coin
The art of coinage was borrowed from China by Japan, whose first bronze coins were issued in ad 708. To the mid-10th century, 12 different issues were made, each of a different reign. For the next 600 years, however, no government coins were issued, and grain and cloth were used as money. From the Middle Ages imported Chinese coins began to circulate along with locally minted imitations. In 1624 the copper kwan-ei was first issued and remained in vast variety the usual issue for more than two centuries. The ei-raku and bun-kyū sen of the 19th century were the only other regular copper coins. Unlike China, Japan has had a gold and silver coinage since the 16th century. The gold coins are large flat pieces in the shape of rectangles with rounded corners, the largest size being ōban and the smaller koban. Other gold pieces are the small rectangular pieces of one and two bu issued from time to time; round gold is rare and usually of provincial mints. Silver was originally in the form of stamped bars called long silver; these were supplemented by small lumps, also stamped, called bean silver. They were later augmented ... (200 of 32,716 words)Japan