Catalog
RyoGold
| Issuer | Daijo-kan (Grand Council of State) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1868 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | The obverse bears a large bold brushwork vignette of the kanji character 両 (Ryo), rendered in a traditional calligraphic style against a plain ground. The character occupies the entirety of the face, serving as both the denomination indicator and the principal design element. The note is vertically oriented in the manner typical of Meiji-era Japanese currency. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 両 |
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| Comments |
The Daijo-kan notes of 1868 were among the first paper currency instruments issued by the new Meiji government, printed almost immediately after the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate. The timing was not coincidental — the new administration urgently needed a circulating medium it controlled, having inherited a monetary system fragmented by clan-issued hansatsu and debased coinage.
Mulberry paper, the traditional substrate for Japanese paper money going back centuries, was specified partly by convention and partly because domestic supply was reliable. The single official seal as the primary security measure reflects how rudimentary anti-counterfeiting infrastructure was in that first revolutionary year.