Before 708

Early Money and Coin-Like Objects in Japan

Before the court's documented 708 coin issue, value could be expressed or transferred through commodities, weighed metal, imported models, and locally made objects whose precise function is still debated. Classification follows the strength of evidence rather than forcing every object into one modern coin category.

日本の初期貨幣

AExact primary face unavailable BExact other face unavailable

Boundary: Before the 708 court issue
Classes: 4
Core rule: Function follows evidence
Status: Review required

Coin, coin-like object, and monetary metal are not synonyms

Shape alone does not prove ordinary circulation. Archaeological context, weight adjustment, inscription, production evidence, and documentary references must be evaluated together.

Controlled classification

What the evidence permits us to call each object

commodity money

Rice, silk, and cloth as stores and measures of value

米・絹・布の貨幣的利用

Form: commodity
Metal: —
Inscription: not applicable
Interpretation: high for monetary use in relevant periods; context-specific

value measure, payment medium, and stored obligation depending on time and context

weighed metal

Early weighed silver

初期の秤量銀

Form: metal by weight
Metal: silver
Inscription: not necessarily inscribed
Interpretation: medium; do not equate every silver fragment with money

transfer of silver value by weight

coin-like monetary object

Mumon Ginsen

無文銀銭

Form: small round silver plate with a central perforation and possible weight-adjustment patches
Metal: silver
Inscription: uninscribed
Interpretation: medium; monetary role probable, full use debated

probable silver money or weight-adjusted monetary metal

probable state-issued coin

Fuhonsen

富本銭

Form: round cast coin with central square hole
Metal: copper-antimony alloy, with specimen variation
Inscription: inscribed 富本 with seven star-like marks
Interpretation: high for manufacture and date horizon; medium for monetary scope

probable state-produced coin; circulation scope disputed

Chinese and Korean influence

Imported institutions, forms, and techniques shaped early Japanese monetary experiments. Influence does not make a locally produced object a Chinese coin, nor does it prove identical circulation.

State formation

Early money belongs to the growth of court administration and specialized production, but each link between object and state action needs its own evidence.

Evidence

Sources and scope

These links support the claims on this page. Source authority does not imply permission to republish source images.

History of Japanese Currency Currency Museum, Bank of Japan

Fuhonsen and Mumon Ginsen context, the 708 issue of Wado Kaichin, state monetary policy, quality decline, the 958 final issue, and the return to commodity money.

Open source

Wado Kaichin and Ancient Coinage Exhibition Catalogue, Pages 1–5 Currency Museum, Bank of Japan

Mumon Ginsen, Fuhonsen, Wado Kaichin, Mannen Tsuho, Jingu Kaiho, documentary issue dates, circulation policy, and reading evidence.

Open source

Research on the Beginning of Coinage in Japan Institute for Monetary and Economic Studies, Bank of Japan

Historiography and competing interpretations concerning Mumon Ginsen, Fuhonsen, Wado Kaichin, and the designation of Japan's first coin.

Open source

Asuka and Fujiwara Palace Sites: Early Money and Fuhonsen Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Weight-adjusted Mumon Ginsen interpretation and detailed archaeological production evidence for Fuhonsen.

Open source