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1 Yen Japan Military Currency
| Issuer | Imperial Japanese Army (Military Currency) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1938 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Printer | Cabinet Printing Bureau, Japanese Government |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in a single orange-brown tone on plain white paper. A large elaborate guilloche rosette occupying the left half carries the English inscription ONE YEN in three lines within its centre. To the right, the issuer title NIPPON GINKO is printed at the top, with the large kanji 軍用手票 repeated centrally and the English promise clause Promises to Pay Bearer on Demand — Yen in Legal rendered in cursive script across the middle field. Anti-counterfeiting and usage notices in Chinese characters occupy the right margin. |
| Reverse lettering | NIPPON GINKO 軍用手票 Promises to Pay Bearer on Demand Yen in Legal ONE YEN 此票一到卽換正面所開 日本通貨 如有偽造變造仿造或知情行使者均應重罰不貸 |
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| Comments |
Japan's military yen notes issued from 1938 onward were legal tender within occupied territories at a forced par with the domestic yen — a deliberate mechanism for extracting local resources and labor without expending hard currency reserves. Merchants and civilians in China who accepted them had no practical recourse when redemption was later refused outright.
The M22 series was printed by the Cabinet Printing Bureau, the same facility handling domestic civil issue, which kept production quality consistent but also made military yen visually credible to populations unfamiliar with Japanese currency norms. After Japan's surrender in 1945, occupation authorities declared the notes worthless, leaving enormous quantities unredeemed across the former Co-Prosperity Sphere.