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びた一文
BITA-ICHIMON
"a single penny"
Today the en 円 (anglicized as “yen”) is the currency of Japan; but various other monetary units have existed throughout Japan’s history. The yen, in fact, is a relatively recent unit of currency. The first yen coins appeared in the 1870s, following the Meiji Restoration. The first yen coins were based on the gold standard. High-denomination coins were made of gold, while lower value coins were made of silver or copper.
Chinese Coins as Japanese Currency
Like many things in Japan, Japanese coinage can be traced back to China. The most ancient Japanese coins were actually imported Chinese currency. The Japanese government soon began minting coins of its own, but it stopped mint operations in the tenth century. Central government minting did not resume again until the sixteenth century. During this long period without central government coinage, Chinese coins once again became the primary units of monetary exchange. Most of the Chinese money imported during these years was minted by the Ming and Song Dynasties.
Luckily, Japan was able to obtain Chinese coins through expanding trade relations with the Middle Kingdom. Japan exported a few raw materials to China (mostly copper and sulfur), as well as many finished goods: lacquerware, fans, and some textiles. But the most significant Japanese export was weaponry. Japanese swords were in great demand on the Chinese mainland. In some years, tens of thousands of swords were exported. (Around 37,000 swords were exported to China in 1438 alone.) This booming export trade ensured a steady flow of Chinese currency into Japan.
Private Minting During the Sengoku Jidai and the First Tokugawa Coins
A series of disastrous civil wars plagued Japan from the late 1400s through the early 1600s. Through this era, Chinese coins were used; but local warlords also minted their own coins. One of these coins was the bita-sen 鐚銭. The bita-sen were typically made of copper, and poorly cast. Many became cracked and chipped after brief periods of circulation. Because of these quality problems, merchants often refused to accept these coins at their face value. (Bita鐚is an abbreviation for bita-sen 鐚銭.)
In the early 1600s, Japan was unified under the Tokugawa shogunate (military rulers), and the era of constant warfare was at an end. The new central government began minting coins of its own. The mon / 文 was one of the coins minted by the Tokugawa shogunate. Mon coins were cast in various denominations. The quality of these coins was reasonably good, and many whole specimens survive today.
The phrase bita-ichimon is a combination of the names of these two old coins. Bita-ichimon means “a single penny.” A common expression is bita-ichimon mo nai (“to not have a single cent.”)