5o6 TRADE AND COMMERCE. 



Shu and Bu. An Oban should weigh about 44 Mon-me (pro- 

 nounce Momme), and contain 10 Rio, =40 -Monme, of pure gold. 

 The Koban should have the tenth part of this weight and amount 

 of gold, and the Ni-bu-ban the twentieth part. 



As a matter of fact, however, these coins from the different 

 periods of the Shogunate of the Tokugawa are of extraordinary 

 diversity in weight, value, and amount of gold contained ; to such 

 an extent, indeed, that an Oban of the period Keicho (i 596-1614), 

 for instance, contained 67*2 per cent, of gold and only 29-4 per 

 cent, of silver, and while weighing 44*059 Momme, was worth 75 

 Yen ; while the Genroku-Oban (Oban from the period Genroku, 

 1695-1716), which is almost as heavy (its weight being 43*95 

 Momme), is worth only 59*27 Yen, with 52'ii percent, of gold 

 and 44*84 per cent, of silver, and the Ansei-Oban from the period 

 1 859-1 862, weighing 30 Momme, has a value of only 28*266 Yen, 

 with 34*35 per cent, of gold and 63*92 per cent, of silver, corre- 

 sponding to 41*46 Yen for the same weight of 44 Momme. The 

 same thing is true of the Ko-ban of different Nengo. Their 

 weight varied between 4*73 Momme and 2*293 Momme ; their 

 proportion of gold between ^6 J per cent, and 55*94 per cent. ; 

 their value between 10*115 Yen and 1*30 Yen. 



In order to free the gold from the large quantities of silver 

 generally united to it, the Japanese always used to employ common 

 salt, with which they melted up the alloy obtained in working 

 the ore. The gold thus purified was called Yaki-kin, i.e. burnt or 

 roasted gold (see p. 370). It corresponds very nearly to our ducat- 

 gold. The supposition being that an Oban of such Yaki-kin was 

 44 Momme of pure gold, the number 44 was written on the coins 

 with bright black lacquer colour, and they were regarded as the 

 standard for the Oban that were richer in silver. They were 

 marked with the numbers succeeding 44, beside the proper Nengo, 

 in such a way that, for example, the number 45 indicated 44 parts 

 of gold to one part silver ; the number 46 showing 44 parts gold 

 and two parts silver, etc. 



The estimation of gold as shown by its value compared with 

 silver during the long period when the country was closed is very 

 noticeable. According to a decree of the Nobunaga, about the 15th 

 century, 44 Momme of gold should be given for 420 Momme of 

 silver, i.e. one part gold for 9^ parts silver. In 1765 this pro- 

 portion was changed to i : 11*35. On the other hand, according to 

 Scherzer,! when the country was opened to commerce, in 1855-60, 

 the price was based upon a valuation of the two metals in the 

 relation of i : 4*6, since the above-mentioned gold-piece was worth 

 184 shillings in London, while in Japan, e.g.^ at Kanagawa (Yoko- 

 hama), it could be exchanged for 4 Bu of silver as late as the 

 year 1858. The natural consequence was that gold coins became 

 an extremely profitable, and hence much sought, article of ex- 

 ^ Scherzer : " Deutsch-OEsterr. Expedition," etc., p. 456. 



