Banknotes of the Japanese yen

The banknotes of the Japanese yen are part of the physical form of Japan's currency. The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen.

Before World War II

In 1872, the Ministry of Finance introduced notes in denominations between 10 sen and 100 yen. "Imperial Japanese Paper Currency" followed in 1873 in denominations of 1 yen up to 20 yen. "Imperial Japanese Paper Money" was issued between 1881 and 1883 in denominations between 20 sen and 10 yen.

In 1877 and 1878, the Imperial Japanese National Bank issued 1 and 5 yen notes. In 1885, the Bank of Japan began issuing notes, in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 100 yen. 20 yen notes were added in 1917, followed by 200 yen in 1927 and 1000 yen in 1945.

Between 1917 and 1922, the government issued 10, 20 and 50 sen notes. 50 sen notes were reintroduced in 1938. In 1944, 5 and 10 sen notes were introduced by the Bank of Japan.

Allied forces notes

The Allies issued notes in denominations of 10 and 50 sen, 1, 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 yen between 1945 and 1951, during which time the Bank of Japan also issued notes. Banknotes below 1 yen became invalid on December 31, 1953 by the same legislation mentioned above.

Australia actually made notes for the occupation as well and those can be seen at the Australian Reserve Bank website.

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Regaining sovereignty

By the early 1950s, notes below 50 yen had been replaced by coins, followed by those for 50 and 100 yen in the late 1950s. In 1957 and 1958, 5000 and 10,000 yen notes were introduced. The 500 yen notes were replaced after 1982, while 2000 yen notes were introduced in 2000.

1946-48

Series A (1946–48)

Image Value Dimensions Description Date of

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse issue issue suspension expiration

¥0.05 94 × 48 mm Prunus mume blossoms Geometric patterns May 25, 1948 December 31, 1953 December 31, 1953

¥0.1 100 × 52 mm A pigeon The Diet building September 5, 1947

¥1 124 × 68 mm Ninomiya Sontoku Geometric patterns March 19, 1946 October 1, 1958 Valid

¥5 132 × 68 mm Geometric patterns March 5, 1946 April 1, 1955

¥10 140 × 76 mm The Diet building February 25, 1946

¥100 162 × 93 mm Prince Shōtoku, "Yumedono" (A hall associated with Prince Shōtoku in Hōryū-ji Temple) Hōryū-ji Temple February 25, 1946 July 5, 1956

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Early 20 yen gold coin.,

1950-53

Series B (1950–53) 

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse issue issue suspension

¥50 144 × 68 mm Orange Takahashi Korekiyo The old headquarters of Nippon Ginko December 1, 1951 October 1, 1958

¥100 148 × 76 mm Brown-orange Itagaki Taisuke The Diet building December 1, 1953 August 1, 1974

¥500 156 × 76 mm Dark blue Iwakura Tomomi Mt. Fuji April 2, 1951 January 4, 1971

¥1000 164 × 76 mm Grey Prince Shōtoku "Yumedono" January 7, 1950 January 4, 1965

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The series B introduced a new high value banknote ¥1000.

1957-69

Series C (1957–69) 

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse issue issue suspension

¥500 159 × 72 mm Blue Iwakura Tomomi Mt. Fuji November 1, 1969 April 1, 1994

¥1000 164 × 76 mm Yellow-green Itō Hirobumi The old headquarters of Nippon Ginko November 1, 1963 January 4, 1986

¥5000 169 × 80 mm Brown Prince Shōtoku The old headquarters of Nippon Ginko October 1, 1957 January 4, 1986

¥10000 174 × 84 mm Brown-green Prince Shōtoku A pillar painting of Hōō in Byōdōin Temple December 1, 1958 January 4, 1986

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The series C introduced two new high value banknotes ¥5000 and ¥10000.

1984

Series D (1984) 

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse issue issue suspension

 ¥1000 150 × 76 mm Blue Natsume Sōseki Pair of Cranes November 1, 1984 April 2, 2007

 ¥5000 155 × 76 mm Purple Nitobe Inazō Mt. Fuji, Lake Motosuko and Cherry blossoms

 ¥10000 160 × 76 mm Brown Fukuzawa Yukichi Pair of Pheasants

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Due to the discovery of a large number of counterfeit Series D banknotes at the end of 2004, all Series D banknotes except ¥2000 were virtually suspended on January 17, 2005 , and officially suspended on April 2, 2007.  According to a news release  from the National Police Agency, they seized 11,717 counterfeit Series D banknotes (excluding the ¥2000 denomination) in 2005. However, they seized only 486 counterfeit current issue banknotes, namely Series E ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10000, and Series D ¥2000.

2000

Commemorative series D (2000) 

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of issue

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse

¥2000 154 × 76 mm Green Shurei-mon Scene from the Tale of Genji and portrait of Murasaki Shikibu July 19, 2000

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2000 yen note with The Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu on the right corner

This is the current issue. The 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19, 2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a famous gate in Naha, Okinawa near the site of the summit. The other side features a scene from the The Tale of Genji and the author Murasaki Shikibu on the lower right corner. The motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya.

These notes are rare in the market, but at banks they are readily available. Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination in the factor of 2. To promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation.

2004

Series E (2004) 

Image Value Dimensions Main Color Description Date of issue

Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse

¥1000 150 × 76 mm Blue Hideyo Noguchi Mt. Fuji, Lake Motosu and Cherry blossoms November 1, 2004

 ¥5000 156 × 76 mm Purple Ichiyō Higuchi "Kakitsubata-zu" (Painting of Irises, a work by Ogata Korin)

 ¥10000 160 × 76 mm Brown Fukuzawa Yukichi Statue of hōō (phoenix) from Byōdō-in Temple

For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

This is the current issue. The EURion constellation pattern can be observed on the series E.

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(source:wikipedia)