Nobody knows when the first coins were used in Japan. Some historians believe that just like its writing system Japan imported its first coins from China, others say Korea. These imports could have occurred in the first century AD, or even earlier. The first confirmed use of coins is in the seventh century.

The Wado Kaiho (also known as the Wado Kaichin) cast in 708 AD was Japan's first domestically minted coin. Using techniques learned from the Chinese, and recently discovered copper from the Musashi province, the Wado Kaiho was the first of 12 coins to be minted in Japan over a 250 year period.

The Osaka mint, which officially opened on 4th April 1871, was Japan's first modern institution. Unlike other nations, Japan had a modern mint before it had railways or a postal service. An Englishman by the name of T.W. Kinder supervised the set up and initial operation of the mint.