1.000 Rupiah Djepang (Japanese Rupiah)

The Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (1942–1945) left behind a chaotic monetary vacuum. When Allied forces returned and the Indonesian Republic began asserting control over its own territory, numerous regional authorities issued their own emergency currencies rather than wait for a unified national solution. This note is one of those — a locally printed instrument from the Palembang treasury in South Sumatra, issued two years after the Japanese surrender, still denominated in "Djepang" (Japanese) Rupiah because that was the currency already in circulation and understood by the local population.

The continued use of the Japanese monetary unit in the name, even in a note issued by a Republican authority, tells you more about the economic disorder of the Indonesian National Revolution than any single sentence could.