Catalog
5 Yen
| Issuer | Bank of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1916 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | At centre-left, a vignette of the Ube Jingu shrine set within an elaborate floral guilloche frame; to the right, a portrait of the legendary statesman Takeuchi Sukune in traditional court attire with a long white beard. The denomination 五圓 appears in large kanji at centre, flanked by ornate scrollwork borders, with serial numbers and block numerals at the corners. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 日本銀行 五圓 兌換券 |
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This note belongs to the Convertible Note series introduced after Japan's return to the gold standard in 1897 following the Sino-Japanese War indemnity. The Bank of Japan used those Chinese silver reparations — roughly 360 million yen — to build its gold reserve and formally peg the yen, giving these notes actual convertibility backing. By 1916, however, Japan was quietly accumulating gold through World War I trade surpluses rather than defending the peg through active redemption, and convertibility was effectively suspended in 1917.
P#35 is among the scarcer denominations in the series to survive in decent condition, partly because the 5 Yen value saw heavy commercial use.