AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES Durlng the EARLY MEIJI ERA by SHIG~;RU YAMAGUCHI

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INTERRELATIONS BETWEEI~!T '(G INME " BAR SILVER, THE MEXICAN SILVER DOLLAR, AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES DURlNG THE EARLY MEIJI ERA By SHIG~;RU YAMAGUCHI Professor of Currency and Ba,skitsg I The monetary system during the Tokugawa period was the treble metallic standard based on gold coins, silver bar and copper coins. The exchange ratio of these metallic moneys was oflicially fixed by the Bakufu (the shogun- ate go¥'ernment), but the actual ratio was not regulated by an official rate, fluctuating ¥vith demand, due to the lack of free-coinage. The unit was one r_1'o which was ¥vorth four bu, one bu being the equivalent of four shuj and ryo, btl' and shu could be represented by gold coins, silver bar and copper coins. Under the Keicho (1596-1614) currency system, one ryo was represented by kobaltg (gold coin) containing 4.~3 mo,wae of gold, and also by 50 ;Iton'ne and shortly after 60 moleeiFte of silver or 4 ktvaee of copper. (1 >*rain=0.064 grammes, I monme=3. /~5 grammes) During the G~nroku er~ (1688-1703), as a result of recoinage, the weight of gold in koba,eg was reduced bj, half, and the weight of silver per ryo (gilame) remained unchanged as official parity for a long time, notwithstanding the successive debased recoinage of gold and silver coins. However, the actual rate was regulated principally by the demand of gold and silver in business transactions. It ¥vas the custom to use a di~erent currency according to the transaction of commodities,1 and there was a rough distinction between kin-2ukai (gold- medium economy) in Yedo and the giee-2ukai (silver-medium economy) in Osaka. This brought about a change in the demand for currency. In this ¥vay, silver circulated a long while as a currency by weight at the parity oi 60 Inoeeelre per one gold ryo. This oflicial rate of ginme was geilerally maintained in ~usiness transactions, but among money changers silver ¥vas transacted by quotations, bringing about fluctuations of the rate of gin',,he. The rate of qi;tme fluctuated principally with the supply and demand ot~ gold and silver but was not affected by changes in the substantial * Takatsugu ~_{Itsui. A Ne~~ Chronotoglcat rllstory ot lttoney Exchange vol n }Irstoncal Inqulry, p. I04.

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