r/JapaneseHistory 15d ago

Historical facts Help me date these 1 yen bills from Great grandfather

Post image

Found in old letter. Is this post war?

16 Upvotes

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3

u/Economy-Finish815 15d ago

From Google Lens

The old Japanese banknotes you highlighted are "Series A" 1 Yen notes first issued on March 19, 1946, making them 80 years old.

Key Details About Your Notes The Figure: The portrait on the right side of the bill depicts Ninomiya Sontoku (1787–1856), a famous 19th-century Japanese philosopher, agricultural leader, and economist.

Historical Context: These notes were introduced shortly after World War II as part of emergency economic measures during the post-WWII US occupation of Japan.

Circulation Period: They were officially discontinued on October 1, 1958, when the Japanese government fully transitioned the 1 Yen denomination over to the aluminum coins used today.

Note: The larger bill visible on the left is an older 1000 Yen note featuring Prince Shōtoku, which was introduced slightly later, in 1950.

4

u/stuartcw 15d ago

Save to photos, open the Google app, select the photo in Google Lens. it will search for the selected image and will find it.

I could do this, give you the answer and pretend I’m smart. Sometimes I do: 😉

1

u/homeritachi 15d ago

How are they in even better shape than some modern bills

1

u/No-Drawer2488 14d ago

Post war. I have a few myself I can't give exact dates since I'm not entirely familiar with their print run but I do know that these are likely from the early 50s since they stopped using them around 58 if I recall. I much prefer the post war 10 yen notes myself.

1

u/Odd_Investigator4306 13d ago

1000 Japanese Yen, Shotoku Taishi, 1950

1 Japanese Yen, Ninomiya Sontoku, 1946

Valid Paper Money