The yen — how Japan built its modern currency

Before 1871, Japan had a patchwork of different feudal coins. The Meiji reform introduced the yen — a single, decimal currency inspired by Western systems. "Yen" actually means "round object".

Modernization through money

Unifying the currency was part of Japan's lightning transformation into an industrial power. A clear, trusted currency is often the first step of a modern economy — the lesson Romania also learned with the leu in 1867.