Wadōkaichin

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File:Wadokaichin coin 8th century Japan.jpg
Silver Script error: No such module "Nihongo". coin, 8th century, Japan. Japan Currency Museum.
File:Wadokaichin copper coin.jpg
Wadōkaichin copper coin.
File:Chinese Kaigentsuho coin.jpg
The Chinese Kāiyuán Tōngbǎo coin (開元通寶), first minted in 621 CE in Chang'an, was the model for the Japanese wadōkaichin.

Script error: No such module "Nihongo"., 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 at what is now the Wadō Archaeological Site.[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 Script error: No such module "Nihongo"..[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: Script error: No such module "Nihongo". Script error: No such module "Nihongo". Script error: No such module "Nihongo". Script error: No such module "Nihongo"..

  • The first two characters literally mean Script error: No such module "Nihongo". + Script error: No such module "Nihongo".. This was likely chosen as a fortuitous homophone for the era name Script error: No such module "Nihongo".: the Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is also used to mean "Japan", and Script error: No such module "Nihongo". may also be a ryakuji or abbreviated character for Script error: No such module "Nihongo". or "copper", in reference to the Japanese copper deposits.[10][11]
  • The third character Script error: No such module "Nihongo". literally means "opening; to open", with an additional sense of "start; first".[11][12]
  • The fourth character Script error: No such module "Nihongo". is unusual. It is considered to be either a variant form of Script error: No such module "Nihongo". meaning "rare, precious", or a ryakuji or abbreviated character for Script error: No such module "Nihongo". meaning "treasure, something precious".[10][11][13][12] 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 Script error: No such module "Nihongo". interpretation.[10][11][13][12]
→ 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 Script error: No such module "Nihongo". cash coins at the Tehara ruins in Rittō, Shiga Prefecture.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". 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.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

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

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Notes

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  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. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"..
  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 Template:Catalog lookup linkScript error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn".Script error: No such module "check isxn"., 1999/10/09, Vol. 6 (8), pp. 117–126
  6. ↑ a b c d e Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".; n.b., Script error: No such module "citation/CS1"..
  8. ↑ Nussbaum, p. 539.
  9. ↑ Japan Currency Museum (日本貨幣博物館) permanent exhibit.
  10. ↑ a b c d 2007, Script error: No such module "Nihongo". (in Japanese), Britannica Japan Co., Script error: No such module "Nihongo". entry available online here
  11. ↑ a b c d 1988, Script error: No such module "Lang". (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, Script error: No such module "Nihongo". entry available online here
  12. ↑ a b c 1995, Script error: No such module "Lang". (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, Template:ISBN, Script error: No such module "Nihongo". entry available online here
  13. ↑ a b 2006, Script error: No such module "Lang". (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, Template:ISBN

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References

External links

Template:Japanese cash coin Template:Japanese currency and coinage (pre-yen)

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