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Japanese yen

A legal reform and the conversion of everyday accounts need not have happened on the same day.123

Years
1871–present
Where
Japan
Family
Other origins
Status
In use

The New Currency Act of 1871 introduced decimal yen in place of ryo-based reckoning. The transition in actual books took time: Mitsui’s Kyoto accounts adopted yen reckoning fully during March and April 1873. A legal reform and the conversion of everyday accounts need not have happened on the same day.123

The Bank of Japan first issued notes in May 1885, well after the yen’s introduction. A new issuer did not mean a new currency. The 1897 gold standard defined the yen as 0.75 grams of gold.45

Japan fixed its postwar exchange rate at 360 yen per US dollar in April 1949. The Smithsonian agreement changed the parity to 308 yen in December 1971, and flexible exchange rates followed in 1973. The yen remained the account unit through each change.678

Timeline

Currency code: JPY

  1. The yen is introduced

    Decimal yen replace ryo-based reckoning.12

  2. Bank of Japan notes

    The central bank begins issuing notes denominated in the existing yen.4

  3. Gold standard established

    The definition becomes 0.75 grams of gold per yen.5

  4. 360 yen to the dollar

    The unified postwar exchange rate takes effect.9

  5. Parity changes to 308

    The Smithsonian agreement revises the dollar rate.7

  6. The yen floats

    Japan shifts to a floating exchange-rate system.10

Coins and notes

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How do we know?

Japanese ryō → Japanese yen

Documented replaced by · 1871

Unit-system reform; no numerical conversion ratio or instantaneous coin retirement.2

Verbatim source excerpt under research. The linked notes identify the source and passage supporting this connection.

Full connection evidence →

Successor connections

Complete evidence record →
Legal history and sources
Original subdivision
1 yen = 100 sen = 1,000 rin
Gold definition from 1897
0.75 grams per yen

The 1871 act introduced yen as the basic unit.1

The 1871 reform adopted decimal yen in place of ryo.2

The 1897 gold standard defined one yen as 0.75 grams of gold.5

Mitsui Kyoto moneychanger accounts switched fully from ryo to yen in March–April1873, after earlier yen instruments had still been settled in ryo. This supplies an actual ledger transition supporting existing ryo→yen succession.3

The first Bank of Japan notes appeared in May 1885, denominated at ten yen.4

Japan fixed the exchange rate at 360 yen per dollar in April 1949.6

The December 1971 Smithsonian agreement set 308 yen per dollar.7

Japan moved to flexible exchange rates in 1973.8

Source notes

  1. Bank of Japan Currency Museum · FAQs Japanese Currency

    Q5, first paragraph

  2. National Printing Bureau Japan · History of Japanese Paper Currency Meiji era

    Meiji 4: Major events

  3. Noburu Kobayashi · Noburu Kobayashi, 近世・近代日本貨幣史の基礎的研究, BOJ Currency Museum 2017

    PDF44 section 2-2ロ; PDF48endnote162 identifies 貨幣出入帳 MitsuiBunko別966 and 新土蔵楮幣出納帳 続6640

  4. Bank of Japan · Who issues Japanese banknotes?

    History (3)

  5. Bank of Japan Currency Museum · Historical Events and Currencies in Use Contents

    Establishment of the gold standard

  6. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016

    Printed p.19

  7. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016

    Printed p.21, section 4.2.1

  8. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016

    Printed p.21, section 4.2.1

  9. Japan Ministry of Finance · Fiscal and Monetary Policies as the Economy Stabilized, p. 67
  10. Japan Ministry of Finance · Fiscal and Monetary Policies in the 1970s and 1980s, pp. 70, 80

Full claim history and source register →

Cite this currency

“Japanese yen.” The Family Tree of Money. Field Technologies, Inc. Data v49; accessed 14 October 2026.

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