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Most literature on national identity stresses the enduring, distinctive aspects of such identities. Nowhere is this tendency more pronounced than in the case of studies of Japanese identity. This paper questions the literature?s tendency to portray Japanese identity as a function of longstanding, homegrown Japanese ideas and values. Through a study of the evolution of images printed on Japanese banknotes, and of the political processes behind that evolution, the paper shows Japanese state elites consciously following international models of identity content. Japanese banknote iconography shifted dramatically in the early 1980s in the direction of conformity with that of most advanced countries? currencies, and the new yen banknotes issued in 2004 continue in that direction. The state has been the main protagonist in this story, but for a full accounting of the magnitude and pace of iconographic change it is necessary to unpack the ?black box? of the state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]