterfeit penalties which were later expanded in the Meiji era. The reverse side meanwhile features inscriptions from the Ministry of Finance, and displays the Treasurer's seal. One yen modified banknotes were released in February 1881 (year 14 of Meiji), and were intended to be exchanged for old Meiji Tsuho notes. During this time inflation hit an all time high due to the amount of non convertible paper currency in circulation (see section above). Measures were put into place which included the establishment of a centralized bank known as the Bank of Japan in 1882. All of the paper money in circulation was to be retired in favor of either silver coinage or newly printed Bank of Japan notes. One yen modified banknotes notes were redeemed for silver starting in January 1886 as production decreased for the series. The Japanese government adopted the gold standard on March 26, 1897 which switched over the redemption of government banknotes from silver to gold. This was followed by a deadline set in June 1898 to prohibit circulation of government notes by the end of the century. Modified one yen "Jingū" banknotes were abolished by the set deadline on December 31, 1899.
Bank of Japan Notes Daikokuten Notes (1885-1958)
During the early 1880s, then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi was dealing with a serious inflation problem caused by an abundance of circulating devalued currency. On June 27, 1882 Masayoshi suspended the issuance of inconvertible National Bank, and government issued notes to remedy the situation. He then established a new centralized banking system through the "Bank of Japan Regulation" which gave 10 million yen for a new central bank. The Bank of Japan hence commenced operations on October 10, 1882 with the authority to print banknotes that could be exchanged for the old Government and National Bank Notes. The first step towards this process was an amendment made to the regulation in May 1883 which provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes. New banknotes could not be issued during this time as there was an imbalance between existing coins and notes in regards to silver. It took another year before the redemption of old paper currency stabilized the price of silver alloy.