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Kafka Letter, in Which he Says he Can No Longer Write, Goes to Auction

FILE PHOTO: Tourists look at a statue of famous German-language writer Franz Kafka in central Prague July 3, 2013, on the day marking the 130th anniversary of his birth in Prague./File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists look at a statue of famous German-language writer Franz Kafka in central Prague July 3, 2013, on the day marking the 130th anniversary of his birth in Prague./File Photo
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Kafka Letter, in Which he Says he Can No Longer Write, Goes to Auction

FILE PHOTO: Tourists look at a statue of famous German-language writer Franz Kafka in central Prague July 3, 2013, on the day marking the 130th anniversary of his birth in Prague./File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists look at a statue of famous German-language writer Franz Kafka in central Prague July 3, 2013, on the day marking the 130th anniversary of his birth in Prague./File Photo

A letter from Franz Kafka in which he tells a friend he can no longer write is being offered at auction 100 years after his death, with an estimate of up to $114,000, Reuters reported.
Kafka, one of the 20th century's greatest writers, known for works such as "The Trial" and "The Metamorphosis", wrote the letter to Austrian poet and publisher Albert Ehrenstein, in what is believed to be a response for a request to contribute to literary journal "Die Gefährten".
In the one-page letter in German and signed just "Kafka", the Prague-born novelist says he has not written anything in three years.
It is believed to have been written around April-June 1920 from a sanatorium in Merano in northern Italy, according to auction house Sotheby's. Kafka was diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917, which he does not discuss in the letter, Reuters said.
"When worries have penetrated to a certain layer of inner existence, writing and complaining obviously cease, indeed my resistance was not too strong," Kafta wrote, according to a translation.
Sotheby's is offering the letter in its "Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern" sale, running June 26 - July 11, with a price estimate of 70,000 pounds - 90,000 pounds ($88,445 - $113,715).
"It is a very poignant letter written towards the end of his life, where he expresses his despair at writing again and his feelings of... of writer's block," Gabriel Heaton, specialist in books and manuscripts at Sotheby's, told Reuters.
"He's physically very, very weak and he's beginning, however, this very intense correspondence with Milena (Pollakova-Jesenska), this great love of his last years, which would spark renewed creativity. So although he's here in despair, he's actually on the verge of one final bout of wonderful, wonderful writing."
Kafka went on to write "The Castle" and "A Hunger Artist". He died on June 3, 1924, aged 40.
Ehrenstein eventually sent the letter to artist Dolly Perutz. It is being sold with the envelope Ehrenstein used.

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Japan Issues New Yen Banknotes Packed With 3D Hologram Technology to Fight Counterfeiting

The 10,000 yen bill, worth about $62 at the current exchange rate, has the face of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as “the father of Japanese capitalism - The AP
The 10,000 yen bill, worth about $62 at the current exchange rate, has the face of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as “the father of Japanese capitalism - The AP
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Japan Issues New Yen Banknotes Packed With 3D Hologram Technology to Fight Counterfeiting

The 10,000 yen bill, worth about $62 at the current exchange rate, has the face of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as “the father of Japanese capitalism - The AP
The 10,000 yen bill, worth about $62 at the current exchange rate, has the face of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as “the father of Japanese capitalism - The AP

Japan issued its first new banknotes in two decades Wednesday, yen packed with 3D hologram technology to fight counterfeiting.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised as historic the state-of-the-art anti-counterfeit traits of the new 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen and 1,000 yen bills.

“I hope the people will like the new bills, and they will help energize the Japanese economy,” he told reporters at the Bank of Japan, The AP reported.

While the new bills were released with fanfare, currency already in use will remain valid. In fact, people will still need older bills to use most vending machines and to pay bus fares, local media reported.

Kishida noted the people featured on the bills celebrate Japanese capitalism, women’s equality and scientific innovation.

The 10,000 yen bill, worth about $62 at the current exchange rate, has the face of Eiichi Shibusawa, known as “the father of Japanese capitalism,” a key figure in building Japan’s modern economy. He is credited with founding hundreds of companies.

The 5,000 yen bill, worth about $30, features Umeko Tsuda, a pioneer feminist and educator who founded a college. The 1,000 yen note, worth about $6.20, portrays physician and bacteriologist Shibasaburo Kitasato, who was instrumental in the research of tetanus and the bubonic plague.

The backs of each of the bills feature Tokyo Station, wisteria flowers and ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai’s Mount Fuji, respectively.

The new bills also feature larger printing so they’re easier to read, especially for the nation’s aging population.

By the end of March next year, nearly 7.5 billion new banknotes will have been printed, according to the government. The amount of money in the new bills going out in a single day is estimated at 1.6 trillion yen ($10 billion).

It may take some time for ordinary people to get hold of the new bills. They first are going to banks and other financial organizations. Then, they'll be distributed to automatic teller machines and stores, according to the Bank of Japan.

A majority of transactions in Japan still are done in cash and cashless payments have been slower to catch on than in many other countries.

“Although the world is moving toward cashless interactions, we believe cash remains important as a way for safely settling payments anywhere and anytime,” said Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda.