March 14, 2023 Day 20: Iwami Ginzan

The remains of the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine are located near the Sea of Japan coastline, about 100 kilometers north of Hiroshima in western Japan. One of Japan's most prominent mines, it was active for almost four hundred years, from its discovery in 1526, until its eventual closing in 1923. Iwami Ginzan was the only silver mine in Japan known to Europeans during the 16th century’s Great Age of Discovery. This is evident because maps of Japan and Asia produced in Europe during this time, indicated this area as the "Silver Mine Kingdom," or "Silver Mine." The silver mined here was of very high quality, and came to be known as "Soma Silver," because the mine itself was in a village of the same name. This silver was given the highest trading credit in East Asia. From the late 16th century to the early 17th century, the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine flourished. It is considered that at this time, Japan produced one third of the world's silver, with the majority of this silver being Iwami Silver. There is no denying that this mine played a pivotal role in East Asian trade, where silver was the key currency. The remains from the mine's prominent years are well preserved to this day. This mine pioneered silver mine development in pre-modern Asia. It achieved mass production of high-grade silver by improvement of the cupellation method of refining silver, and by a distinctively Japanese style of operation in small units invented in the 16th century. Its enormous output of silver contributed to the exchange of value between the East and the West.