SAMURAI GOLD: MONEY IN JAPAN IN THE TOKUGAWA PERIOD

PAST EVENT – FREE DISPLAY

Open 20 Aug 2021 – 23 Jan 2022

An oval-shaped gold Japanese coin with black markings on surface

Gold oban or 10-Ryō piece, Tenpō period, Edo (Tokyo) mint, 1838-1860. HCR35737

Gallery 7

Admission was free

Japan relied heavily on imported Chinese money before the Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu launched a national Japanese currency in 1601. The Tokugawa coinage lasted for two centuries until the Meiji restoration.

This free display, of a selection of Japanese money, included some spectacular gold coins, coins of differing shapes and sizes, and unusual paper money. It also highlighted a 19th-century monetary episode in Japan’s history which ultimately contributed to the downfall of the Shogunate.