10 Silver Yen

The Concord Bank Note Company of Boston printed this issue, one of very few foreign-produced Japanese government notes from the Meiji period. Japan was still building its domestic printing infrastructure in 1890, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility that would eventually handle most BOJ production wasn't yet capable of handling the full output demands. Concord's involvement was short-lived — the relationship didn't extend far into the following decade.

The "Silver" designation matters: convertibility into silver coin was a live guarantee at time of issue, not decorative wording. Japan remained on a silver standard until 1897, when the Sino-Japanese War indemnity — paid in silver by China — gave Tokyo enough metal to shift to gold.