This article is about Japanese banknotes issued by the Bank of Japan. For older government issued notes, see Meiji Tsuho.
Banknotes of the Japanese yen are the banknotes of Japan, denominated in Japanese yen (¥). These are all released by a centralized bank which was established in 1882, known as the Bank of Japan. The first notes to be printed were released between 1885 and 1887 in denominations of 1 to 100 yen. Throughout their history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen. Banknotes under 1 yen were abolished in 1953, and those under 500 yen were discontinued by 1984. Higher end notes of 1000 yen and more made their appearance in the 1950s. These continue to be issued to the present in ¥1000, ¥2000, ¥5000, and ¥10,000 denominations. The formerly used notes of 1 to 500 yen from 1946 to the 1980s, while discontinued, continue to be valid. These are, however, worth more than their face value on the collector's market.
This section needs expansion with: Information about portraits on Japanese banknotes per the sources given. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023)
Due to the discovery of a large number of counterfeit Series D banknotes at the end of 2004, all Series D banknotes except ¥2000 were virtually suspended on January 17, 2005,[17] and officially suspended on April 2, 2007.[18] According to a news release [19] from the National Police Agency, they seized 11,717 counterfeit Series D banknotes (excluding the ¥2000 denomination) in 2005. However, they seized only 486 counterfeit current issue banknotes, namely Series E ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10,000, and Series D ¥2000.
This is the current issue. The 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19, 2000, to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the 2000 millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a famous gate in Naha, Okinawa near the site of the summit. The other side features a scene from The Tale of Genji and the author Murasaki Shikibu on the lower right corner. The motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. The image of Murasaki Shikibu is taken from the Gotoh edition of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki held at the Gotoh Museum.
Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination whose first digit is 2. To promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation.
^The Japan Financial and Economic Monthly. Liberal news agency. 1910. p. 15. ( July 1910 ) Five yen notes were renewed , and new paper notes appeared on September ist. It is said that the 5 yon notes of the previous form were changed because they had been subject to counterfeit.
^"大正兌換銀行券について". Kosen Kaitori (in Japanese). Retrieved February 16, 2021.
^"丙5円券". Buntetsu (in Japanese). Retrieved February 15, 2021.