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1 Monme
| Issuer | Ashimori Domain (Japanese feudal domains) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1730 |
| Type | Local banknote |
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| Obverse description | Vertically oriented note printed in black letterpress with red overstamp, divided into two registers. The upper register presents a full-length frontal vignette of Daikokuten seated atop two rice bales, clutching a treasure bag with both hands, with Nyoi-Hōju sacred jewels rendered in the background, flanked by vertical cartouches carrying the issue text. The lower register bears vertical inscriptions within a dragon-flanked border, with a circular official seal applied in green and red to the centre. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Vertically oriented note in black letterpress with red overstamps, structured in three registers. The upper register carries a decorative motif above which a red official seal is impressed; the central field presents vertical inscriptions set within a cartouche and flanked on either side by repeated Chōji clove ornamental devices. The lower register contains additional vertical text in a formal classical script. |
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| Comments |
Ashimori was among the smallest domains in Tokugawa Japan — a mere 10,000-koku holding in Bitchū Province — yet like hundreds of other han it issued its own paper currency for local circulation. These domain notes, known as hansatsu, were a practical solution to the chronic shortage of metallic coinage in rural economies, but they also carried an inherent risk: the notes were only redeemable within the issuing domain's borders, worthless the moment you crossed into the next han.
The monme denomination places this firmly within a silver-weight accounting system, even though no actual silver necessarily changed hands. Ashimori hansatsu from this period are rarely encountered outside Japanese specialist collections.