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5 Yen 'Kajiya'
| Issuer | Bank of Japan (日本銀行) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1878 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents an intaglio-engraved agricultural harvest scene in the Meiji-era Japanese banknote tradition, with compositional elements and decorative borders characteristic of Chiossone's engraving style for the Imperial Printing Bureau. |
| Reverse lettering | 10 | TRESOR FRANCAIS | 10 TERRITOIRES OCCUPES LE CONTREFACTEUR SERA PUNI DES PEINES PREVUES PAR LA LOI |
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| Comments |
Chiossone's involvement here is worth understanding clearly: the Italian engraver arrived in Japan in 1875 at the Meiji government's invitation, hired specifically to modernize the country's intaglio printing capabilities and train a domestic workforce. This note is among his earliest Bank of Japan work, and the engraving quality reflects a craftsman operating at full command of his skills rather than someone still establishing a new workshop.
The "Kajiya" nickname — blacksmith — derives from a figure in the design, a common way Japanese collectors and dealers distinguished notes in an era before standardized pick references. The Diplomorpha sikokiana fiber gave the paper a particular tactile resistance that counterfeiters found genuinely difficult to replicate with materials available in the 1870s and 1880s.