Fuhonsen: Archaeology Before Wado Kaichin

Excavation at Asukaike established that Fuhonsen was manufactured in the later seventh century in a major metalworking complex associated with the court. Molds, crucibles, sprues, unfinished pieces, and files provide direct production evidence. Whether every Fuhonsen functioned as broadly circulating ordinary money remains debated.

富本銭Fuhonsen

Fuhonsen: Archaeology Before Wado Kaichin · primary face — Representative source specimen; not every subtype or variety.National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan / ColBase · CC BY 4.0

Fuhonsen: Archaeology Before Wado Kaichin · other face — Representative source specimen; not every subtype or variety.National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan / ColBase · CC BY 4.0

Date: Later 7th century
Site: Asukaike site
Metal: copper-antimony alloy, with specimen variation
Function: Probable coin; scope debated

Evidence layers

Established, accepted, debated, and speculative

Directly established

Later-seventh-century production at Asukaike, a cast round-square-hole form, the 富本 inscription, and a court-linked metalworking context are directly supported.

Widely accepted

It is widely treated as an early domestically produced coin and is often connected with the copper coin referenced in the 683 Nihon Shoki edict.

Still debated

Its precise issuing framework, circulation geography, ordinary monetary use, and an unqualified claim to be 'Japan's first coin' remain matters for careful wording.

Do not infer

A mint, denomination, fixed weight standard, or ritual-only function must not be assigned to an unidentified specimen without stronger evidence.

Object-specific record

Archaeological status: manufacture archaeologically established
Context: later seventh-century court-linked production complex
Interpretation confidence: high for local manufacture; medium for ordinary circulation
Hole: central square hole
Weight evidence: —
Production evidence: excavated production molds · excavated sprues and casting debris

Relationship to Fuhonsen

Fuhonsen follows early silver evidence but cannot be treated as a simple replacement without stronger circulation evidence.

Relationship to Wadō Kaichin

The 708 issue has firmer documentary issuance evidence. Earlier objects change the language of 'first coin' but do not erase Wado Kaichin's administrative importance.

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

Permanent Exhibition Guide: Ancient Times Currency Museum, Bank of Japan

Early silver, Fuhonsen alloy and chronology, Wado Kaichin, ancient state coinage, and restrained public-facing classifications.

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

Asukaike Site Heritage Record Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Asukaike production complex, Fuhonsen, molds, casting debris, crucibles, files, and court-workshop archaeological context.

Open source

Asukaike Site Research Presentation Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties

Fuhonsen molds, sprues, unfinished pieces, state workshop context, and evidence concerning production technique.

Open source