About Wado Kaichin, Japan's first official silver and copper currency minted in 708 CE following a rich copper discovery in Chichibu during the Nara Period.
In 708 CE (Nara Period), natural high-purity copper deposits were discovered in Musashi Province (modern-day Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture). Empress Genmei was so thrilled by the find that she renamed the imperial era to Wadō (和銅 - "Japanese Copper") and ordered the minting of Japan's first official imperial coinage: the Wadō Kaichin (和同開珎).
Modeled on Tang Dynasty Cash
The Wado Kaichin was modeled on China's Tang Dynasty Kai Yuan Tong Bao coins:
- Round copper and silver disks with a square hole in the center.
- Four kanji characters read clockwise: Wa-Dō-Kai-Chin ("Opening Currency of Japanese Copper").
- Square holes allowed thousands of coins to be strung onto hemp cords for easy transport and accounting.
Paying the Builders of Heijo-kyo (Nara Capital)
The Imperial Court issued the Wado Kaichin primarily to pay thousands of laborers and craftsmen building the grand new capital city of Heijō-kyō (Nara). To promote public adoption in a society accustomed to bartering rice and cloth, the government issued decrees offering court promotions and nobility titles to citizens who accumulated large savings of Wado Kaichin coins!
The Wado Kaichin inaugurated Japan's Twelve Antique Coins (Kochō Jūniben) era, establishing national currency sovereignty until paper and imported Chinese cash took over centuries later.
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