Wikipedia:
Fukuzawa Yukichi (福澤 諭吉, January 10, 1835 – February 3, 1901) was a Japanese author, writer, teacher, translator, who founded Keio University, a very famous high-ranked university in the world.
Hideyo Noguchi (野口 英世, November 24, 1876 – May 21, 1928), also known as Seisaku Noguchi (野口清作), was a prominent Japanese bacteriologist, who discovered the agent of syphilis in 1911.
Natsu Higuchi (樋口 奈津, May 2, 1872 – November 23, 1896) was a Japanese author, also know as her pen-name: Ichiyō Higuchi (樋口 一葉)
This is how Japanese are respecting their culture and cultural background.
If we compare it with other countries, all we see on banknotes are politicians, presidents, or supreme leaders.
Authors and artists form cultures, and politicians run it. Besides money, are we really honoring authors good enough ? Countless artists or authors died while starving, and had no money to live. On the other hand, politicians pay unbelievable amount of money to achieve some positions.
After all, who is really appropriate to be printed on money bills ?
Radin 