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100 Yen Japan Military Currency
| Issuer | Imperial Japanese Government |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Printed in red-brown intaglio over a green guilloche underprint, the obverse carries a vignette of the Yumedono Pavilion at left and a portrait of Prince Shotoku Taishi at right. Four large Chinese characters are overprinted across the centre of the note, accompanied by an official seal at left. The composition follows a formal symmetrical layout with ornamental borders framing the principal design elements. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Printed entirely in orange, the reverse presents a central vignette of the Horyuji Temple complex set within an elaborate guilloche medallion border, flanked by decorative floral rosettes. Denomination characters 百圓 appear at the left and 軍百 at the right corners, while the legend 軍用手票 is distributed across all four corners of the design. A rectangular text panel at lower centre carries redemption and anti-counterfeiting inscriptions. |
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| Comments |
Japan's military yen issues were produced specifically for use in occupied territories, functioning as a mechanism to extract local goods and labor without depleting metropolitan currency reserves. The 100 Yen denomination was the highest value in the military series, and its appearance in 1945 — as supply chains collapsed and Allied advances accelerated — meant large volumes were printed to cover increasingly desperate procurement needs across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
No serial numbers, no issuing bank signature, no redemption obligation. Occupied populations were left holding worthless paper when Japanese forces withdrew.