Catalog
1 Monme Shiga
| Issuer | Omi Morisan Chaya (近江森参茶屋), Shiga Province |
|---|---|
| Year | 1847 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | The upper vignette presents the Seven Gods of Fortune (Shichifukujin) arranged in a group portrait executed in woodblock-printed line work. Below, a central panel carries the denomination inscription in bold brushwork kanji characters (銀壱匁), flanked by vertical text columns. The lower vignette illustrates a Japanese court scene with robed figures in a palatial setting rendered in fine woodblock engraving. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 銀壱匁 |
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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.