Higuchi Ichiyo is only the third woman ever pictured on a Japanese banknote: Higuchi Ichiyo(1872-1896) was the pen name of Higuchi Natsu, she assumed a pen name so that she could continue to write in a man's world and have her works published. Her works were critically acclaimed, and memorable 110 years after her untimely demise in 1896. Her works are considered the first significant work by a female in Japanese literature, and in 2004 she was finally recognised with the issue of this 5,000 Yen note. This note has many security features. The depiction of Higuchi Ichiyo represents only the third time in Japanese history that a woman has been depicted on a banknote, the first was in 1881 more recently a 2,000 Yen note was issued with Murasaki Shikibu in 2000. A contemporary photo of Ms. Ichiyo, and likely the source of the image for this banknote.
Something about this note makes me think some thing is a little spooky!! Nice note none the less!~ RickieB
Where on earth did you pick up that bit of misinformation? Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari ("Tale of Genji") published between 1008-21 C.E., at least four and one-half decades before the Battle of Hastings, is not only the real "first significant work by a female in Japanese literature"; it is also believed by many to be the world's first novel! She was a member of the powerful Fujiwara family, but her real personal name is lost in the mists of time. The dates of both her birth (973? 978?) and death (1014? between 1025-1031?) vary according to the resource you consult. Quite properly in terms of literary rank, her 2002 appearance on a Japanese bank note pre-dated that of Higuchi Ichiyo. The first woman to appear on a Japanese note, the legendary Empress Jingu, is said to have been the first woman ruler of Japan. One version of her life holds that she served as Regent from the death of her husband in 209 C.E. until her son formally ascended the throne 60 years later. Other historians believe that she was the Empress Himiko referred to in Chinese historical documents as the ruler of a substantial portion of what is now Japan, in the late 1st Century or early 2nd Century C.E. She is credited with personally leading a successful invading army to Korea in the first of many invasions of that country by the Japanese over the centuries. (It is hard to find anyone today who believes the story that her son, later Emperor Ojin, was conceived before her husband's death, and her Korean adventure, but born after she returned to Japan three years later.) This ¥5 note was in circulation between July 15, 1882 and December 31, 1899, with a "portait" of Empress Jingu painted from imagination by Italian artist Edoardo Chiossone, an Italian sculptor who worked for the Japanese Paper Currency Bureau. The same portrait was used on a ¥1 note from February, 1881-December 10, 1899, and on a ¥10 note from September 9, 1883 to December 31, 1899.
