Catalog
5 Yen red block number
| Issuer | Bank of Japan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1944 |
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| Currency | Yen (1871-date) |
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| Obverse description | Black on light green and purple underprint. A vignette of Kitano Shrine appears at left, accompanied by a portrait of Sugawara no Michizane. Issuer name and denomination inscriptions are arranged in vertical Japanese script across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 券行銀本日 五圓 日本銀行 (Translation: Bank of Japan note Five Yen Bank of Japan) |
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| Comments |
Japan's wartime printing infrastructure was under severe strain by 1944, and this note reflects it. The "red block number" designation distinguishes it from otherwise similar 5 Yen issues of the period by its control numbering style — a practical administrative change rather than a design decision, introduced as the Printing Bureau worked to track output across an increasingly chaotic production schedule.
Paper quality declined markedly across all Bank of Japan issues from 1943 onward as raw material shortages bit into domestic production. Notes from this period are frequently found with uneven ink distribution and inconsistent paper weight — not collector damage, but factory-floor reality.