50 Sen Yen #674

Front

Government note denomination 50 sen (拾銭五, written in traditional right-to-left format) with geometric guilloche patterns and vertical inscription showing the note type. The central vertical text indicates this is an imperial government note. The design is dominated by intricate anti-counterfeiting guilloche rosettes with the denomination '50' repeated in symmetrical patterns.

Back

Mount Fuji (富士山), Japan's highest peak and most sacred mountain at 3,776 meters, depicted in the center with cherry blossom branches in the foreground. The chrysanthemum imperial seal appears at the top. The year notation at left shows Shōwa 13 (昭和十三年, 1938), and the text identifies this as a 50-sen note of the Imperial Japanese Government. Mount Fuji has been a national symbol since ancient times and frequently appears on Japanese currency as an emblem of cultural identity.

History

This 50-sen note belongs to the government note series issued during the Shōwa period under wartime economic conditions. The visible year 'Shōwa 13' (昭和十三年) on the back corresponds to 1938 in the Western calendar. These government notes (政府紙幣) were issued directly by the Ministry of Finance rather than the Bank of Japan, a practice used to supplement currency supply during the Second Sino-Japanese War and later World War II. The series continued to be issued through 1948 and remained legal tender until demonetization in 1953 following post-war currency reforms. The note uses traditional right-to-left Japanese text orientation. Pick catalog reference P-59.