It's definitely Chinese and not Japanese. The text reads top to bottom, right to left. First part says something about Year 6 of Emperor Xianfeng (~1856) I think it's a relatively modern silver metal commemorating the start of a business. It uses traditional (pre-1949) rather than simplified characters. Oh, it also mentions Shanghai and I think the business is named 正記 （Zheng Ji)
Just read a post in another forum (Not sure if I can mention it here) and these appear to be similar to those known as cake coins. What weight and size are they?
Shanghai tael. Not genuine. Excessively rare. A genuine example looks like this https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/l...ilver-tael-year-6-1856-pcgs-au-55-gold-shield
The Stacks Bowers coin has gorgeous script, the ones above very crude, the designers put a lot of effort and love into this coin.
