Fighting Deflation in 18th-Century Japan

choi

Matthew Dalton, Fighting Deflation in 18th-Century Japan. Japan Real Time, Oct 13, 2012.
http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealti ... 18th-century-japan/

Note:
(a) Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan  貨幣博物館
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency_Museum_of_the_Bank_of_Japan
(b) The blog mentions "one of Tokyo’s most scintillating sites."
(i) scintillating (adj): "brilliantly lively, stimulating, or witty <a scintillating conversation>"
(ii) scintillate (vi; Latin scintillatus, past participle of scintillare to sparkle, from scintilla spark):
"1: to emit sparks : SPARK
2: to emit quick flashes as if throwing off sparks : Sparkle <stars scintillate in the sky>"
www.m-w.com
(c) ARAI Hakuseki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arai_Hakuseki
(新井 白石; 1657 – 1725)
(d) OGYŪ Sorai  荻生 徂徠
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogy%C5%AB_Sorai
(1666-1728)
(e) The blog said, "The year was 1714. Arai Hakuseki, a Confucian scholar who was perhaps Japan’s first monetary policy hawk, had been handed control of the currency after the previous Shogun had gone wild debasing gold and silver coins, called Genbun, to fund the government’s budget deficit."
The part "called Genbun" is wrong.  See the last item of this posting.
(f) An introduction (please read to get a general idea):
Tokugawa coinage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokugawa_coinage
(1601-1687)
Quote:
"The establishment of Tokugawa coinage followed a period in which Japan was dependent on Chinese bronze coins for its currency.
"Initially, the coinage was used essentially for export purposes in order to pay for imports of luxury goods from China, such as silk. As gold and silver were in short supply, and also because the government was running a deficit, the content of gold in coins was decreased on two occasions, in 1695 and 1706-1711, in order to generate more revenues from seigneurage, but with the effect of generating inflation.
(g) TOKUGAWA Ieyasu 徳川 家康 (1543-1616) founded Tokugawa Shogunate 徳川幕府 (based in Edo, now Tokyo; 1600-1868).
(h) For discussion on Japanese coins and their reforms in the first half of the eighteenth century, go directly to the Museum itself
The History of Japanese currency
http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english/
(a tag in the right column of the Museum's home page)
, starting with Ieyasu's coins.
http://www.imes.boj.or.jp/cm/english/history/16C/
(i) Under the heading "17th Century; Unification of gold, silver and copper coins":
(A) Paragraph 1: "Tokugawa Ieyasu placed the mines under his direct control and promoted the improvement of the mintage technology for the establishment of gold and silver mints known as 'kobanza' and 'ginza.' In 1601, he issued Keicho gold and silver coins minted in standardized types, fineness and shapes. Regarding copper coins, although those circulated before the Edo period had been used for some time, Kan’ei Tsuho was minted in 1636 to ensure a stable supply. Initially, the Tokugawa Shogunate government commissioned the mintage of these coins to copper mints ("zeniza") across the country with fixed-term licenses."
* kobanza  小判座
* ginza  銀座
* Keichō
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keich%C5%8D
(慶長 (年号); 1596–1615; shared by two emperors).
Ieyasu is a shōgun 将軍; he did not have 年号.
* Kan’ei Tsuho  寛永 通寳
* Kan'ei
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kan%27ei
(寛永 (年号); 1624-1643; shared by three emperors)
* zeniza 銭座
* zeni  銭 【ぜに】 (n): "(1) (col) round coin with a (square) hole in the center; (2) coin made of non-precious materials; (3) money"
Jim Breen's online Japanese dictionary
* Ōban
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%8Cban
(The Ōban (大判) was equivalent to ten Ryōs, or ten Koban (小判) plates, with a weight of 165 g)
* koban (coin)  小判
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koban_(coin)
("contained about one ryō of gold, so that koban carried a face value of one ryō 両 [English word for the same Chinese unit of measurement is 'tael'--from Malay]. However, successive mintings of the koban had varying (usually diminishing) amounts of gold. As a result, the ryō as a unit of weight of gold and the ryō as the face value of the koban were no longer synonymous")

(B) Paragraph 2: "The Tokugawa Shogunate government issued gold, silver and copper coins as forms of currency that held independent value. Gold coins (Koban, Ichibu-kin, etc.) were issued as currencies with denomination, while silver coins (Cho-gin, Mameita-gin, etc.) were issued as currencies by weight."
* Ichibu-kin 壱分 (or 一分)  金
* Ichibuban  一分判
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichibuban
(The Ichibuban could be either made of silver or gold, in which case it was a quarter of a Koban)
* Cho-gin  丁銀
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%81%E9%8A%80
(丁銀という名称は『金銀図録』の記述によれば棒状の銀塊の意味である鋌銀（ちょうぎん）が挺銀（ちょうぎん）を経て変化したものとされる)
translation: The name 丁銀, according to 金銀図録, meant 棒状の銀塊, corrupted from 鋌銀 or 挺銀.
* Mameita-gin  豆板銀 (The "mame" and "ita" are Japanese pronunciation for 豆 and 板, respectively)
豆板銀
http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B1%86%E6%9D%BF%E9%8A%80
(小粒銀（こつぶぎん）、小玉銀（こだまぎん）とも呼ばれる; 形状は小粒の銀塊で、重量は不定だが1匁（約3.75グラム）から10匁（37.5グラム）程度の秤量銀貨)
translation: also called 小粒銀 or 小玉銀; shaped in small pieces of silver, with various weights ranging from 3.75 to 37.5 grams.

(ii) Under the heading "From the end of 17th century to the first half of the 18th century; Genroku and Hoei recoinages"
* Genroku
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genroku
(元禄 (年号); 1688-1704; The reigning emperor was Higashiyama-tennō 東山天皇)
* Hōei
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hōei
(宝永 (年号); 1704-1711; shared by two emperors: 東山天皇 and Nakamikado-tennō 中御門天皇)
(iii) Under the heading "Middle of the 18th century; Genbun recoinage." whose paragraph 1 states:

"The Tokugawa Shogunate government conducted yet another recoinage (Genbun recoinage 元文改鋳; debasement of gold and silver coins) in 1736 to deal with a drop in rice prices caused by the Shotoku and Kyoho recoinages through increasing the circulation of gold and silver coins. This resulted in improvement in the economic condition. The Genbun Koban gold coins continued to be circulated stably for the next 80 years."

Genbun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genbun
(元文 (年号); 1736-1741; The reigning emperor was Sakuramachi-tennō 桜町 天皇)