The Country That Minted Them and the Country That Used Them

Coins That Did Not Circulate in Their Own Country

In 1408, the minting of Yongle Tongbao coins began in the Ming state. These were coins bearing the era name of the Yongle Emperor. However, the Ming court promoted the use of paper currency domestically and suppressed the use of coins. The Yongle Tongbao hardly circulated within Ming China and crossed the seas for foreign payments.

The country that minted them did not use them, and the country that used them did not mint them. These two mirror-image situations faced each other across the eastern sea.

Giving Up a Name to Gain Coins

The path for coins crossing the sea took the form of a tribute system. In the tally trade that began in 1404, matching tallies were used to verify legitimate ships. The Japanese side sent sulfur, copper, swords, and fans. In return, they received Ming coins, raw silk, textiles, and books.

The opening of official letters included a phrase identifying Japan as a vassal state. This sparked fierce criticism within the country. Would they cast aside their name for practical gain, or protect their name and lose the coins? Yoshimochi stopped the trade, and Yoshinori later reopened it. Stopping it meant no coins came in; reopening it meant bowing their heads. This balance continued to sway in the capital.

The Phrase "Yongle Tongbao is the Coin of the Muromachi Period"

Not all coins that came to Japan were Yongle Tongbao. Eighty percent of the coins excavated in the country are from the Northern Song dynasty. Yongle coins only became the standard from the 16th century in eastern Japan. In the western provinces, they were even disliked at times. The source material notes that the statement "Yongle Tongbao is the coin of the Muromachi period" is not entirely correct.

When the Paths of Coin Circulation Are Severed

Within Japan, the practice of *daisennō*, where annual taxes were first converted to rice locally and then paid in coin, had become widespread. This system was predicated on the existence of functioning highways, markets, and exchange systems. The Ōnin War severed the highways and destroyed the markets. The system of paying in coin was exceedingly fragile the moment the paths for coin circulation were cut.

The diary kept by Jinson, the head of Daijō-in at Kōfuku-ji Temple, contains a growing number of entries about taxes not arriving from the manors (*shōen*). The fields existed on deeds and maps. But the coins from them did not arrive.

The Void After Circulation Was Halted

The Edo Shogunate set the exchange rates for coinage in the 13th and 14th years of the Keichō era (1608–1609) and halted the circulation of Yongle Tongbao. However, this did not mean that all coins across the country were immediately replaced with new domestic coinage. The shogunate only began minting Kan'ei Tsūhō coins in the 13th year of the Kan'ei era (1636). There was a gap between the order to halt circulation and the reality of the new coins becoming widespread.