COINS, MEASUI^ES, AND WEIGHTS. 505 



c. Of Bronze (Kara-kane). 

 6. Ichi Tempo, 80 Mon = 3'8o Sen, or about 0*32 pence. 



All these small coins had a square hole in the centre, through 

 which a cord could be drawn, so that large numbers, according to 

 trade requirements, could be easily strung together, packed, and 

 carried. They were circular, except the Tempo,^ which was oval. 

 The iron pieces were withdrawn from circulation in 1873 ; the oval 

 Tempo not till 1885. The government had them melted for canon. 

 Some of the round bronze and copper coins, however, are still in 

 circulation. Of special frequency among these round bronze coins 

 are the co-called Nami-sen or wave-coins, worth 20 Mon or 2 Rin, 

 and the Bun-kiju-sen, of the period 186 1-63, worth 15 Mon or i J Rin. 

 Most of the iron 10 Mon pieces now in existence date from the 

 period Kuwan-yei (1624-1643). 



The silver pieces that were coined in different periods (Nengo) 

 of the Tokugawa dynasty (1600-1868), mostly containing but little 

 copper, and of very unequal weight, have the shape of little 

 rectangular tablets or bars. These are pieces of: — 



1. I'-shu (Ishu-gin), i Shu, worth y^-iy^ Sen. 



2. Ni-shu (Ni-shu-ginX i Bu, worth 29-6-46*5 Sen. 



3. Ichi-bu (Ichi-bu-gin), i Bu, worth 3177-347 Sen. 



Towards the end of the Shogunate the relations of weight and 

 values were more regular. These were : — 



1. ]'-shu, I Shii pieces, at 6*25 Sen. 



2. Ni-shu, 2 Shu „ „ 12-50 „ 



3. Ichi-bu, I Bu, ,, „ 25 '00 „ 



To these were added, as money of account : — 



4. Ni-bu, 2 Bu, at 50*00 Sen. 



5. Ichi-ri6,2 i Rio, „ 100 „ 



Besides the three first-mentioned old stamped silver coins, for 

 which there were corresponding paper notes, silver pieces were 

 also in circulation of divers shapes and sizes, named Ita-gin, Cho- 

 gin, etc., according as they had the form of little bars, rounded 

 lumps, etc. They bore the stamp of the Nengo in which they 

 were minted. They contained only a little copper, and were 

 weighed in the presence of the purchaser and reckoned according 

 to an established scale of value. 



The older gold pieces are especially interesting. The larger ones 

 were in the shape of oval tablets, known as O-ban, Ko-ban, and 

 Nibu-ban, while the smaller had the rectangular form of the silver 



^ The name Tem-p6 refers to the period of 1 830-1 843, in which the larger 

 and heavy coins were struck. 



2 Rio (Riyo), Bu (Bun), and STiu are originally Chinese terms of weight (see 

 apothecaries' weight). One Rio (Riyo) is a weight of 4 Momme or 13,026,084 

 grammes. 



