Bitasen is the Japanese word used to designate the many pre-18th century coins of Japan that were neither made under imperial auspices or under the authority of the Tokugawa clan. The word bita means "bad metal" and the term bitasen conveys the impression of poorly made coins, but many are actually very fine examples of the craft of casting coins. They exist in great variety. Most are versions or copies of Chinese coins. Many are easy to identify and some are quite difficult to distinguish from Chinese or Annamese varieties, reminding us that "cash" was an international form of currency. The majority probably date from the 16th and 17th centuries. My main reference work for these coins is Masuo Tomifusa, Honpou bitasen zufu, (Anasendou 1982). 　 Kajiki sen　加治木銭 There is a village in Kyuushuu known as Kajiki, which produced many coins in the late 16th and early 17th century. It was part of Satsuma domain which carried on a lively trade with China and the Ryuukyuu kingdom. It took the Ming dynasty Chinese Hong Wu Tong Bao as its base and produced a similar coin with the character "ji"(from Ka-ji-ki) on the back. The Chinese varieties do not use this character on the reverse so it is easy to identify as a Kajiki-sen. This coin is based on the common "long beak' variety of Ming Dynasty Hong Wu coin. Koubu Tsuuhou This is the most common variety, "middle size character small "ji". This one has a nice color to it and is rather handsomely produced. 加治木　中字小治