Catalog
5 Sen
| Issuer | Bank of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1948-1952 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | Black letterpress on yellow-ochre underprint. A vignette of plum blossom branches on a circular guilloche field occupies the right portion of the note. The centre carries the kanji denomination 五錢 in bold characters, with a large numeral underprint beneath. A red circular seal appears at lower left, and the issuer inscription 日本銀行券 and printer credit 印刷局製造 are present. Numerals '5' appear in each corner. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 5 5 11013 日本銀行 日本銀行券 ◯◯ 五 錢 ◯◯ 11013 5 印刷局製造 5 (Translation: Bank of Japan Bank of Japan note Printing Bureau) |
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| Comments |
This note belongs to the postwar Occupation-era issues, printed domestically at a time when Japan's printing infrastructure was being rebuilt under Allied supervision. The National Printing Bureau had survived the war largely intact, which allowed Japan to resume note production without relying on foreign printers — unusual among defeated Axis nations.
The 5 Sen denomination became economically meaningless almost immediately. Inflation during and after the war had so eroded purchasing power that sen-denominated notes were anachronistic by the time this series circulated. Withdrawn and demonetized in 1953 when the sen was officially abolished as a unit.