50 Sen

Japan's paper currency in the early Meiji period was chronically distrusted by the public, and the government's decision to print its own notes — rather than contract a European firm — was a deliberate nationalist statement. The Okurashō Insatsukyoku had been established in 1871 partly to reduce dependence on foreign printing houses, though early output quality was uneven as the bureau's technicians were still mastering Western intaglio and guilloche techniques.

By 1882, the year this note was issued, Japan was simultaneously establishing the Bank of Japan — founded that October — meaning these government-issued shinheisen notes were already being phased out in favor of a central bank monopoly on issue. Surviving examples in any grade are scarcer than the catalog frequency suggests.