Banknote buys new vision of history

Japanese professor digs into truth of nation's past, Cai Hong reports in Tokyo.

Editor's note: History is, by definition, about past events, and while nothing can be done to change those events, forgetting them may lead to the wrong roads being taken in the future. During the coming months, China Daily will present a series of regular reports about ordinary lives during World War II and the continuing impact of the conflict on the present and the future. This is the second report in the series.

For Hiroshi Tanaka, money can teach history. In his case a 1,000 yen ($10) note printed in 1963 was the window through which the professor emeritus at Tokyo's Hitotsubashi University saw for the first time a chapter in the deliberately darkened room of Japanese history.