Struck on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to fund the first of his two invasions of Korea, the Bunrokutsūhō takes its name from the Bunroku era (1592–1596) declared the same year the campaign launched. Hideyoshi's treasury required rapid liquidity in a form portable enough for military logistics, and silver coinage served that need in ways rice payments could not.
The alloy composition varies noticeably across surviving examples, reflecting the pressured and improvised nature of production during an active war footing.
Struck on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi to fund the first of his two invasions of Korea, the Bunrokutsūhō takes its name from the Bunroku era (1592–1596) declared the same year the campaign launched. Hideyoshi's treasury required rapid liquidity in a form portable enough for military logistics, and silver coinage served that need in ways rice payments could not.
The alloy composition varies noticeably across surviving examples, reflecting the pressured and improvised nature of production during an active war footing.