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25 Mon 'Mito Daikokusen'
| Issuer | Mito Domain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Cast |
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| Obverse description | Central square hole flanked by the full-figure effigy of Daikoku, the Shinto deity of wealth and fortune, depicted in a frontal, folk-art style characteristic of Japanese Edo-period cast coinage. The deity is shown smiling broadly, wearing a traditional flat cap, and holding a large mallet (uchide no kozuchi) in his right hand, with a large sack of treasure visible to his left. The design fills the field to the rim with robust, high-relief casting, and decorative cloud or wave motifs appear in the lower register beneath the figure. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 壽 山 比 南 (Translation: Live as long as the South Mountain) |
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| Additional information |
Mito Domain issued this coin in 1864 under extraordinary political pressure — the domain was a hotbed of sonnō jōi ("revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians") radicalism, and its leadership was embroiled in the violent factional struggles that would culminate in the Tenguto Rebellion later that same year. Domain coinage of this period was issued partly to fund those political and military commitments, as the central Tokugawa financial system was increasingly unable to serve the needs of restive han.
The "Daikokusen" name references Daikoku, the deity associated with wealth — an invocation that did little to stabilize confidence in domain-issued currency among a skeptical merchant class.