Inscriptions on Japanese coins from this period are read clockwise from right to left: "Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperor's name" (Ex: 年 ← 五十三 ← 治明) Taishō The following are circulation figures for the coins that were minted during the 2nd and 13th year of Taishō's reign. Coins from this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 大正 (Taishō). Inscriptions on Japanese coins from this period are read clockwise from right to left: "Year" ← "Number representing year of reign" ← "Emperor's name" (Ex: 年 ← 三十 ← 正大) Shōwa The following are circulation dates which cover Emperor Hirohito's reign. The dates below correspond with the 23rd to the 64th year (last) of his reign. All five yen coins that were made before 1959 use kyūjitai, or old script Japanese. In 1949 only, two different styles of writing were used before a more modern one was established in 1950. This second style of writing was used until 1958 when the current script of Japanese took its place in the following year. Coins for this period will all begin with the Japanese symbol 昭和 (Shōwa). Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: "Emperor's name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 昭和 → 四十八 → 年). Heisei The following are circulation dates during the reign of Emperor Akihito (Heisei), who reigned from 1989 until his abdication in April 2019. The first year of his reign is marked with a 元 symbol on the coin as a one-year type. Coins for this period all begin with the kanji characters 平成 (Heisei). Five-yen coins dated between 2010 and 2013 were only released in mint sets. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: "Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 平成 → 二十六 → 年). Reiwa The following are circulation dates in the reign of the current Emperor. Naruhito's accession to the Crysanthemum Throne took place on May 1, 2019 and he was formally enthroned on October 22, 2019. Coins for this period all begin with the Japanese symbol 令和 (Reiwa). The inaugural year coin (2019) was marked 元 (first) and debuted during the summer of that year. Japanese coins are read with a left to right format: "Emperors name" → "Number representing year of reign" → "Year" (Ex: 令和 → 二 → 年). Notes References External links