2 Mon 'Genpōtsūhō' Regular Script

The Genpō tsūhō 2-mon pieces struck at Nagasaki occupy a peculiar position in Edo-period monetary history. Nagasaki was Japan's sole sanctioned gateway for foreign trade under the sakoku restrictions, and the city held unusual administrative latitude — enough to authorize its own copper coinage while most of Japan remained dependent on coins cast under Tokugawa central authority. These pieces circulated primarily within the port economy, greasing transactions between merchants, interpreters, and the tightly controlled Dutch and Chinese trading communities confined to Dejima and the Tang'nin yashiki.

The eight-year production window ended not by decree but by absorption into the broader Kanei tsūhō supply network.