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Description
This study analyzes the diversity of paper money circulation in early modern Japan invoking the socio-economic background that created a competitive situation among paper money. In early modern Japan, many kinds of paper currency with various characteristics appeared. There was domain paper currency issued by feudal lords, private currency issued by wealthy merchants, and community-based currency issued by local communities. The situation in which multiple paper moneys circulated together within a single regional economic area remains unclear, because there is a tendency for each paper money to be studied individually. Therefore, this study focuses on the circulation of multiple paper money in a local economic area with a population of about 300,000 in the mid-19th century Japan. The result of analysis indicates that about 100 kinds of paper money circulated in a single economic area, circulating competitively based on various factors such as the control of local communities.
