Why is the fee for Yato-gami to do things just ¥5 (5 Yen)? No matter what the job is, finding cats, to avenging a murdered child, all it takes for Yato to grant those is just a measly ¥5. I suspect that this practice dated back from during the time when Yato was actively known as God of Disaster. 

Since there is inflation, while ¥5 now worths almost nothing, it must have worth a lot more in the past. If this is the reason, then how much far in the past was the year that Yato was actively known as the God of Disaster if we are to use real world's currency value?

If this was not the case, why is the fee just ¥5 while other Gods have it more, which can be seen from their lavish and abundant number of shrines?
It is because of Japanese culture, not the monetary value.


The Japanese for “five yen,” go en (五円) is a homophone with go-en (御縁), “en” being a word for causal connection or relationship, and “go” being a respectful prefix. As a result, five-yen coins are commonly given as donations at Shinto shrines with the intention of establishing a good connection with the deity of the shrine, and is widely believed it is best to insert a single five-yen coin into a new wallet before inserting any other money.
The reason why the five yen coin is lucky is because it’s called a “go-EN” coin. The number 5 is “go” in Japanese, and “yen” is pronounced more like “en.”
To be precise, “go-EN” means “honorably good luck” especially in terms of relationships. So people throw in these coins at a temple hoping to meet new people who might bring fortune, business, friendship or love.

Source: Tokiotours