The 50 sen note (五十銭紙幣) was a denomination of Japanese yen in six different government issued series from 1872 to 1948 for use in commerce. Those in the "Meiji Tsūhō" series are the first modern banknotes issued after Japanese officials studied western culture. Counterfeiting eventually became an issue which led to the issuance of "Ōkura-kyō" notes in 1882. These were issued as part of a larger series featuring Empress Jingū on the obverse. Both of these series of fifty sen notes circulated alongside fifty sen coins until their abolishment in 1899. No additional notes were issued for this era as the other four series are tied in some way to the world wars. Fifty sen notes returned during the Taishō era in the form of an emergency issue due to a coin shortage and rising silver prices. These