The was a denomination of Japanese yen in twelve different series from 1872 to 1955 for use in commerce. Only those from the "A series", which was issued from 1946 to 1955 are legal tender today.
Government and National Bank Notes
Meiji Tsuho (1872-1879)
The first five yen notes adopted and released by the Japanese government are part of a series known as . These notes were the first Japanese currency ever to be printed using western printing at Dondorf and Naumann, which was located in Frankfurt. Meiji Tsuho notes were designed by Edoardo Chiossone sometime in 1870 while he was working for Dondorf Naumann on behalf of The National Bank in the Kingdom of Italy. The process of making Chiossone's proposed design a reality started with the establishment of the "Imperial Printing Bureau of Japan" in 1871 (4th year of Meiji). In order to produce the currency the Japanese government reached out to Dondorf and Naumann to gain access to Western technology. Chiossone had a falling out with Italian Bank as his relationship with them had hit a breaking point. When the company suggested Chiossone for the role as engraver, he quickly accepted the offer. The production of money was handed over to the Imperial Printing Bureau in January 1872 when banknotes began to arrive from Germany. All of these arrivals were purposely left incomplete due to security reasons, as the words "Meiji Tsuho" and the mark of the Minister of Finance were added by the Imperial Printing Bureau. Woodblock printing was eventually employed to save hundreds of people the work of handwriting the characters "Meiji Tsuho" on each individual note. Five yen notes in particular were released on June 25, 1872 (year 5 of Meiji) measuring 137mm x 89mm in size. These notes feature an elaborate design that was difficult to forge at the time as counterfeiting was previously rampant with clan notes. While the Japanese later produced some Meiji Tsuho notes domestically, the entire production for this denomination was done in Germany.
The elaborate design worked against counterfeiters for an unknown period of time before they found a way around it. Unstamped notes sent to Japan from Germany were legally obtained by these thieves. Normally Japanese officials would add stamps to the notes finalizing the process, where in this case the counterfeiters added their own stamps. Another major issue was the Satsuma Rebellion in February 1877, which helped lead to massive inflation due to the amount of inconvertible notes issued for payment. The Japanese government responded by halting the issuance of government notes in 1879 as a hopeful remedy to the situation. During this time legal tender Meiji Tsuho five yen notes had issues with paper quality, and were circulating with counterfeits. These problems led the Japanese government to issue redesigned five yen banknotes in 1882 to replace the old Meiji Tsuho notes. Additional measures were subsequently put into place which included the establishment of a centralized bank known as the Bank of Japan. All of the remaining Meiji Tsuho notes in circulation that weren't already redeemed were to be retired in favor of either gold coinage or newly printed Bank of Japan notes. This period of exchange lapsed when Meiji Tsuho notes were abolished on December 9, 1899.
National Bank Notes (1873-1880)
The idea for in Japan came from Itō Hirobumi when he was studying the United States in 1871. During this time the Meiji government was working to establish a gold-backed monetary system based on Hirobumi's recommendation. The Japanese government accepted Hirobumi's proposal for national bank notes in 1872 by establishing the "National Bank Act" which organized a decentralized "U.S.-style" system of national banks. Each of these banks was chartered by the state to issue notes exchangeable for gold from reserves held by the banks. Permission was eventually given to these private banks allowing national bank notes to be issued in August 1873. The first bank notes issued are also referred to as . Five yen national bank notes in particular measure 80 mm x 190 mm in size, and are modeled after their counterparts in the United States. The obverse features rice planting, harvesting, and bank seals, while the reverse depicts a distant view of Nihonbashi with Mt. Fuji. These circulated as convertible notes for roughly three years before the rising price of gold became an issue. An amendment to the National Bank Act was adopted in August 1876 making the notes inconvertible. Under this amendment there was no limit on the amount of paper money that could be issued. This action also allowed private banks to redeem national bank notes for government issued inconvertible Meiji Tsuho notes rather than for gold. Negative effects from this amendment in the form of inflation were greatly amplified by the Satsuma Rebellion in February 1877. While the rebellion was quickly resolved, the Japanese government had to print a large amount of fiat notes as payment.
National fiat banknotes are also referred to as as they differ from their older counterparts in place of origin. These notes were produced domestically rather than the more difficult task of outsourcing them to the United States for printing. Five yen fiat notes measure 89mm x 174mm in size, and are commonly known as due to the design. This obverse design depicts blacksmiths along with seals from the corresponding bank of issuance. The reverse side meanwhile features the Japanese god of fishermen and luck (Ebisu). In July 1877 then prime minister Ōkuma Shigenobu realized that keeping Japan on a gold standard was pointless given the low price of silver. The silver one yen coin was thus brought into domestic commerce on May 27, 1878, switching Japan to a de facto silver standard. This did little good for fiat currency as it continued to lose its value against silver coinage. The issuance of national fiat banknotes was ultimately suspended in 1880 by then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi. During this time Matsukata introduced a policy of fiscal restraint that resulted in what has come to be called the "Matsukata Deflation". The most significant of these policies established a centralized banking system through the "Bank of Japan Regulation" on June 27, 1882, by proclamation No. 32. In order to decrease inflation all of the old notes were to be collected and exchanged by notes from the central bank. The first step of this process came with an amendment to the regulation in May 1883, which provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes. As the amount of paper currency in circulation decreased, the amount of silver reserves increased. This drove up the value of paper currency until it was about equal to that of silver coins by the end of 1885. The National Bank Act was amended again in March 1896, providing for the dissolution of the national banks on the expiration of their charters. This amendment also prohibited national bank notes from circulating after December 31, 1899. The ongoing redemption process took additional time as national bank notes were not fully removed from circulation until 1904.
Modified "Jingū" Banknotes (1882-1886)
Previous Meiji Tsūhō five yen notes were printed using western technology which had its disadvantages in terms of quality. Over time these fragile notes became discolored easily due to the climate of Japan. Counterfeiting was another issue as these thieves eventually found a way around the elaborate Meiji Tsūhō design. The Japanese government took action by releasing a new series referred to as . Five yen notes measure 83mm x 146mm in size, and are commonly referred to as because of their design. These notes feature an artist's representation of Empress Jingū that was commissioned by Italian engraver Edoardo Chiossone. This design is notable for being the first portrait on a Japanese banknote, and the only female depicted in the history of Japanese paper currency.. Also present on the obverse are counterfeit penalties which were later expanded in the Meiji era. The reverse side meanwhile features inscriptions from the Ministry of Finance, and displays the Treasurer's seal. These notes are also watermarked which was considered a major feature to aid against counterfeiting. Five yen modified banknotes were released in July 1882 (year 15 of Meiji), and were intended to be exchanged for old Meiji Tsuho notes. During this time inflation hit an all-time high due to the amount of non convertible paper currency in circulation (see section above). Measures were put into place which included the establishment of a centralized bank known as the Bank of Japan in 1882. All of the paper money in circulation was to be retired in favor of either silver coinage or newly printed Bank of Japan notes. Five yen modified banknotes notes were redeemed for silver starting in January 1886 as production decreased for the series. The Japanese government adopted the gold standard on March 26, 1897, which switched over the redemption of government banknotes from silver to gold. Redemption of old silver coins for new gold coins at par began on October 1, 1897, and lasted until its closure on July 31, 1898. Around the same time, a deadline was set in June 1898 to prohibit circulation of government notes by the end of the century. Modified five yen "Jingū" banknotes were abolished by the set deadline on December 31, 1899.
Bank of Japan Notes Daikokuten Notes (1886-1939)
During the early 1880s, then prime minister Matsukata Masayoshi was dealing with a serious inflation problem. The value of inconvertible Government and National Bank Notes was devalued as too many notes were in circulation. In response, Masayoshi suspended the issuance of these notes and established a centralized banking system through the "Bank of Japan Regulation" on June 27, 1882. The Bank of Japan commenced operations on October 10, 1882, with the authority to print banknotes that could be exchanged for the old Government and National Bank Notes. The first step of this process came with an amendment to the regulation in May 1883, which provided the redemption and retirement of national bank notes. No new banknotes could be issued during this time as there was an imbalance between existing coins and notes in regards to silver. Redeeming old paper currency was eventually effective at stabilizing the price of silver alloy. The Japanese government stablished a convertible bank note system by Dajo-kwan Notification No. 18 in May 1884. Concurrently, the amount of old paper currency in circulation decreased allowing the amount of silver reserves to grow. This drove up the value of paper currency until it was about equal to that of silver coins by the end of 1885. There is a disagreement among sources on the exact release date of the first Bank of Japan notes. Older sources give a date somewhere in "May 1885" with one source specifically pointing to May 9, 1885. Japan was eventually placed on a silver standard with laws enacted to issue silver for the notes starting in January 1886. The first five yen notes were issued concurrently or almost concurrently during this time on January 4, 1886 (year 19 of Meiji).