Description and research notes
Feudal-domain hansatsu (藩札) issued during the Edo period, printed by hand-carved woodblocks on traditional washi paper. Hansatsu functioned as local paper currency within individual han (domains) under the Tokugawa shogunate, serving as both an economic and administrative document backed by rice or metal reserves.
Unlike later national banknotes, hansatsu rarely displayed a standardized denomination. Their value was defined by the issuing domain’s accounting rules—sometimes redeemable in measures of rice, silver, or copper mon—and was understood through context, seals, and usage rather than printed numerals. This absence of a numeric denomination reflects the decentralized, trust-based nature of Edo-period monetary systems.
The obverse presents vertically arranged kanji inscriptions identifying the issuing domain, certification text, and inspector signatures, accompanied by a large circular vermilion seal (朱印) and secondary boxed seals for verification. The reverse features a finely rendered woodblock depiction of Daikokuten (大黒天), the deity of wealth, grain, and abundance, seated upon rice bales and holding the mallet of fortune—an image deeply symbolic of prosperity and divine guardianship over commerce and harvests.
Woodblock hansatsu such as this were printed on tough, fibrous mulberry paper using natural inks, with each note bearing slight variations from manual inking and sealing. The elongated format, approximately 10 × 3 cm, reflects the standardized ledger dimensions adopted by local treasuries and merchants. Security relied on a combination of official seals, stylistic calligraphy, and distinctive religious imagery rather than serial numbering.
This specimen retains strong impressions of both the text and the Daikokuten vignette, along with visible vermilion and black seals typical of high-quality domain issues. It represents the late Tokugawa monetary culture in which faith, governance, and regional autonomy converged through paper instruments that were simultaneously sacred pledges and fiscal tokens.
The hansatsu tradition ended with the Meiji government’s monetary reforms of the 1870s, which abolished domain currencies in favor of a centralized national system. Surviving examples like this preserve the technological and artistic synthesis that defined Edo-period economic exchange and regional identity.