Prof. Shin’ichi Sakuraki awarded society’s medal for 2023!

We were very pleased to award the society’s medal to Prof. Sakuraki when he visited the U.K. in December.

Martin Allen presenting the medal to Prof. Sakuraki at the December meeting, held at the Society of Antiquaries

Prof. Sakuraki was kind enough to provide a copy of his acceptance speech for our website:

“It is a great honour for me, as a Japanese, to receive the Royal Numismatic Society medal for 2023, and I would humbly like to express my deep gratitude. When I first received the email informing me of the award, I did wonder, for a moment, if it was a practical joke, but when I realized it was not a joke, I was bowled over. For my work to receive this accolade from the Royal Numismatic Society is the most wonderful thing that has happened to me in my forty or so years as a researcher. 

I have seen the list of past winners and they are all famous numismatists, which leads me to doubt whether a humble historian of Japanese coinage belongs among them. However, this award will stimulate me to further endeavours and in that spirit I am very happy to accept it. My wife often teases me saying, ‘You may be studying money, but you don’t actually make much!’, so I am hoping that my domestic reputation will be enhanced when I return with this medal. To all those who took part in the decision to award me this medal I offer my heartfelt thanks.”