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Currency history

Japanese yen

Japanese yen: a currency still in use.

Dates in use
Still in use; introduction date not established here
Currency code
JPY
Ancestry branch
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Its place in the family

All ancestors and descendants ↗
Japanese yen: documented and qualified family connections PARENTS THIS CURRENCY CHILDREN Japanese ryōJapanese ryō 1871 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1871 Taiwan dollarTaiwan dollar 1946 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1946 Korean yen / won before the North–South currency separationKorean yen / won before theNorth–South currencyseparation 1905–1946 · DocumentedDocumented connection · 1905–1946 Japanese yenJapanese yen JPY

Parents 1

Japanese yen

This currency

Children 2

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The story

The 1871 act introduced yen as the basic unit. [1]

Turning points

Account-unit observation

Mitsui Kyoto moneychanger accounts switched fully from ryo to yen in March–April 1873, after earlier yen instruments had still been settled in ryo. This supplies an actual ledger transition supporting existing ryo→yen succession. [2]

Gold standard adopted

The 1897 gold standard defined one yen as 0.75 grams of gold. [3]

Gold convertibility suspended

Japan suspended gold convertibility in 1917. [4]

Dollar peg established at ¥360

Japan fixed the exchange rate at 360 yen per dollar in April 1949. [5]

Dollar parity changed to ¥308

The December 1971 Smithsonian agreement set 308 yen per dollar. [6]

Move to floating exchange rates

Japan moved to flexible exchange rates in 1973. [7]

Sources and evidence

  1. Bank of Japan Currency Museum · FAQs Japanese Currency C02 ↗
  2. Noburu Kobayashi · Noburu Kobayashi, 近世・近代日本貨幣史の基礎的研究, BOJ Currency Museum 2017 C1418 ↗
  3. Bank of Japan Currency Museum · Historical Events and Currencies in Use Contents C59 ↗
  4. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016 C60 ↗
  5. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016 C65 ↗
  6. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016 C66 ↗
  7. Masato Shizume · A History of the Bank of Japan, 1882–2016 C67 ↗

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Cite this page

“Japanese yen.” The Family Tree of Money. © Field Technologies, Inc. Reader edition 2026-10-13; research dataset v44. https://familytreeofmoney.org/currency/T-FTM000117.html

Editorial evidence supplement · Download dataset v44

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