Banknotes of the Japanese yen

A series D 1000 yen note, featuring the portrait of Natsume Sōseki. It has been replaced by the series E 1000 yen note since November 1, 2004.

The banknotes of the Japanese yen are part of the physical form of Japan's currency. The issuance of the yen banknotes began in 1872, two years after the currency was introduced. Throughout its history, the denominations have ranged from 0.05 yen to 10,000 yen.

Before World War II

In 1869, the Ministry of Finance introduced notes in denominations between 10 sen and 100 yen. "Imperial Japanese Paper Currency" followed in 1873 in denominations of 1 yen up to 20 yen. "Imperial Japanese Paper Money" was issued between 1881 and 1883 in denominations between 20 sen and 10 yen.

In 1877 and 1878, the Imperial Japanese National Bank issued 1 and 5 yen notes. In 1885, the Bank of Japan began issuing notes, in denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 100 yen. 20 yen notes were added in 1917, followed by 200 yen in 1927 and 1000 yen in 1945.

Between 1917 and 1922, the government issued 10, 20 and 50 sen notes. 50 sen notes were reintroduced in 1938. In 1944, 5 and 10 sen notes were introduced by the Bank of Japan.

Allied forces notes

The Allies issued notes in denominations of 10 and 50 sen, 1, 5, 10, 20, 100 and 1000 yen between 1945 and 1951, during which time the Bank of Japan also issued notes. Banknotes below 1 yen became invalid on December 31, 1953 by the same legislation mentioned above.

Australia actually made notes for the occupation as well and those can be seen at the Australian Reserve Bank website

Regaining sovereignty

By the early 1950s, notes below 50 yen had been replaced by coins, followed by those for 50 and 100 yen in the late 1950s. In 1957 and 1958, 5000 and 10,000 yen notes were introduced. The 500 yen notes were replaced after 1982, while 2000 yen notes were introduced in 2000.

1946-48

Series A (1946–48)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse			Obverse	Reverse	issue	issue suspension	expiration
66px	66px	¥0.05	94 × 48 mm	Prunus mume blossoms	Geometric patterns	May 25, 1948	December 31, 1953	June 30, 1954
70px	70px	¥0.1	100 × 52 mm	Pigeons	The Diet building	September 5, 1947
87px	87px	¥1	124 × 68 mm	Ninomiya Sontoku	Geometric patterns	March 19, 1946	October 1, 1958	Valid
92px	92px	¥5	132 × 68 mm	Geometric patterns		March 5, 1946	April 1, 1955
98px	98px	¥10	140 × 76 mm	The Diet building		February 25, 1946
113px	113px	¥100	162 × 93 mm	Prince Shōtoku, "Yumedono" (A hall associated with Prince Shōtoku in Hōryū-ji Temple)	Hōryū-ji Temple	February 25, 1946	July 5, 1956
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

1950-53

Series B (1950–53)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	issue suspension
101px	101px	¥50	144 × 68 mm	Orange	Takahashi Korekiyo	The headquarters of the Bank of Japan	December 1, 1951	October 1, 1958
	104px	¥100	148 × 76 mm	Brown-orange	Itagaki Taisuke	The Diet building	December 1, 1953	August 1, 1974
109px	109px	¥500	156 × 76 mm	Dark blue	Iwakura Tomomi	Mt. Fuji	April 2, 1951	January 4, 1971
	115px	¥1000	164 × 76 mm	Grey	Prince Shōtoku	"Yumedono"	January 7, 1950	January 4, 1965
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The series B introduced a new high value banknote ¥1000.

1957-69

Series C (1957–69)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	issue suspension
111px	111px	¥500	159 × 72 mm	Blue	Iwakura Tomomi	Mt. Fuji	November 1, 1969	April 1, 1994
	115px	¥1000	164 × 76 mm	Yellow-green	Itō Hirobumi	The headquarters of the Bank of Japan	November 1, 1963	January 4, 1986
118px	118px	¥5000	169 × 80 mm	Green-brown	Prince Shōtoku	The headquarters of the Bank of Japan	October 1, 1957	January 4, 1986
	122px	¥10000	174 × 84 mm	Brown-green	Prince Shōtoku	A pillar painting of Hōō in Byōdō-in Temple	December 1, 1958	January 4, 1986
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The series C introduced two new high value banknotes ¥5000 and ¥10000.

1984

Series D (1984)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	issue suspension
105px	105px	¥1000	150 × 76 mm	Blue	Natsume Sōseki	Pair of cranes	November 1, 1984	April 2, 2007
109px	109px	¥5000	155 × 76 mm	Purple	Nitobe Inazō	Mt. Fuji, Lake Motosu and cherry blossoms
112px	112px	¥10000	160 × 76 mm	Brown	Fukuzawa Yukichi	Pair of pheasants
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Due to the discovery of a large number of counterfeit Series D banknotes at the end of 2004, all Series D banknotes except ¥2000 were virtually suspended on January 17, 2005, and officially suspended on April 2, 2007. According to a news release from the National Police Agency, they seized 11,717 counterfeit Series D banknotes (excluding the ¥2000 denomination) in 2005. However, they seized only 486 counterfeit current issue banknotes, namely Series E ¥1000, ¥5000, ¥10000, and Series D ¥2000.

2000

Commemorative series D (2000)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		¥2000	154 × 76 mm	Green	Shurei-mon	Scene from the Tale of Genji and portrait of Murasaki Shikibu	July 19, 2000
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

2000 yen note with The Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu on the right corner

This is the current issue. The 2000 yen note was first issued on July 19, 2000 to commemorate the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa and the 2000 millennium year as well. Pictured on the front of the note is Shureimon, a famous gate in Naha, Okinawa near the site of the summit. The other side features a scene from the The Tale of Genji and the author Murasaki Shikibu on the lower right corner. The motif of the scene was taken from the 12th century illuminated handscrolls of the novel kept at the Tokugawa Art Museum in Nagoya. The image of Murasaki Shikibu is taken from the Gotoh edition of the Murasaki Shikibu Diary Emaki held at the Gotoh Museum.

These notes are rare in the market, but at banks they are readily available. Many Japanese consider the 2000 yen note a novelty as it is the only Japanese denomination whose first digit is 2. To promote the circulation of the notes, some companies had started paying wages in them. The series D is the first to display the EURion constellation.

2004

Series E (2004)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse
		¥1000	150 × 76 mm	Blue	Noguchi Hideyo	Mt. Fuji, Lake Motosu and cherry blossoms	November 1, 2004
110px	110px	¥5000	156 × 76 mm	Purple	Higuchi Ichiyō	"Kakitsubata-zu" (Painting of irises, a work by Ogata Kōrin)
112px	112px	¥10000	160 × 76 mm	Brown	Fukuzawa Yukichi	Statue of hōō (phoenix) from Byōdō-in Temple
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

This is the current issue. The EURion constellation pattern can be observed on the series E.

External links

• List of banknotes valid in Japan
• Currency Museum of the Bank of Japan
• Museum of Bank notes and Coins (Japanese)