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1 Monme Shiga
| Issuer | Omi Morisan Chaya (近江森参茶屋), Shiga Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1847 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Monme |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 銀壱匁 |
| Reverse description | The upper vignette bears a woodblock-printed image of a ho-o (Japanese phoenix) amid swirling clouds and foliage. The central section contains multi-column vertical kanji text panels setting out the issuing house and redemption conditions, including the issuer name 江州大森茶壹斤. The lower portion presents a kirin (mythical unicorn-dragon) vignette within a bordered panel, accompanied by further vertical inscription columns. |
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| Comments |
Omi Province han-satsu of this type were issued by commercial establishments — roadside teahouses, sake brewers, wholesalers — rather than domain administrations, making them merchant scrip rather than feudal currency in any formal sense. The Morisan Chaya was a teahouse operator issuing its own monme-denominated paper to ease transactions along trade routes through the province, likely the Nakasendo or its local branches. This is precisely the category of Edo-period private emission that Meiji reformers targeted for abolition in 1871 under the new national currency laws.
The narrow strip format is characteristic of monme-denomination merchant scrip from the Kinki region. Forgery of such notes was common enough that most issuers incorporated handwritten authentication marks or personal seals — checking for these is more meaningful than examining any printed element.