Slot: |
1 Yen P1921 |
Item: |
Taiwan, China - Bank of Taiwan Ltd. 1 Yen S/M#T70-20 ND (1915) |
Grade: |
PMG 64 |
Cert #: |
1908270-062
|
Owner Comments
Obverse: To the right, the Taiwan Grand Shrine, construction started between 1900 and 1901, It was located in Taihoku, Taiwan (now Zhongshan District, Taipei). Following the death of Prince Yoshihisa in 1895, the Governor-General of Taiwan, Noguchi Maresuke, began plans for a shrine in Yoshihisa's honor. Originally, it was to be constructed at Yuanshan Park now part of (Taipei Expo Park); however, Nogi's successor Kodama Gentaro and chief planner Goto Shinpei decided to move it across the Keelung River to Jiantan Mountain for the site's higher elevation. The vantage point would allow the shrine to overlook the entire city, making it symbolic for the Japanese Empire's colonial power. The completed shrine was dedicated to Yoshihisa and the Kaitaku Sanjin, (Three Kami Deities of Pioneering). In 1915, a railway station named Miyanoshita Station, today (Jiantan metro station) was placed at the foot of Jiantan Mountain to serve the shrine. On April 12, 1923, Crown Prince Hirohito, who was to become Emperor Showa three years later, embarked on a two-week tour of Taiwan. In preparation for his visit to the shrine, Chokushi Road, (present-day Chungshan North Road) was created leading up to the shrine from the city, with the Meiji Bridge crossing the Keelung River. The shrine was elevated in rank to Grand Shrine in 1944 when Amaterasu was enshrined, making it the highest-ranking shrine in Taiwan. The opening ceremony of the new shrine was planned to be on October 28. However, on October 23, 1944, a cargo plane lost control and crashed atop the mountain where the grand shrine was located, heavily damaging roughly half of the shrine. The shrine was never fully repaired due to Japans surrender after WW2, and much of the shrine's materials were taken for construction projects elsewhere. In its place, in 1952 the Grand Hotel was constructed.
To the left, a ornately framed guilloche pattern with the denomination in its center.
Serial numbers and block numbers.
Obverse Colors: Blue on lilac and light green underprint.
Reverse: In the center, Eluanbi Lighthouse located on Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of Taiwan, which separates Taiwan's South Bay from Banana Bay and the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea from the Philippine Sea. It is near Eluan Village in the township of Hingchun in Pingtung County, Taiwan. Construction began in 1881 and completed in 1883. The structure was the only armed lighthouse on the island, and was surrounded by a 6 m (20 ft) fosse provided with caponiers and barbed wire fencing. It was riddled with gun-ports to allow its garrison of 500, to repel any assaults.
Reverse color: Dark green on ochre underprint.
Watermark: none
Security features: Batch numbers on the obverse, and serial block number
Signatures: signature seal
Printing method: intaglio
Date of Issue: 1915
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