24 Mon

Morioka Domain, in the Nambu han of northern Honshu, issued scrip denominated in mon — the copper unit of account — as a practical workaround to persistent coin shortages that plagued remote domains throughout the Edo period. These hansatsu notes circulated only within domain boundaries and were theoretically redeemable, though enforcement of that promise varied considerably depending on the domain's finances at the time of issue.

By the 1830s, many domains were under severe fiscal strain. The Tenpō famines hit Tohoku with particular brutality, and Nambu domain was not spared.