1.
Japanese yen
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The yen is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the exchange market after the United States dollar. It is also used as a reserve currency after the U. S. dollar, the euro. Before the Meiji Restoration, Japans feudal fiefs all issued their own money, hansatsu, in an array of incompatible denominations. The New Currency Act of 1871 did away with these and established the yen, the former han became prefectures and their mints private chartered banks, which initially retained the right to print money. To bring an end to this situation the Bank of Japan was founded in 1882, following World War II the yen lost much of its prewar value. To stabilize the Japanese economy the exchange rate of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per $1 as part of the Bretton Woods system, when that system was abandoned in 1971, the yen became undervalued and was allowed to float. The yen had appreciated to a peak of ¥271 per $1 in 1973, then underwent periods of depreciation and appreciation due to the 1973 oil crisis, arriving at a value of ¥227 per $1 by 1980. Since 1973, the Japanese government has maintained a policy of intervention. The Japanese government focuses on an export market, and tries to ensure a low yen value through a trade surplus. Since that time, however, the yen has greatly decreased in value, the Bank of Japan maintains a policy of zero to near-zero interest rates and the Japanese government has an extreme anti-inflation policy. Yen derives from the Japanese word 圓, which is cognate with the Chinese yuan, originally, the Chinese had traded silver in mass called sycees and when Spanish and Mexican silver coins arrived, the Chinese called them silver rounds for their circular shapes. The coins and the name appeared in Japan. While the Chinese eventually replaced 圓 with 元, the Japanese continued to use the same word, the spelling and pronunciation yen is standard in English. This is because mainly English speakers who visited Japan at the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period spelled words this way, ゑん /wen/ in historical kana orthography. In the 16th century, Japanese /e/ and /we/ both had been pronounced and Portuguese missionaries had spelled them ye, some time thereafter, by the middle of the 18th century, /e/ and /we/ came to be pronounced as in modern Japanese, although some regions retain the pronunciation. In the early Meiji era, James Curtis Hepburn, following Medhurst, spelled all es as ye in his A Japanese and that was the first full-scale Japanese-English/English-Japanese dictionary, which had a strong influence on Westerners in Japan and probably prompted the spelling yen. Hepburn revised most of yes to e in the 3rd edition in order to mirror the contemporary pronunciation and this was probably already fixed and has remained so ever since
2.
Copper
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Copper is a chemical element with symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of copper has a reddish-orange color. Copper is one of the few metals that occur in nature in directly usable metallic form as opposed to needing extraction from an ore and this led to very early human use, from c.8000 BC. Copper used in buildings, usually for roofing, oxidizes to form a green verdigris, Copper is sometimes used in decorative art, both in its elemental metal form and in compounds as pigments. Copper compounds are used as agents, fungicides, and wood preservatives. Copper is essential to all living organisms as a trace dietary mineral because it is a key constituent of the enzyme complex cytochrome c oxidase. In molluscs and crustaceans, copper is a constituent of the blood pigment hemocyanin, replaced by the hemoglobin in fish. In humans, copper is found mainly in the liver, muscle, the adult body contains between 1.4 and 2.1 mg of copper per kilogram of body weight. The filled d-shells in these elements contribute little to interatomic interactions, unlike metals with incomplete d-shells, metallic bonds in copper are lacking a covalent character and are relatively weak. This observation explains the low hardness and high ductility of single crystals of copper, at the macroscopic scale, introduction of extended defects to the crystal lattice, such as grain boundaries, hinders flow of the material under applied stress, thereby increasing its hardness. For this reason, copper is supplied in a fine-grained polycrystalline form. The softness of copper partly explains its high conductivity and high thermal conductivity. The maximum permissible current density of copper in open air is approximately 3. 1×106 A/m2 of cross-sectional area, Copper is one of a few metallic elements with a natural color other than gray or silver. Pure copper is orange-red and acquires a reddish tarnish when exposed to air, as with other metals, if copper is put in contact with another metal, galvanic corrosion will occur. A green layer of verdigris can often be seen on old structures, such as the roofing of many older buildings. Copper tarnishes when exposed to sulfur compounds, with which it reacts to form various copper sulfides. There are 29 isotopes of copper, 63Cu and 65Cu are stable, with 63Cu comprising approximately 69% of naturally occurring copper, both have a spin of 3⁄2
3.
Zinc
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Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table, in some respects zinc is chemically similar to magnesium, both elements exhibit only one normal oxidation state, and the Zn2+ and Mg2+ ions are of similar size. Zinc is the 24th most abundant element in Earths crust and has five stable isotopes, the most common zinc ore is sphalerite, a zinc sulfide mineral. The largest workable lodes are in Australia, Asia, and the United States, Zinc is refined by froth flotation of the ore, roasting, and final extraction using electricity. Zinc metal was not produced on a large scale until the 12th century in India and was unknown to Europe until the end of the 16th century, the mines of Rajasthan have given definite evidence of zinc production going back to the 6th century BC. To date, the oldest evidence of pure zinc comes from Zawar, in Rajasthan, alchemists burned zinc in air to form what they called philosophers wool or white snow. The element was named by the alchemist Paracelsus after the German word Zinke. German chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf is credited with discovering pure metallic zinc in 1746, work by Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta uncovered the electrochemical properties of zinc by 1800. Corrosion-resistant zinc plating of iron is the application for zinc. Other applications are in batteries, small non-structural castings. A variety of compounds are commonly used, such as zinc carbonate and zinc gluconate, zinc chloride, zinc pyrithione, zinc sulfide. Zinc is an essential mineral perceived by the public today as being of exceptional biologic and public health importance, Zinc deficiency affects about two billion people in the developing world and is associated with many diseases. In children, deficiency causes growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation, infection susceptibility, enzymes with a zinc atom in the reactive center are widespread in biochemistry, such as alcohol dehydrogenase in humans. Consumption of excess zinc can cause ataxia, lethargy and copper deficiency, Zinc is a bluish-white, lustrous, diamagnetic metal, though most common commercial grades of the metal have a dull finish.6 pm. The metal is hard and brittle at most temperatures but becomes malleable between 100 and 150 °C, above 210 °C, the metal becomes brittle again and can be pulverized by beating. Zinc is a conductor of electricity. For a metal, zinc has relatively low melting and boiling points, the melting point is the lowest of all the transition metals aside from mercury and cadmium. Many alloys contain zinc, including brass, Other metals long known to form binary alloys with zinc are aluminium, antimony, bismuth, gold, iron, lead, mercury, silver, tin, magnesium, cobalt, nickel, tellurium, and sodium
4.
Tin
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Tin is a chemical element with symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a metal in group 14 of the periodic table. It is obtained chiefly from the mineral cassiterite, which contains tin dioxide, Tin shows a chemical similarity to both of its neighbors in group 14, germanium and lead, and has two main oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4. Tin is the 49th most abundant element and has, with 10 stable isotopes, metallic tin is not easily oxidized in air. The first alloy used on a scale was bronze, made of tin and copper. After 600 BC, pure metallic tin was produced, pewter, which is an alloy of 85–90% tin with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony, and lead, was used for flatware from the Bronze Age until the 20th century. In modern times, tin is used in alloys, most notably tin/lead soft solders. Another large application for tin is corrosion-resistant tin plating of steel, inorganic tin compounds are rather non-toxic. Because of its low toxicity, tin-plated metal was used for packaging as tin cans. However, overexposure to tin may cause problems with metabolizing essential trace elements such as copper and zinc, Tin is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly crystalline silvery-white metal. When a bar of tin is bent, a sound known as the tin cry can be heard from the twinning of the crystals. Tin melts at the low temperature of about 232 °C, the lowest in group 14, the melting point is further lowered to 177.3 °C for 11 nm particles. β-tin, which is stable at and above room temperature, is malleable, in contrast, α-tin, which is stable below 13.2 °C, is brittle. α-tin has a cubic crystal structure, similar to diamond. α-tin has no properties at all because its atoms form a covalent structure in which electrons cannot move freely. It is a dull-gray powdery material with no common uses other than a few specialized semiconductor applications and these two allotropes, α-tin and β-tin, are more commonly known as gray tin and white tin, respectively. Two more allotropes, γ and σ, exist at temperatures above 161 °C, in cold conditions, β-tin tends to transform spontaneously into α-tin, a phenomenon known as tin pest. Commercial grades of tin resist transformation because of the effect of the small amounts of bismuth, antimony, lead
5.
Laurus nobilis
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Laurus nobilis is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous leaves, in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is used as bay leaf for seasoning in cooking and its common names include bay laurel, sweet bay, bay, true laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel tree or simply laurel. Laurus nobilis figures prominently in classical Greek, Roman, and Biblical culture, the laurel is an evergreen shrub or small tree, variable in size and sometimes reaching 7–18 metres tall. The genus Laurus includes four accepted species, whose diagnostic key characters often overlap, the bay laurel is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Each flower is pale yellow-green, about 1 cm diameter, the leaves are glabrous, 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad, with an entire margin. On some leaves the margin undulates, the fruit is a small, shiny black berry-like drupe about 1 cm long that contains one seed. A recent study found considerable genetic diversity within L. nobilis, Laurus nobilis is a widespread relic of the laurel forests that originally covered much of the Mediterranean Basin when the climate of the region was more humid. With the drying of the Mediterranean during the Pliocene era, the forests gradually retreated. The most abundant component found in essential oil is 1, 8-cineole. Both essential and fatty oils are present in the fruit, the fruit is pressed and water-extracted to obtain these products. The fruit contains up to 30% fatty oils and about 1% essential oils, the plant is the source of several popular herbs and one spice used in a wide variety of recipes, particularly among Mediterranean cuisines. Most commonly, the leaves are added whole to Italian pasta sauces. They are typically removed from dishes before serving, unless used as a simple garnish, whole bay leaves have a long shelf life of about one year, under normal temperature and humidity. Whole bay leaves are used almost exclusively as flavor agents during the preparation stage. Ground bay leaves, however, can be ingested safely and are used in soups and stocks. Dried laurel berries and pressed leaf oil can both be used as robust spices, and the wood can be burnt for strong smoke flavoring, aqueous extracts of bay laurel can also be used as astringents and even as a reasonable salve for open wounds. In massage therapy, the oil of bay laurel is reputed to alleviate arthritis and rheumatism, while in aromatherapy, it is used to treat earaches. A traditional folk remedy for rashes caused by poison ivy, poison oak, the chemical compound lauroside B isolated from Laurus nobilis is an inhibitor of human melanoma cell proliferation at high concentrations in-vitro
6.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
7.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
8.
Kanji
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Kanji, or kanji, are the adopted logographic Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana and katakana. The Japanese term kanji for the Chinese characters literally means Han characters and is using the same characters as the Chinese word hànzì. Chinese characters first came to Japan on official seals, letters, swords, coins, mirrors, the earliest known instance of such an import was the King of Na gold seal given by Emperor Guangwu of Han to a Yamato emissary in 57 AD. Chinese coins from the first century AD have been found in Yayoi-period archaeological sites, however, the Japanese of that era probably had no comprehension of the script, and would remain illiterate until the fifth century AD. The earliest Japanese documents were written by bilingual Chinese or Korean officials employed at the Yamato court. For example, the correspondence from King Bu of Wa to Emperor Shun of Liu Song in 478 has been praised for its skillful use of allusion. Later, groups of people called fuhito were organized under the monarch to read, during the reign of Empress Suiko, the Yamato court began sending full-scale diplomatic missions to China, which resulted in a large increase in Chinese literacy at the Japanese court. The Japanese language had no form at the time Chinese characters were introduced. Chinese characters also came to be used to write Japanese words, around 650 CE, a writing system called manyōgana evolved that used a number of Chinese characters for their sound, rather than for their meaning. Manyōgana written in cursive style evolved into hiragana, or onna-de, that is, ladies hand, major works of Heian-era literature by women were written in hiragana. Katakana emerged via a path, monastery students simplified manyōgana to a single constituent element. Thus the two writing systems, hiragana and katakana, referred to collectively as kana, are descended from kanji. Katakana are mostly used for representing onomatopoeia, non-Japanese loanwords, the names of plants and animals, and for emphasis on certain words. In 1946, following World War II and under the Allied Occupation of Japan and this was done with the goal of facilitating learning for children and simplifying kanji use in literature and periodicals. The number of characters in circulation was reduced, and formal lists of characters to be learned during each grade of school were established, some characters were given simplified glyphs, called shinjitai. Many variant forms of characters and obscure alternatives for common characters were officially discouraged and these are simply guidelines, so many characters outside these standards are still widely known and commonly used, these are known as hyōgaiji. The kyōiku kanji are 1,006 characters that Japanese children learn in elementary school, originally the list only contained 881 characters. This was expanded to 996 characters in 1977 and it was not until 1982 the list was expanded to its current size
9.
Hirohito
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Emperor Shōwa was the 124th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from December 25,1926, until his death on January 7,1989. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Akihito, upon his death, although better known outside Japan by his personal name Hirohito, in Japan, he is now referred to primarily by his posthumous name Emperor Shōwa. The word Shōwa is the name of the era that corresponded with the Emperors reign, the name Hirohito means abundant benevolence. He was the head of state under the Constitution of the Empire of Japan during Japans imperial expansion, militarization, born in Tokyos Aoyama Palace, Hirohito was the first son of Crown Prince Yoshihito and Crown Princess Sadako. He was the grandson of Emperor Meiji and Yanagihara Naruko and his childhood title was Prince Michi. At the age of 3, Hirohito and his brother Chichibu were returned to court when Kawamura died – first to the mansion in Numazu, Shizuoka. In 1908, he began studies at the Gakushūin. When his grandfather, Emperor Meiji, died on July 30,1912, Hirohitos father, Yoshihito, assumed the throne, in 1914, he was promoted to the ranks of lieutenant in the army and sub-lieutenant in the navy, then to captain and lieutenant in 1916. He was formally proclaimed Crown Prince and heir apparent on November 2,1916, Hirohito attended Gakushūin Peers School from 1908 to 1914 and then a special institute for the crown prince from 1914 to 1921. In 1920, Hirohito was promoted to the rank of Major in the army, in 1921, Hirohito took a six-month tour of Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. After his return to Japan, he became Regent of Japan on November 29,1921, in 1923, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army and Commander in the navy, and to army Colonel and Navy Captain in 1925. The Washington Naval Treaty was signed on February 6,1922, Japan withdrew troops from the Siberian Intervention on August 28,1922. The Great Kantō earthquake devastated Tokyo on September 1,1923, on December 27,1923, Daisuke Namba attempted to assassinate Hirohito in the Toranomon Incident but his attempt failed. During interrogation, he claimed to be a communist and was executed, the General Election Law was passed on May 5,1925, giving all men above age 25 the right to vote. Prince Hirohito married his distant cousin Princess Nagako Kuni, the eldest daughter of Prince Kuniyoshi Kuni and they had two sons and five daughters. On December 25,1926, Hirohito assumed the throne upon his father, Yoshihitos, the Crown Prince was said to have received the succession. The Taishō eras end and the Shōwa eras beginning were proclaimed, the deceased Emperor was posthumously renamed Emperor Taishō within days. Following Japanese custom, the new Emperor was never referred to by his name, but rather was referred to simply as His Majesty the Emperor
10.
Japanese calendar
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Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor, the lunisolar Chinese calendar was introduced to Japan via Korea in the middle of the sixth century. After that, Japan calculated its calendar using various Chinese calendar procedures, but in 1873, as part of Japans Meiji period modernization, a calendar based on the solar Gregorian calendar was introduced. In Japan today, the old Chinese calendar is virtually ignored, celebrations of the Lunar New Year are thus limited to Chinese, Japan has had more than one system for designating years. Including The Chinese sexagenary cycle was introduced into Japan. It was often used together with era names, as in the 1729 Ise calendar shown above, now, though, the cycle is seldom used except around New Years. The era name system was introduced from China, and has been in continuous use since AD701. Each Emperors reign begins a new era, before 1868 era names were also declared for other reasons. Nengō are the means of dating years in Japan. It is also in use in private and personal business. The Japanese imperial year or kigen 紀元 is based on the date of the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. It was first used in the calendar in 1873. However, it never replaced era names, and since World War II has been abandoned, the Western Common Era system has gradually come into common use since the Meiji period. Now, most people know it, as well as era names, the official dating system known as nengō 年号, strictly speaking, gengō 元号, has been in use since the late 7th century. Years are numbered within eras, which are named by the reigning Emperor, the nengō system remains in wide use, especially on official documents and government forms. The imperial year system was used from 1872 to the Second World War, Imperial year 1 was the year when the legendary Emperor Jimmu founded Japan –660 BC according to the Gregorian Calendar. Usage of kōki dating can be a nationalist signal, pointing out that the history of Japans imperial family is longer than that of Christianity, kōki 2600 was a special year. The 1940 Summer Olympics and Tokyo Expo were planned as anniversary events, the Japanese naval Zero Fighter was named after this year
11.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
12.
Akihito
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Akihito is the reigning Emperor of Japan. He is the 125th emperor of his line according to Japans traditional order of succession, Akihito succeeded his father Shōwa and acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne on 7 January 1989. There has been ongoing coverage of his possible abdication due to age,31 December 2018 and 1 January 2019 has been mentioned as possible dates of such abdication. In Japan, the Emperor is never referred to by his given name, in writing, the Emperor is also referred to formally as The Reigning Emperor. The Era of Akihitos reign bears the name Heisei, and according to custom he will be renamed Emperor Heisei by order of the Cabinet after his death, at the same time, the name of the next era under his successor will also be established. Akihito was born in the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Tokyo City, Japan, and is the elder son and the fifth child of the Emperor Shōwa and Empress Kōjun. Titled Prince Tsugu as a child, he was raised and educated by his private tutors, unlike his predecessors in the Imperial family, he did not receive a commission as an army officer, at the request of his father, Hirohito. During the American firebombing raids on Tokyo in March 1945, Akihito and his younger brother, during the American occupation of Japan following World War II, Prince Akihito was tutored in the English language and Western manners by Elizabeth Gray Vining. He briefly studied at the Department of Political Science at Gakushuin University in Tokyo, Akihito was heir-apparent to the Chrysanthemum Throne from the moment of his birth. His formal Investiture as Crown Prince was held at the Tokyo Imperial Palace on 10 November 1952, in June 1953 Akihito represented Japan at the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London. Crown Prince Akihito and Crown Princess Michiko made official visits to thirty-seven countries, upon the death of Emperor Hirohito on 7 January 1989, his eldest son the Crown Prince Akihito succeeded to the throne, with an enthronement ceremony taking place on 12 November 1990. In 1998, during a visit to the United Kingdom. Emperor Akihito underwent surgery for cancer on 14 January 2003. Since succeeding to the throne, Emperor Akihito has made an effort to bring the Imperial family closer to the Japanese people, the Emperor and Empress of Japan have made official visits to eighteen countries and to all forty-seven Prefectures of Japan. The Emperor and Empress also made a visit on Wednesday,30 March 2011 to a temporary shelter housing refugees of the disaster and this kind of event is also extremely rare, though in line with the Emperors attempts to bring the Imperial family closer to the people. Later in 2011 he was admitted to suffering from pneumonia. In February 2012 it was announced that the Emperor would be having a coronary examination, however, senior officials within the Imperial Household Agency have denied that there is any official plan for the monarch to abdicate. A potential abdication by the Emperor would require an amendment to the Imperial Household Act, on 8 August 2016, the Emperor gave a rare televised address, where he emphasized his advanced age and declining health, this address is interpreted as an implication of his intention to abdicate
13.
Heisei period
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Heisei is the current era in Japan. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito and his son, the 125th Emperor Akihito, acceded to the throne. In accordance with Japanese customs, Hirohito was posthumously renamed the 124th Emperor Shōwa on 31 January 1989, thus,1989 corresponds to Shōwa 64 until 7 January and Heisei 1 since 8 January. To convert a Gregorian calendar year to Heisei,1988 needs to be subtracted. On 7 January 1989, at 07,55 JST, the Grand Steward of Japans Imperial Household Agency, Shōichi Fujimori, announced Emperor Hirohitos death, and revealed details about his cancer for the first time. According to Obuchi, the name Heisei was taken from two Chinese history and philosophy books, namely Records of the Grand Historian and the Classic of History, in the Shiki, the sentence 内平外成 appears in a section honoring the wise rule of the legendary Chinese Emperor Shun. In the Shokyō, the sentence 地平天成 appears, by combining both meanings, Heisei is intended to mean peace everywhere. The Heisei era went into effect immediately upon the day after Emperor Akihitos succession to the throne on 7 January 1989, in 2016, NHK reported that the Emperor wished to abdicate in a few years, which would effectively end the Heisei period. 1989 marked the culmination of one of the most rapid growth spurts in Japanese history. Shortly before New Years Day, the Nikkei 225 reached its high of 39,000. By 1991, it had fallen to 15,000, signifying the end of Japans famed bubble economy, the Recruit scandal of 1988 had already eroded public confidence in the Liberal Democratic Party, which had controlled the Japanese government for 38 years. In 1993, the LDP was ousted by a led by Morihiro Hosokawa. However, the coalition collapsed as parties had gathered only to overthrow LDP, the LDP returned to the government in 1994, when it helped to elect Japan Socialist Tomiichi Murayama as prime minister. In 1995, there was a large 6.8 earthquake in Kobe, Hyōgo, during this period, Japan reemerged as a military power. In 1991, Japan pledged billions of U. S. However, after the war, on 23 October 2004, the Heisei 16 Niigata Prefecture Earthquakes rocked the Hokuriku region, killing 52 and injuring hundreds. After an election defeat, Prime Minister Shinzō Abe resigned suddenly, Fukuda in turn resigned on September 2008 citing political failings, and Taro Aso was selected by his party. In August 2009, for the first time, the Democratic Party of Japan won 308 seats in the lower house election, which ended 50 years of political domination by the LDP. As a result of the election, Taro Aso resigned as leader of the LDP, However, DPJ soon became mired in party financing scandals, particularly involving aides close to Ichirō Ozawa
14.
Japanese currency
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Japans first formal currency system was the Kōchōsen. It was exemplified by the adoption of Japans first official coin type and it was first minted in 708 CE on order of Empress Genmei, Japans 43rd Imperial ruler. The pronunciation of Kaichin also sounds similar to happiness in Chinese 开心 and this coinage was inspired by the Tang coinage named Kaigentsūhō, first minted in Changan in 621 CE. The Wadokaichin had the same specifications as the Chinese coin, with a diameter of 2.4 cm, the main items of commodity money in Japan were arrowheads, rice grains, and gold powder, as well as hemp cloth. This contrasted somewhat with countries like China, where one of the important items of commodity money came from the Southern seas, since then however, the shell has commonly become a symbol for money in many Japanese ideograms. Japans contacts with the Chinese mainland became intense during the Tang period, with many exchanges, the first Japanese embassy to China is recorded to have been sent in 630, following with Japan, who adopted numerous Chinese cultural practices. The first official coinage was struck in 708, the Wadōkaichin soon became debased, as the government rapidly issued coins with progressively lesser metallic content, and local imitations thrived. Silver minting was soon abandoned however, but copper minting took place throughout the Nara period, a variety of coin types are known, altogether 12 types, including one coin type in gold. The Kōchōsen Japanese system of coinage became strongly debased, with its metallic content, by the middle of the 9th century, the value of a coin in rice had fallen to 1/150th of its value of the early 8th century. By the end of the 10th century, compounded with weaknesses in the political system, the last official Japanese coin emission occurred in 958, with very low quality coins called Kangendaihō, which soon fell into disuse. From the 12th century, the expansion of trade and barter again highlighted the need for a currency, Chinese coinage came to be used as the standard currency of Japan, for a period lasting from the 12th to the 17th century. Coins were obtained from China through trade or through Wakō piracy, coins were also imported from Annam and Korea. These coins were considered as very low compared to Chinese coins. This situation would continue until the beginning of the Edo period, the growth of the economy and trade meant that small copper currency became insufficient to cover the amounts that were being exchanged. During the Sengoku period, the characteristics of the future Edo Period system began to emerge, local Lords developed trade, abolishing monopolistic guilds, which led to the need for large-denomination currencies. From the 16th century, local experiments started to be made, with the minting of local coins, especially the Takeda clan of Kōshū minted gold coins which were later adopted by the Tokugawa shogunate. Hideyoshi unified Japan, and thus centralized most of the minting of large silver and gold coins. Hideyoshi developed the large plate, also called the Tenshō Ōban, in 1588
15.
Bank of Japan
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The Bank of Japan is the central bank of Japan. The Bank is often called Nichigin for short and it has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo. Like most modern Japanese institutions, the Bank of Japan was founded after the Meiji Restoration, the former han became prefectures and their mints became private chartered banks which, however, initially retained the right to print money. For a time both the government and these so-called national banks issued money. A period of unanticipated consequences was ended when the Bank of Japan was founded in Meiji 15, under the Bank of Japan Act 1882 and it has since been partly privately owned. A number of based on other national banks were encompassed within the regulations under which the bank was founded. The institution was given a monopoly on controlling the supply in 1884. Following the passage of the Convertible Bank Note Regulations, the Bank of Japan issued its first banknotes in 1885. Despite some small glitches—for example, it turned out that the konjac powder mixed in the paper to prevent counterfeiting made the bills a delicacy for rats—the run was largely successful. In 1897, Japan joined the standard, and in 1899 the former national banknotes were formally phased out. Since its Meiji era beginnings, the Bank of Japan has operated continuously from main offices in Tokyo, the Bank of Japan was reorganized in 1942, under the Bank of Japan Act of 1942, promulgated on February 24,1942. There was a brief period during the Occupation of Japan when the banks functions were suspended. In 1949, the bank was again restructured, the tool was instrumental in the creation of the bubble economy of the 1980s. It was implemented by the Bank of Japans then Business Department, however, since the introduction of the new law, the Bank of Japan has rebuffed government requests to stimulate the economy. When the Nixon shock happened in August 1971, BOJ should have appreciate d the currency in order to avoid inflation, however, they still kept the fixed exchange rate as 360Yen/$ for two weeks, so it caused excess liquidity. In addition, they persisted with the Smithsonian rate, and continued monetary easing until 1973 and this created a greater than 10% inflation rate at that time. In order to control the stagflation, they raised the official bank rate from 7% to 9%, in 1979, when the energy crisis happened, they raised the official bank rate rapidly. BOJ succeeded in an economic recovery
16.
Banknotes of the Japanese yen
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The banknotes of the Japanese yen are part of the physical form of Japans currency. The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced, throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen. In 1869, the Ministry of Finance introduced notes in denominations between 10 sen and 100 yen, Imperial Japanese Paper Currency followed in 1873 in denominations of 1 yen up to 20 yen. Imperial Japanese Paper Money was issued between 1881 and 1883 in denominations between 20 sen and 10 yen, in 1877 and 1878, the Imperial Japanese National Bank issued 1 and 5 yen notes. In 1885, the Bank of Japan began issuing notes, in denominations of 1,5,10 and 100 yen,20 yen notes were added in 1917, followed by 200 yen in 1927 and 1000 yen in 1945. Between 1917 and 1922, the government issued 10,20 and 50 sen notes,50 sen notes were reintroduced in 1938. In 1944,5 and 10 sen notes were introduced by the Bank of Japan. The Allies issued notes in denominations of 10 and 50 sen,1,5,10,20,100 and 1000 yen between 1945 and 1951, during which time the Bank of Japan also issued notes. Banknotes below 1 yen became invalid on December 31,1953 by the same legislation mentioned above, in 1957 and 1958,5000 and 10,000 yen notes were introduced. The 500 yen notes were replaced after 1982, while 2000 yen notes were introduced in 2000, the series B introduced a new high value banknote ¥1000. The series C introduced two new high value banknotes ¥5000 and ¥10,000, according to a news release from the National Police Agency, they seized 11,717 counterfeit Series D banknotes in 2005. However, they seized only 486 counterfeit current issue banknotes, namely Series E ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10000, the 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19,2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the 2000 millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a gate in Naha. The other side features a scene from the The Tale of Genji, the motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. The image of Murasaki Shikibu is taken from the Gotoh edition of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki held at the Gotoh Museum and these notes are rare in the market, but at banks they are readily available. Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination whose first digit is 2, to promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation, the EURion constellation pattern can be observed on the series E. List of banknotes valid in Japan Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan Museum of Bank notes and Coins
17.
Japan Mint
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The Japan Mint is an Incorporated Administrative Agency of the Japanese government, responsible for producing and circulating the coins of Japan. The agency has its office in Osaka with branches in Tokyo. Amongst the first acts of the Meiji government was the establishment of the Imperial Japanese Mint as a step towards modernising Japans circulating currency. In the early Meiji era, paper currency was printed by Dondorf. The European production was inspected and sealed by Banknote Annex Office of the Ministry of Finance, a proposal to construct a banknote manufacturing plant was submitted to Grand Council of State in May,1874, and construction was approved in December of that same year. A two-story Western red brick building was completed in October 1876, the Mint became an Incorporated Administrative Agency on April 1,2003. 1871, After an inaugural ceremony was held in Kawasaki, Osaka, the mints work was urgently necessary to rectify confusion over coins which was a recurrent feature of the Tokugawa period. 1879, This branch of the Mint was set up in the Ministry of Finance building, the primary function of this office was to accept gold and silver to be made into coins which would then be returned to the bearer, however the sub-branch was abolished in 1907. 1929, The branch is established at Kōjimachi-ku, the primary function of this office focused on certifying the fineness certification of precious metal wares. 1939, The branch moved to the present address in Toshima-ku to enable the expansion of its operations,1942, The construction of a minting plant in Hiroshima Prefecture was decided with the aim of minting coins in Japan for various Southeast Asian countries. 1945, The minting of coins was initially begun in February,1946, Operations resumed at the present address. 1948, The branch becomes capable of managing the entire coinage process, Japan Mint has sought to bring its operations within an ambit proposed by the International Standard for Quality Management System
18.
Japanese military yen
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Japanese military yen, commonly abbreviated as JMY, was the currency issued to the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army and the Imperial Japanese Navy as a salary. The Imperial Japanese government first started issuing the military yen during the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the military yen reached its peak during the Pacific War period, when the Japanese government excessively issued it to all of its occupied territories. In Hong Kong, the yen was forced upon the local population as the sole official currency of the territory. Since the military yen was not backed by gold, and did not have a place of issuance. Forcing local populations to use the military yen officially was one of the ways the Japanese government could dominate the local economies, the territories controlled or occupied by Japan had many different currencies. Taiwan maintained its own banking system and bank notes after it came under Japanese rule in 1895, the same is true for Korea post 1910. Between 1931 and 1945, large parts of China and South East Asia were occupied by Japan, several types of currencies were put into circulation there during the occupation. In China, several puppet governments were created, each issuing their own currency, in South East Asia, the Japanese military arranged for bank notes to be issued, denominated in the various currencies that had been circulating there prior to the occupation. These latter are referred to as Japanese invasion money, in addition to these currencies, the Japanese military issued their own bank notes, denominated in yen - this is the Japanese military yen. The military yen became the currency in some occupied areas. In the late 1930s there was an issue of military yen which was similar to the yen in terms of design. Generally, thick red lines were overprinted to cancel the name Bank of Japan, large red text instead indicated that the note was military currency so as not to be confused with regular Japanese yen. In the early 1940s, the Japanese government issued military yen notes with a design prepared specifically for the military yen and these designs were not based on existing Japanese yen notes, but featured original designs such as peacocks and dragons. All later series featured the text on the reverse of the note, 此票一到即換正面所開日本通貨。如有偽造、變造、仿造、或知情行使者均應重罰不貸。 This text explains. Severe punishment will be applied to anyone who counterfeits notes or knowingly uses such notes, early issues did not have serial numbers, and were issued without regard for inflation. Later issues did initially feature serial numbers, towards the end of the war, as more money was needed to pay military personnel, notes were issued without serial numbers once more. After the Hong Kong Government surrendered to the Japanese Imperial Army on 25 December 1941, the Japanese occupation also outlawed any use of Hong Kong dollar and set a deadline for exchanging dollars into yen. When the military yen was first introduced on 26 December 1941, however, by October 1942, the rate was changed to 4 to 1
19.
Japanese invasion money
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In February 1942 in Japan, laws were passed establishing the Wartime Finance Bank and the Southern Development Bank. Both institutions issued bonds to raise funds, the former loaned money primarily to military industries, but also to a wide range of other ventures, including hydroelectric generators, electric power companies, shipbuilding and petroleum. The latter provided financial services in occupied by the Japanese military. In December 1942, the balance of Southern Development Bank notes stood at more than 470 million, in March 1945. In August 1940, the Japanese initiated to join World War II, all notes bear the name of the issuer, “The Japanese Government” while some notes proclaim the “promises to pay the bearer on demand”. Called “Mickey Mouse Money” by local Filipinos, it was valueless after the overthrow of the Japanese, Japanese troops were ordered to destroy bank records and any remaining currency prior to capitulation. By the end of World War II, the war ended, Money that was issued included the Philippines, Burma, Malaya, North Borneo and Sarawak, Singapore, Brunei, the Dutch East Indies and some areas of Oceania. were deemed useless. On 10 December 1941 Japanese troops landed on Luzon, the Japanese invaded Manila on 2 January 1942, and in the process captured more than $20.5 Million in U. S. and local cash and an unknown amount of foreign currency and bullion. The Japanese used this hard currency abroad to purchase raw materials, rice and weapons to fuel, in its place, the Japanese issued several series of fiat currency. The first issue in 1942 consisted of denominations of 1,5,10 and 50 centavos and 1,5, and 10 Pesos. The next year brought “replacement notes” of the 1,5 and 10 Pesos while 1944 ushered in a 100 Peso note, near the end of the war in 1945 the Japanese issued a 1,000 Pesos note. The Japanese were on the defensive and short of supplies, they diluted printer’s ink with duplicator fluid to stretch stores, the Japanese began their attack on British Malaya the same day as Pearl Harbor. The Japanese entered Malaya overland from the north and the base of Singapore fell on 15 February 1942 and was held with the rest of Malaya by the Japanese until August 1945. Malaysian scrip is in dollars and therefore is often, mistakenly, in 1942 the Japanese issued paper scrip currency of 1,5,10 and 50 cents and 1,5 and 10 dollars. The 1,5 and 10 dollar notes initially had serial numbers, in 1944, inflation lead to the issuing of a 100 dollar note. In 1945, a replacement note 100 dollar bill was issued as well as a hyper-inflation 1,000 note. The 1942 series of notes, including the 50c and 1,5,10, the 1944100 dollar replacement note no longer contained this message. With metals being a needed war-material the Japanese did not issue coinage during their occupations, occupation currency, including denominations of less than one dollar, was printed on paper
20.
Tokugawa coinage
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Tokugawa coinage was a unitary and independent metallic monetary system established by Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1601 in Japan, and which lasted throughout the Tokugawa period until its end in 1867. The establishment of Tokugawa coinage followed a period in which Japan was dependent on Chinese bronze coins for its currency, Tokugawa coinage lasted for more than two centuries, and ended with the events of the Boshin war and the establishment of the Meiji restoration. The first attempt at a new currency were made by Hideyoshi, from 1601, Tokugawa coinage was minted in gold, silver, and bronze denominations. The denominations were fixed, but the rates actually fluctuated on the exchange market, the material for the coinage came from gold and silver mines across Japan. To this effect, gold mines were opened and exploited. Initially, the coinage was used essentially for export purposes in order to pay for imports of goods from China. With the beginning of the 18th century, Japan started to restrict the export of bullion currency, an export ban on monetary specie was imposed by Arai Hakuseki in 1715. Trade substitution was encouraged, but remained limited due to the policy of closure. Upon Arai Hakusekis suggestion the government increased again the gold and silver content of coinage in 1714-1715, in 1736, Japan abandoned this policy and again increased the money supply, with a resulting price stability for the next 80 years. From 1818 to 1829 the money supply increased by 60%, severe inflation again followed as prices nearly doubled. Tokugawa coinage worked according to a monetary standard, using gold, silver and bronze coins. The systems worked by multiples of 4, and coins were valued according to the Ryō, one Ryō was worth 4 Bu,16 Shu, or 4,000 Mon. The Ōban was a large gold coin plate, equivalent to ten Ryōs. The Koban was a regular ovoid gold coin, equivalent to one Ryō, the initial Keichō Koban had a weight of 18. 20g. The 1714 Sado Koban also had a weight of 18. 20g and was made with an alloy of typically 85. 69% of gold and 14. 25% of silver, the Nibuban was worth half a Koban and was rectangular gold coin. The Ichibuban could be made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban. The gold Ichibuban of 1714 had a weight of 4.5 g, the silver Ichibuban from 1837 to 1854 weighed 8.66 g, with an alloy of 0. 21% gold and 98. 86% silver. There were then Nishuban and Isshuban small denominations of silver or gold, from 1853 to 1865, the silver Isshuban weighed 1.88 g, with an alloy of 1. 7% gold,98. 7% silver and 1. 12% copper
21.
Scrip of Edo period Japan
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During the Edo period, feudal domains of Japan issued scrip called hansatsu for use within the domain. This paper currency supplemented the coinage of the Tokugawa shogunate, most scrip carried a face value in silver coinage, but gold and copper scrip also circulated. In addition, some scrip was marked for exchange in kind for a commodity such as rice, in addition to those issued by the domains, forms of paper money were also issued by rice brokers in Osaka and Edo. Originally used only as a representation of amounts of rice owned by the scrip-holder and held in the Osaka or Edo merchants storehouse, japans first banknotes, called Yamada Hagaki, were issued around 1600 by Shinto priests also working as merchants in the Ise-Yamada, in exchange for silver. This was earlier than the first goldsmith notes issued in England around 1640, an early issue of domain scrip took place in the Fukui domain in 1661. As early as 1610, private notes had been printed for purposes such as payment of workers on construction projects, domains issued scrip to supplement coins in times of shortage and to adjust the amount in circulation. They also exchanged scrip for coins to improve the situation of the domain. By the end of the period, eight out of ten domains issued paper, as did a few daikan-sho, accepting scrip always carried the risk of forfeiture. During the Edo period, the shogunate seized some domains, and transferred others, on such occasions, the new daimyo might not honor the old scrip. Following the condemnation and death of the daimyo Asano Naganori, for example, Ōishi Yoshio, in addition, in times of financial difficulty, the domain might simply declare scrip void. Early in the period, domains printed their own scrip, later, they operated through prominent merchants, the shogunate prohibited the use of scrip in 1707. In 1730, however, Tokugawa Yoshimune authorized domains to issue paper with time limits for redemption, large domains could issue currency valid for 25 years, and small domains for 15 years. His son Ieshige prohibited new issue of scrip, and restricted the circulation of scrip other than that exchangeable for silver, despite the prohibitions, domains in severe financial straits occasionally issued paper money. Each domain formulated its own rules about its scrip, while there were some that forbade the shogunates coinage, many allowed both coins and scrip to circulate. As a rule, scrip circulated only within the domain that issued it, for example, paper issued by the Kishū domain in 1866 was also used in Yamato, Izumi, Kawachi, Settsu, and Harima Provinces. In 1871, the Government of Meiji Japan ordered the abolition of the han system, in the interim, some scrip carried markings from the central government indicating the value in yen and the smaller sen and rin. This article incorporates information from the Japanese Wikipedia, bank of Japan 新井政義（編集者）『日本史事典』。東京：旺文社1987 竹内理三（編）『日本史小辞典』。東京：角川書店1985 Hansatsu for 1 momme of silver at the British Museum with photo and explanation
22.
1 yen coin
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The 1 yen coin is the smallest denomination of the Japanese yen currency. The first Japanese one yen coin was minted in 1871, and was out of silver. Eventually gold coins were also produced causing co-circulation among the two, silver one yen coins ceased production in 1914. Brass one yen coins were made in the late 1940s, the current design is made up of an aluminium alloy which has remained unchanged since the coin was first minted. In the early 2010s increasing usage of money led to a lack of demand. Like the U. S. penny, the Japanese mint has suffered due to a rising cost of the base metal it takes to produce the coins. The one yen coin is the oldest modern denomination coin, the design has remained the same since its introduction in 1955. The obverse of the coin has a figure 1 in a circle represents one yen. The reverse side has a tree, intended to symbolize the healthy growth of Japan. The first Japanese one yen coin was minted in 1870, at first these coins were minted in silver. The obverse of these featured a dragon with a circular inscription around it. The reverse had a radiant sun surrounded by a wreath, with the chrysanthemum emblem flanked by two seals of the Japanese government, the following year though Japan switched to the Gold standard in order to keep up with countries in North America, and Europe. Production of silver one yen coins was halted, and new gold coins took their place. Through 1874-1875, one-yen silver coins were minted with a new design only to be halted again sometime in 1875 in favor of Trade Dollars. Both silver and gold coins co-circulated after 1878 when Japan went with a bimetallic standard, Gold one yen coins were minted until 1880, while the silver ones lasted until 1914. Coinage was reformed in 1948 with the issue of a one yen coin,451,170,000 coins were minted until production stopped in 1950. The obverse features a numeral 1 with State of Japan above, the current design was introduced in 1955, when the first aluminium one yen coin was minted, throughout its minting history the coin was fully halted only once in 1968 due to excessive production. In 1989 a national consumption tax was put into place that calculated prices down to single-yen units, in 2011 the increasing usage of electronic money led to a lack of demand for the coin, as a result one yen coins minted until 2013 were only released in mint sets
23.
5 yen coin
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The 5 yen coin is one denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in 1959 using Japanese characters known as the new script, the modern-day coin was first produced in 1948 with a different styled inscription. This was changed in 1959 and the design has remained unchanged since, the three graphic elements of the coin represent agriculture and fisheries, the key elements of the Japanese first-sector economy. Around a hole, there is a gear that represents industry and it is the only Japanese coin in circulation to lack Arabic numerals on either face. The Japanese for five yen, go en is a homophone with go-en, en being a word for causal connection or relationship, and go being a respectful prefix. They write, The Japanese 5-yen coin is about 22 millimeters in diameter and 1.5 mm thick, to obtain a record of the dosage of neutrons released as a result of the accident, we collected exposed coins from peoples houses at distances 100–550 m from the facility. The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign, the dates below correspond with the 23rd to the 64th year of his reign. All five yen coins that were made before 1959 use Shinjitai, in 1949 only, two different styles of writing were used before a more modern one was established in 1950. This second style of writing was used until 1958 when the current script of Japanese took its place in the following year, coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, * = First style ** = Second style ^ = Third style The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the front sides of two five yen coins
24.
50 yen coin
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The 50 yen coin is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in 1967, the first 50 yen coin was issued in 1955 and featured a chrysanthemum viewed from the side on the reverse and a stylized ancient weight on the obverse. The coin had a diameter of 25 mm, and was 100% nickel and this design was issued every year from 1959 to 1966. The current design for the 50 Yen coin was first issued in 1967, the metallurgy was changed to a ratio of 75-25 copper-nickel, with the diameter of the coin reduced to 21 mm, and the weight reduced from 5.0 grams to 4.0 grams. The size of the hole was reduced from 6 mm in diameter to 4 mm. The reverse side retained the use of a motif, showing three smaller flowers flanking the center hole. The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign, the dates below correspond with the 30th to the 64th year of his reign. Fifty yen coins had three different designs, but there was no overlap in mintage between them, coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
25.
100 yen coin
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The 100 yen coin is a denomination of Japanese yen. The current design was first minted in silver in 1959 and saw a change of metal in 1967 and it is the second-highest denomination coin in Japan after the 500 yen coin. The first 100 yen coin was issued in 1957 and featured a phoenix on the reverse and it featured English language writing in addition to Japanese. This design was issued in 1957 and in 1958, in 1959, the design was modified, removing the English wording, and changing the reverse side to show a sheaf of rice. This design was issued every year from 1959 to 1966, the current design for the 100 Yen coin was first issued in 1967. The metallurgy was changed from the former 60-30-10 ratio of silver-copper-zinc to a ratio of 75-25 copper-nickel, with the weight, the reverse side was changed to show sakura blossoms and the denomination in Japanese. The coin shares, with the 50 yen coin, the emperors rule date expressed with Latin numerals instead of in Japanese numerals, in 1964, a 100 yen coin was issued to mark the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The obverse featured the Olympic torch and Olympic rings while the reverse re-introduced English-language text, in 1970 a 100 Yen coin was issued to mark Expo 70 in Osaka. In 1972 a 100 yen coin commemorated the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, the Olympic Torch remained on the obverse while the rings moved to the reverse. A coin marked Expo 75 in Okinawa, in 1976 a 100-yen coin marked the Golden Jubilee of Emperor Hirohito. A large chrysanthemum, symbolising the Japanese Imperial Family, featured on the reverse, in 2015, a new series of 100 yen coins was introduced to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the inauguration of the Tōkaidō Shinkansen train service. The coins are minted under a different composition of cupronickel, consisting of 87. 5% copper and 12. 5% nickel, the following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohitos reign. The dates below correspond with the 32nd to the 64th year of his reign, one hundred yen coins had three main different designs, but there was no overlap in mintage between them. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
26.
500 yen coin
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The 500 yen coin is the largest coin denomination of the Japanese yen. The 500 yen coin was first minted in 1982 to replace the 500 yen note, soon, it became the victim of counterfeiting, as neighboring South Korea introduced its 500 won coin and could be easily modified to the exact weight of the ¥500 coin. As the ₩500 coin was roughly one-tenth the value of the ¥500 coin, a new design was minted in 2000. Zinc was added to give it an electrical conductivity, the weight was reduced 0.2 grams. When viewed at an angle, 500円 is printed vertically in each zero, when viewed at a different angle, a bar can be seen running down the inside of each zero. This bar is narrower than the 500円 text, microprinting reading Nippon is found on both the obverse and reverse of the coin. Despite these anti-counterfeiting measures, the coin is still the target of counterfeiters in Japan, throughout the coins history, the Japan Mint has issued 500 yen coins commemorating the various subjects of Japans history. With a mintage of 2,775 coins,1987 is a key date to the series, the dates below correspond with the 57th to the 64th year of his reign. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year, the following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Akihito was crowned in 1989, which is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one-year type, coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 平成. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format, Emperors name -> Number representing year of reign -> Year
27.
Koban (coin)
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The koban was a Japanese oval gold coin in Edo period feudal Japan, equal to one ryō, another early Japanese monetary unit. It was a part of Tokugawa coinage. The Keichō era koban, a piece, contained about one ryō of gold. However, successive mintings of the koban had varying amounts of gold, as a result, the ryō as a unit of weight of gold and the ryō as the face value of the koban were no longer synonymous. The Japanese economy before the century was based largely on rice. The standard unit of measure was the koku, the amount of rice needed to feed one person for one year. Farmers made their tax payments of rice which eventually made its way into the coffers of the central government, and similarly, vassals were annually paid a specified koku of rice. The Portuguese who came to Japan in the 1550s, however, preferred gold to rice, and the koban, some feudal lords began minting their own koban, but the value was debased with alloys of varying gold content. Edo authorities issued one currency reform after another and just about all of them debased the koban further, additionally, counterfeit koban circulated after each reform, their value slightly less than that of the then current koban. By the time of Commodore Matthew C, perrys visit in 1853, counterfeit koban from previous eras were preferred by merchants to the newer variants. The fraudulent older pieces were more valuable than newly minted koban, with the Meiji Restoration in 1868 a new series of coins was ordered based on European currency systems and the koban was discontinued. In the highly successful Konami franchise THE LEGEND OF THE MYSTICAL NINJA, the Japanese idiom neko ni koban is an equivalent for casting pearls before swine. The Maneki Neko is often depicted holding a koban, though the koban most Maneki Neko hold is indicated to be ten million ryō
28.
Ichibuban
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The Ichibuban was a monetary unit of Japan. The Ichibuban could be made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban. The gold Ichibuban of 1714 had a weight of 4.5 g, the silver Ichibuban from 1837 to 1854 weighed 8.66 g, with an alloy of 0. 21% gold and 98. 86% silver. The Nibuban was worth double the Ichibuban, and half a Koban and was also a rectangular coin
29.
Japanese mon (currency)
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The mon was the currency of Japan from the Muromachi period in 1336, until 1870. It co-circulated with the new sen until 1891, the Kanji for mon is 文 and the character for currency was widely used in the Chinese-character cultural sphere, e. g. Chinese wen Korean mun. Coins denominated in mon were cast in copper or iron and circulated alongside silver and gold ingots denominated in shu, bu and ryō, in 1869, due to depriciation against gold, the new fixing officially was set for 1 ryo/yen = equal to 10.000 mon. The yen started to replace the old duodecimal denominations in 1870, in 3rd quarter of 1870, smaller sen coins did not appear before spring,1873. So the mon coins remained a necessity for ordinary peoples commodities,1,1954 onward the mon became invalid, postwar inflation had removed sen, mon etc. denominations smaller than 1 Yen. Due to the missing small coinage, the Japanese posts e. g. issued their first stamps in mon, during the co-existence with the sen, the metal content of the old currency became important. Official exchange for coins from 1871.6.27,4 mon copper =2 rin,1 mon bronze =1 rin, so a mon was not a mon, but its metal kind counted after switchover to decimal sen, bronze was better than copper. There were no rin coins before 1873, it was just accounting unit, by the way, the most current coin, the Tempo was accounted merely with 8 rin in that sen period. Mon coins were holed, allowing them to be together on a piece of string. In the Edo-period of Japan, stringed-together coins received a discount when presented like this. E. g. for 100 Mon payment, if those 1 Mon coins were all tied in a row, discount given was 4 mon, similar discounts existed probably for other bulk payments with small coinage in stringed form. Through Japanese history, there were different styles of currency of many shapes, styles, designs, sizes and materials, including gold, silver, bronze. Wadōkaichin Economy of Japan Tokugawa coinage Chinese wen Korean mun Vietnamese van Titsingh, nipon o daï itsi ran, ou, Annales des empereurs du Japon. ]Paris, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. Click for digitized, full-text copy of this book
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