2 Yen

Japan's earliest modern paper currency was produced abroad almost by necessity — domestic printing infrastructure capable of handling intaglio banknote work simply did not exist in 1872. Dondorf & Naumann in Frankfurt handled the actual production of this note, with Edoardo Chiossone, the Genoese engraver who had been recruited to establish Japan's own printing capability, responsible for both the design and the engraving. Chiossone would later train Japanese craftsmen and oversee the Imperial Printing Bureau, but at this stage the technical knowledge still had to come from Europe.

The National Printing Bureau credit reflects later institutional association, not a second production site.