Catalog
1 Yen 'Suihei'
| Issuer | National Bank of Japan (第七十三国立銀行) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1877 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse lettering | 大日本帝國政府大藏省紙幣局製造 行銀立國國帝本日大 此紙幣を持参の人にハ表面の金員通貨を以て交換すべし 記録局長 價 圓 壹 大藏卿 此紙幣の引當として日本政府の公債證書を大藏省出納局に預り候也 明治九年八月一日條例改正 明治十年四月十三日製造決議 此紙幣ヲ贋造シ或ハ贋造ト知テ通用スル者ハ國法ニ處スベシ 支配人印 頭取之印 第七十三國立銀行 (Translation: Great Imperial Japan National Bank Value One Yen) |
| Reverse description | Grayish-green print with dark-green inscriptions and red official seals. A central vignette presents Ebisu, the deity of fishermen and good fortune, rendered in classical Japanese style. The denomination appears in kanji numerals at left and Arabic numeral at right, with the issuing bank name and place of issue inscribed across the note. |
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The "Suihei" (水兵, "sailor") 1 Yen series was issued by the network of National Banks established under Japan's 1872 National Bank Act — a system modeled directly on the U.S. National Banking System, down to the numbered bank charters. The 73rd National Bank was one of roughly 150 such institutions authorized during the Meiji government's aggressive push to build a Western-style commercial banking infrastructure almost overnight.
Chiossone, a Genoese engraver brought to Japan in 1875 to modernize the Imperial Printing Bureau's intaglio capabilities, cut this plate entirely in-house — a deliberate break from the earlier practice of sending designs abroad to foreign printers. The Diplomorpha sikokiana fiber in the paper stock was a specifically Japanese solution to counterfeiting, the plant being virtually unobtainable outside the country.