100 Yen

This note belongs to the postwar monetary chaos that immediately followed Japan's August 1945 surrender. The Allied occupation authorities initially allowed the Bank of Japan to continue issuing currency, partly to maintain economic stability, but the existing printing infrastructure was severely strained — wartime paper shortages and bomb damage to production facilities meant quality control across the 1946 series was inconsistent, and the watermarks on surviving examples vary noticeably in clarity and placement.

The Dodge Line reforms of 1949 and subsequent currency consolidation rendered most of this series redundant within a few years of issue. Circulation was heavy and brief.