As you know, money is everything. And the bad is the state in which there are financial problems. That is why, as soon as Ieyasu Tokugawa became a shogun and gained full power in Japan, he immediately began to solve "money issues". This was all the more important, since the monetary system of the then Japan was of such a peculiar character that it should definitely be told about it.
"He does not need gold, since he has a simple product." All this, of course, is true, but how can one live without trade? Tokugawa era Japanese shop.
Like many other rulers, the Tokugawa clan asserted its exclusive right to issue all kinds of coins, as well as full control over the circulation of money in its own state. Then the newly minted monetary system of Japan (as well as other states) specialized in the three most popular metals used in the production of coins - gold, silver and copper. But on the other hand, the so-called "private money" remained in use in Japan, representing a very motley mass of banknotes issued by provincial princes - daimyo, of which there were about three hundred. Private money later turned from metal to paper …
Already in 1601, five types of coins were issued, which became known as keich and which were in circulation until the middle of the 19th century.
The basis of the Tokugawa monetary system was such a weight unit as ryo (15 g = 1 ryo). Gold coins circulated in the country strictly at face value, but silver money, in which there was about 80% silver, was in circulation by weight. Silver coins were produced in two types - they were coins either in the shape of an elongated oval, or in the shape of a kind of flat bean. 1 momme was taken as a unit of weight (1 momme = 3.75 g). Copper coins waited for their hour only in 1636. They were issued in denominations of 1, 4 and 100 mon. Their size was from 24 to 49 mm, their weight was from 3.75 to 20.6 g.
Coban 1714 on the left and 1716 on the right.
Later, all types of coins that were minted by the Tokugawa clan were just a variety of the very first ones. The difference between them was only in the size and purity of the metal. The money was named after the era in which it was made.
The Tokugawa clan put all the mines in the state, as well as the reserves of metals, under the control of special organizations called kinza (meaning "gold workshop") and ginza ("silver workshop"). At the same time, mints were created everywhere. But copper under contracts with the authorities in Japan could be minted … by the merchants themselves!
Since 1608, the next stage in the development of the Japanese monetary system begins: a new official exchange rate is introduced, brought in line with new standards, according to which 1 ryo of gold corresponded to 50 momme of silver, and 1 momme of silver to 4 kammon (1 kammon = 3.75 kg) copper coins or coins made from other metals.
Obviously, it was very difficult for the shoguns to put the country's monetary system in order. One of the reasons for this was the very long circulation of coins of local princes, which took place until the end of the 17th century. And their real exchange rate was established by the market for a long time according to the content of the precious metal in them.
For example, an oban in denomination of 10 ryos at the market price was 7.5 ryos of gold. A little later, a 100-mont copper coin was on the market equivalent to five 1-mont coins. A significant share of the blame in this situation lay with the counterfeiters, who flooded the country with countless copper coins of the largest denomination.
Gold and silver coins were in different demand. For example, in the former capital of Japan, Edo (now Tokyo), citizens preferred gold coins. They were accepted at face value, while in the more developed western part of the state (this is Osaka and other cities), silver was in demand, which was estimated exclusively by weight. And only at the end of the 17th century. and gold, and silver, and copper coins received equal circulation in the country.
Very large sums of money were called tsutsumikingin and were small bundles with gold or silver coins inside for a certain amount. The coins were carefully wrapped in special handmade washi paper and sealed with the personal stamp of the person who collected the bundle. For example, the “dimensions” of a bundle with a sum of money of 50 ryos were 6 × 3, 2 × 3, 3 cm. Trial bundles were published “in the light” in the 17th century. solely for rewards or for use as gifts. The know-how was soon noticed, appreciated and applied in a commercial environment. Both gold and silver packages were issued by several clans, especially close to the ruling elite. Their authority was so high that tsutsumi with a personalized seal, used during transactions, were never opened and no one counted the coins in them. No one could even imagine that the coins in them could be counterfeit, or heterogeneous, or there would be a shortage of money. Then came the matitsutsumi (or urban convolutions) of small dignity. And the circulation of the tsutsumikingin in Japan ended only in 1874, when the state finally switched to monetary circulation of the modern type.
In the same year 1600, Japan began issuing paper money called yamadahagaki. The ministers of the ancient Shinto shrine in Ise in Yamada Province (Mie Prefecture) were engaged in the issue of banknotes, therefore they were also called "God's money." The banknotes were printed, firstly, in order to protect finances from the fall in the value of metal coins due to their wear out, and secondly, it is corny to get rid of the inconveniences that invariably arise when there are too many coins in the pocket and it is difficult to carry them.
The Yamadahagaki were easily exchanged for silver coins. There are known paper money in denominations of 1 momme, 5, 3 and 2 pounds. Subsequently, when the Japanese authorities banned the circulation of any other money, except for those that it itself issued, only the Yamadahagaki received the Edo approval for circulation in the Ise-Yamada province.
Yamadahagaki were in great demand by the Japanese, because they had high reliability and had a similar coin reserve. Beginning in the 18th century, old banknotes were exchanged for new ones every seven years. Such measures protected banknotes from counterfeiting and, moreover, restrained the release of excessive amounts of money into circulation. The Yamadahagaki ceased their circulation in 1871.
A variety of banknotes that were in no less demand in Japan were hansatsu (from the word khan - clan). They were issued by local daimyo feudal lords and were in circulation only in the territory controlled by their issuer. Hansatsu 1600, 1666 and 1868
The hansatsu seal was controlled by the Edo government. The government guaranteed the issue of hansatsu and determined the limits of the volume of issue of banknotes. The printing was carried out by merchant guilds, which received special permission and operated under the strict control of the authorities.
Some princes were in principle against the circulation of coins in their lands. This allowed them to exchange hansatsu for coins at their own discretion and for their own benefit, and to print extra bills not backed by metal coins. The release of their paper money helped the daimyo very much to eliminate the consequences of the raging elements, and in particular, to cover the losses from the ruined rice harvest.
Having realized what the benefit would be from this, some daimyo began to control all types of trade transactions between their estates and neighbors. Well, paper banknotes were in use for a simple reason: a guarantee of conversion with a hard-earned coin received for trade in other territories of the country. Individual princes exchanged their hansatsu for coins and consumer goods. For example, in the province of Mino, which produced exclusively umbrellas, the so-called kasa-satsu or umbrella bills were in use.
Caches for gold money in the Tokugawa era: from top to bottom - a cache in a wakizashi sheath; hiding place for golden cobans in tanto scabbards; a stash in a keychain with a cheap coin to divert your eyes; a cache inside a guard-tsuba, made for this from two halves.
In 1707, the Tokugawa government vetoed the issue of hansatsu. Thus, the ruling elite tried to activate the circulation of coins issued on the eve of the ban. The ban of the Tokugawa clan was held for 23 years, then it was canceled. The reason was another surplus of coins, as well as the abolition of the natural rice tax. At the same time, in order to regulate rice prices, the authorities in Osaka established a grain exchange. Later, the area of hansatsu's use has steadily increased. However, in the 19th century, with the fall of the shogunate, the hansatsu fell into oblivion.
Paper money, which, as you know, had certain restrictions in circulation, was issued by all and sundry: the imperial aristocracy, and the clergy, and merchants, and mines, and even hotel towns on the trade roads. They were issued as needed and compensated for the lack of more reliable money printed by the shogun and daimyo. For example, temples printed jisisatsu to "sponsor" construction work. The significance of banknotes was determined by the status of the temple among the local population. The nobility of the imperial court produced kugesatsu in Kyoto, for which it was possible to purchase goods exclusively on their territory. The main trade routes did not stand aside and also began to issue their own money, called shukubasatsu. They paid only for the provision of road services. The “currency” of individual settlements was called chsonsatsu, and aseninsatsu were printed and used by merchants exclusively for personal needs.
This Tokugawa-era cuirass has an unusual door, behind which, most likely, was a container for money.
By the 19th century, 1694 types of money were in use in the country, and from the 16th century all kinds of bills were added to them. Alas, Japan has not passed the cup of those vices in which every state inevitably fell: financial waste, currency speculation, and the like. In addition, the country badly needed metal for minting coins, which was sorely lacking. All this together was a consequence of the very slow and gradual entry of Japan into the world monetary system. But that's a completely different story …
