While at the Ebisuten shrine, we took a short break and had some sweet rice wine (amazake) in a small shop on the shrine’s grounds. Inside there was a large mask hanging on the wall with bills underneath. The bills were both placed upside down:

Out of curiosity I asked why the bills were placed upside down to which I was given the following answer:

You should always place a bill with a person’s face on it with the person’s face facing down. If you leave the bills facing up in your wallet, they will want to peak out and leave while if they are facing down, the will want to stay buried inside your wallet. Placing all your bills face down helps you keep your money

This is the first time I had heard this money superstition and now all my bills in my wallet are facing downward…