CIRJE-J-91. Kasuya, Makoto, "The Diffusion of Bills and Checks and the Development of Money Markets in Meiji Japan", March 2003.

In the Edo period money was transferred by bills between Edo (now Tokyo) and Osaka, and money markets in these two cities were connected each other. Money was transferred principally through bills on Edo money-exchangers issued not by merchants but by Osaka money-exchangers. In the first half of the Meiji period, this money transfer system and money markets existed and functioned effectively. After the establishment of the Bank of Japan, however, it began to play an important role for money transfer.