Catalog
1 Ryō 'Doshū Kinsatsu'
| Issuer | Tosa Domain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Ryō |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 金壹両 (Translation: Gold one Ryō) |
| Reverse description | Printed in black with applied red official stamps. The lower portion bears a vertical inscription in Chinese seal script (tensho). Twining plant motifs in a decorative border pattern surround the central field, framing the text on all sides. |
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| Comments |
Tosa Domain's gold-denomination paper currency — kinsatsu literally meaning "gold notes" — was issued during the final, chaotic months before the Meiji government consolidated monetary authority and began suppressing han-issued scrip. Tosa, despite its later association with the pro-imperial movement through figures like Sakamoto Ryōma and Itagaki Taisuke, was still operating its own domain financial apparatus right through the Restoration itself.
The ryō denomination on a paper instrument was already an anachronism by 1868 — the actual gold ryō coinage it nominally referenced was being phased out even as these notes circulated. Domain scrip of this type was demonetized under the 1871 currency reforms, with conversion rates that frequently disadvantaged holders.