First Look: Japan’s New Banknotes
Who are the faces on the nation’s 2024 banknote series?
Cover photo: Japan’s newest banknotes (2024). Photo by Danny With Love.
Intro
On July 3rd, the Bank of Japan released new banknotes into circulation. It’s the first series since 2004, marking a momentous occasion for the nation in which a majority of transactions are still conducted in cash. The bills feature new historical figures and state-of-the-art anti-counterfeit measures.
Disruption
Many businesses are not yet prepared to accept the new banknotes, as updating registers and machines is a large expense. According to the Ministry of Finance, as few as 80% of supermarket registers can accept the new bills, while only 50% of restaurant machines and 20% of vending machines may be ready.
Compatibility with new bills may not improve until the end of the year. This may also spur businesses to embrace cashless payments, rather than update physical equipment, part of the government’s goal to “digitize” the economy for improved efficiency. The Bank of Japan has emphasized that old banknotes will remain valid for the foreseeable future.
3D holographic portrait of Eiichi Shibusawa, as featured on the 10,000 yen banknote (2024). GIF by Danny With Love.
Design
The new banknotes boast the world’s first use of 3D holographic portraits, in addition to watermarks, special inks, and latent images. The denominations and dimensions of the banknotes remain unchanged, while the bills feature enlarged Arabic numerals for improved readability. Other design elements include kiri (empress tree) blooms, two varieties of cherry blossoms, and temari (balls) — a traditional folk art originally made from old kimono.
Subjects were determined by achievement, public recognition, and the availability of reference photographs. As a result, all three figures are from the Meiji Period (1868-1912). Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (鈴木俊一) made the final selection: industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa, educator Umeko Tsuda, and bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato. Let’s take a closer look!
Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931)
The new 10,000 yen bill (approx. 62 USD) features the industrialist and philanthropist Eiichi Shibusawa (渋沢 栄一), often called the “Father of Japanese Capitalism.” Inspired by the accomplishments of French joint-stock companies — such as the Suez Canal — during his trip to Paris in 1867, Shibusawa embraced gapponshugi (合本主義), or stakeholder capitalism. He helped establish over 500 companies and organizations, including Japan’s first commercial bank in 1873 and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1878.
Alongside the government, Shibusawa argued that private capital both can and should serve the public good, and that profits and morality are equally important for sustainable business. His philosophy of social responsibility has grown more popular in recent years, also influencing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (岸田 文雄).
The reverse side depicts Tokyo Station, designed by modern architect Kingo Tatsuno (辰野 金吾) and opened in 1914. It’s rumored to have been modeled after Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. The red-brick building survived the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 but was destroyed in World War II. It is designated an “Important Cultural Property” and over one million passengers travel through the station every day.
Umeko Tsuda (1864-1929)
The new 5,000 yen bill (approx. 31 USD) features pioneering educator Umeko Tsuda (津田梅子). Tsuda was one of the first Japanese girls to study abroad, moving to the United States at the age of six, in 1871. Educated in both English and biology, she was the first Japanese woman to have her work published in “Western” academic journals. Tsuda also never married, defying societal expectations known as ryosai kenbo (賢妻良母), or “good wife, wise mother.”
In the year 1900, Tsuda established the Women’s English School (now Tsuda University) in Tokyo, one of Japan’s first higher education institutions for women, and the very first run by a woman. Alumnae include Ai Kume (久米 愛), one of Japan’s first female lawyers, and Toshiko Yamane (山根敏子), Japan’s first female diplomat.
The reverse side depicts fuji, or Wisteria floribunda. The purple flower has been admired since ancient times, associated with nobility, love, and longevity. It remains popular today, often draped over bamboo trellises. Blooms appear around late spring and early summer.
Shibasaburo Kitasato (1853-1931)
Shibasaburo Kitasato at the University of Berlin, Germany (circa 1890). Via the Kitasato Institute.
The new 1,000 yen bill (approx. 6 USD) features bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato (北里 柴三郎). Kitasato was the first person to cultivate tetanus bacteria, in 1889, and he invented tetanus serum therapy together with German researcher Emil von Behring. Although Behring was ultimately awarded alone — a decision likely motivated by racism or nationalism — both partners were nominated for the inaugural Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, in 1901.
Kitasato is remembered as the “Father of Modern Medicine in Japan,” establishing the Institute for Infectious Diseases in 1892 and Kitasato Institute in 1914. His protégés include Kiyoshi Shiga (志賀 潔) and Hideyo Noguchi (野口 英世), who discovered dysentery and syphilis bacteria, respectively.
The reverse side depicts Hokusai’s Great Wave, or The Great Wave off Kanagawa, in full. In the dynamic composition, artist Hokusai (北斎) renders three fishing boats caught in the waves of Sagami Bay, with Mount Fuji in the distance. Such ukiyo-e — “pictures of the floating world” — inspired the Japonisme movement in Europe following the end of Japan’s isolationist Edo Period. Today, The Great Wave is one of the world’s most widely reproduced images.
Virtue
Columnist Gearoid Reidy notes that all three figures “had formative international educations, assimilating what was then cutting-edge knowledge before bringing it back home.” I find each one admirable and I hope everyone will be inspired by their entrepreneurship, individualism, and dedication.
