Illustrated scroll on paper, entitled at end “Jusen ba kō zu” 鋳銭場工図 [“The Process of Smelting & Minting at the Mint, Illustrated”], depicting the steps of smelting & minting of copper coins in a series of approx. 33 finely drawn & colored images, all pasted-on, with manuscript historical & explanatory text at end

1732. Scroll (177 x 8660 mm.), central core roller. At end (in trans.): “Yusa Yoshinari 遊佐好生 [or] Yusa Bokusai 遊佐木斎 Sendai March 1732.”


Copper smelting and minting have a long history in Japan. The text following the images was written by Yusa Bokusai (1658-1734), Confucian scholar who served the Sendai fiefdom. The copper coin Kan’ei tsūhō 寛永通寳 was introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1626 in an effort to standardize coinage in Japan. It immediately became the daily currency of small transactions, remaining in circulation for 230 years. It was first minted in Edo and the Ōmi province, and with its immediate success, minting began in 1637 in eight places including the Sendai fiefdom.


In his Afterword, Yusa provides a history of minting in Sendai and detailed descriptions of the process, all of which is illustrated on the scroll.


Minor marginal defects to the images, but in fine condition. Preserved in a wooden box. We note that the signature and seal of the famous artist Hishikawa Moronobu 菱川師宣 (1618?-94) are present.


With thanks to Prof. Peter Wothers of Cambridge University for his guidance. (Inventory #: 10803)