Wadōkaichin Explained

, also romanized as Wadō-kaichin or called Wadō-kaihō, is the oldest official Japanese coinage, first mentioned for 29 August 708^[1] on order of Empress Genmei.^{[2] [3] [4]} It was long considered to be the first type of coin produced in Japan. Analyses of several findings of Fuhon-sen (富夲銭) in Asuka^[5] have shown that those coins were manufactured from 683.

Description

The wadōkaichin was first produced following the discovery of large copper deposits in Japan during the early 8th century.^[6]

The coins, which are round with a square hole in the center, remained in circulation until 958 CE.^[7] These were the first of a series of coins collectively called jūnizeni or .^[8]

This coinage was inspired by the Chinese Tang dynasty coinage (唐銭) named Kaigen Tsūhō (Chinese: 開元通宝, Kāiyuán tōngbǎo), first minted in Chang'an in 621 CE. The wadōkaichin had the same specifications as the Chinese coin, with a diameter of 2.4 cm and a weight of 3.75 g.^[9]

Etymology

The name wadōkaichin comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the four characters in the coin's inscription: .

• The first two characters literally mean + . This was likely chosen as a fortuitous homophone for the era name : the is also used to mean "Japan", and may also be a ryakuji or abbreviated character for or "copper", in reference to the Japanese copper deposits.^{[10] [11]}
• The third character literally means "opening; to open", with an additional sense of "start; first".^[11]
• The fourth character is unusual. It is considered to be either a variant form of meaning "rare, precious", or a ryakuji or abbreviated character for meaning "treasure, something precious".^{[10] [11] [12] [13]} This difference in interpretation gives rise to the alternative name for the coins, wadōkaihō. Based in part on further research into writing conventions during the Nara period,^[10] the broad consensus in modern research appears to be the interpretation.^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}

→ Together, the third and fourth characters likely mean "first currency".

Hoards of Wadōkaichin cash coins

In February 2015 Japanese archeologists discovered ritual jars filled with wadōkaichin and cash coins at the Tehara ruins in Rittō, Shiga Prefecture.September 2021. The jars were placed there as a part of a Buddhist ritual, which indicates that the site was likely a government office or the resident of an important local.September 2021.

On August 17, 2015 four wadōkaichin cache coins were discovered at the East Pagoda of Yakushi-ji, Nara during a restoration.^[6] The wadōkaichin were located 1.3 meters east of a foundation rock at the bottom of the 1.7 meter-deep base of the East Pagoda of the temple.^[6] Experts from the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and the Nara Prefectural Archeological Institute of Kashihara believe that the wadōkaichin were buried at the East Pagoda during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Buddhist temple and that these cache coins were used for purification purposes.^[6] According to the experts, this discovery at the Yakushi-ji is the oldest known example of the ancient Japanese practice of burying a cache of widely-circulated coins to purify a construction site anywhere in Japan.^[6]

See also

• Ryō (Japanese coin)
• Japanese mon (currency)
• Wadō (era)
• Economy of Japan

References

• Brown, Delmer M. and Ichirō Ishida, eds. (1979). Gukanshō: The Future and the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press. ; OCLC 251325323
• Ponsonby-Fane, Richard. (1959). The Imperial House of Japan. Kyoto: Ponsonby Memorial Society. OCLC 194887
• Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric and Käthe Roth. (2005). Japan encyclopedia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ; OCLC 58053128
• Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). Annales des empereurs du Japon (Nihon Odai Ichiran). Paris: Royal Asiatic Society, Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland. OCLC 5850691
• Varley, H. Paul. (1980). A Chronicle of Gods and Sovereigns: Jinnō Shōtōki of Kitabatake Chikafusa. New York: Columbia University Press. ; OCLC 6042764

External links

• Wado Kaichin from Japan Mint Museum

Notes and References

1. On the 10th day of the 8th month of the first year of the Wadō era in the traditional Japanese date, according to Shoku Nihongi
2. .
3. Brown, Delmer et al. (1979). Gukanshō, p. 271,
4. Varley, H. Paul. (1980). Jinnō Shōtōki. p. 140.
5. 花谷浩; 飛鳥池工房の発掘調査成果とその意義; 日本考古学, 1999/10/09, Vol. 6 (8), pp. 117–126
6. Web site: Four Wadokaichin Coins Discovered Under East Pagoda of Yakushi-ji Temple.. 26 August 2015. 6 April 2020. Gary Ashkenazy / גארי אשכנזי (Primaltrek – a journey through Chinese culture). en.

7. n.b., .

8. Nussbaum, p. 539.
9. [Japan Currency Museum]
10. 2007, (in Japanese), Britannica Japan Co., entry available online here
11. 1988, Japanese: 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, entry available online here
12. 2006, Japanese: 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō,
13. 1995, Japanese: 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan,, entry available online here