Railway ticket - tekken (English spelling) tiě juǎn

Japanese: 鉄券 - てっけん（英語表記）tiě juǎn

In China, these tile-shaped iron tokens were used by monarchs when feuding with meritorious subjects. The word "treasure" means promise. They were one shaku high and two shaku wide, with the history and achievements of the meritorious subject written in gold on the front (convex) side, and the degree of pardon and salary reduction for the meritorious subject and his descendants if they committed a crime written in gold on the back (concave) side. This is why they were called "golden tokens" or "gold-written iron tokens." It is said that when Emperor Gaozu of the Han dynasty feuded with meritorious subjects, he used iron tokens written in red ink, but later they began to be inlaid with gold. They were divided into two, and the left side was given to the meritorious subject, and the right side was kept by the inner palace. [Inaba Ichiro]

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国で君主が功臣を封建する際に用いる瓦状の鉄製の割符。券は契，すなわち誓約の意。高さ1尺，幅2尺で，表(凸)面には功臣の履歴･功績が，裏(凹)面には功臣本人と子孫が罪過を犯した際の免罪と減俸の程度が金で書き込まれた。金券，金書鉄券といわれるゆえんである。漢の高祖が功臣を封じた際には丹書した鉄券を用いたとされるが，のち金を嵌入するようになった。二分して左を功臣に与え，右を内府に保管した。【稲葉一郎】

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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