1 Mon 'Eirakutsūhō' Cast silver

The Eiraku Tsūhō was originally a Chinese cash coin — the Yongle Tongbao — imported in vast quantities during the Muromachi period and so thoroughly integrated into Japanese commerce that domestic copies began circulating alongside genuine Chinese examples. By the 1580s, as Toyotomi Hideyoshi moved to consolidate economic control following decades of Sengoku fragmentation, silver-cast versions were produced to address bullion shortages in specific regions where copper cash had become unreliable. The silver casting distinguishes this piece entirely from the standard copper series.

KM# C1.1 specimens vary noticeably in flan preparation and casting quality — a predictable consequence of provincial production rather than centralized mint control.