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7 Monme 5 Fun 'Tenmei Kikin Satsu'
| Issuer | Sendai Domain |
|---|---|
| Year | 1784 |
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| Currency | Mon (700s-1870) |
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| Obverse description | Cream paper ground bearing three hand-applied seals arranged vertically: a large circular red seal at upper left carrying dense kanji script within a decorative border, a smaller oval black seal at upper right, and a large oval green seal at lower centre enclosing the denomination inscription in kaisho-style characters. A single brushstroke kana character appears between the black and green seals. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 降福 孔皆 フ 七匁五分 (Translation: The blessings sent down on us are of every kind. Seven Monme Five Fun) |
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| Comments |
The Tenmei Kikin Satsu — "Tenmei Famine Notes" — were issued by Sendai Domain in direct response to the catastrophic Tenmei famine of 1782–1788, one of the deadliest in Edo-period Japan. Sendai's rice-producing Tōhoku region was among the hardest hit, with crop failures driven by the volcanic cooling following the 1783 Asama eruption. Domain authorities issued these notes as emergency scrip to manage grain distribution and local economic collapse when commodity-backed exchange had effectively broken down.
The 7 monme 5 fun denomination is an unusual fractional unit, specific to this emergency series rather than routine han-satsu issuance.