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100 Yen Prince Shōtoku Type III
| Issuer | Bank of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1945 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Half-left facing bust vignette of Prince Shōtoku at center, set within an intricate guilloche frame in dark gray or black. A red overprint stamp appears on both the left and right sides of the note. The background carries a light green underprint across the field. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Issued in the closing year of the Pacific War, this note entered circulation as Japan's industrial and financial infrastructure was collapsing under Allied bombing. The Cabinet Printing Bureau itself sustained damage during raids on Tokyo, which directly affected output quality and consistency across the Type III run — paper composition and ink density vary noticeably between surviving examples, a known production irregularity rather than a collector anomaly.
The Type III designation distinguishes this from earlier Shōtoku 100 Yen issues through minor typographic and watermark differences, changes driven by wartime material substitutions rather than any redesign intent. Within two years of issue, the hyperinflationary spiral that followed Japan's surrender rendered the 100 Yen denomination nearly worthless in practical terms.