English: "This is a charm with the words written Gishi Kuyou which means something like "Offerings to the Spirits of the Righteous Warriors." A Japanese friend tells me that this is probably a Meiji era souvenir of Minatogawa Shrine, which is near Kobe. The term Gishi, or "righteous warriors" refers mainly to warriors who fought in the imperial cause, such as Kusunoki Masashige,who fought and lost a famous battle at Minatogawa in 1336, or the Ako samurai--the famous 47 ronin--who in 1701 avenged their lord's death by killing the man who had insulted him and nevertheless escaped punishment.This latter crew came to be reenvisioned in late Edo and in Meiji as imperial loyalists as well. Mizoguchi has a great1942 film about the Ako samurai which nevertheless has the silliest episodes emphasising the imperial loyalty of the 47 samurai. This was of course because of intensification of modern--by which I mean post 1868--imperial loyalism being used as one of the ideological foundations of the war effort. Another knowledgeable friend tells me that this coin looks to be more modern than Meiji,. perhaps even post WWII. Anyhow, although I am not fond of the calligraphy, this coin is a lovely object because of its rich texture and color, and interesting for the row of triangular dots around the rim.

Gishi Kuyou

39.3mm x 2.5 mm thick".