The Japanese 2000 Yen note apparently resembles the US $2 note in that it doesn't appear to circulate much anymore but it can still turn up very occasionally. It was printed to celebrate the millennium, hence the "2000" denomination, and though it circulated, apparently a lot of people hoarded it due to its novelty. It features Shurei gate on the front and a scene from Chapter 38 of "The Tale of Genji," which some scholars consider the world's first novel, on the back. Rough translations: Front, top to bottom 日本銀行券 (Nipponginkōken) - Bank of Japan banknote 弐千円 (nisen en) - 2000 Yen (I'm not sure why the alternate character for "two" (弐) appears rather than "二") 日本銀行 (Nipponginkō) - Bank of Japan 大葳省印刷局製造 (dalian Insatsu-kyoku seizō ) - Manufactured by Dalian Province Printing Bureau - I'm not sure if this is correct, but the translation came out this way, supposedly meaning "Dalian Province" in Liaoning, China? Does anyone know?) Back, bottom right 紫式部 (Murasaki Shikibu) - Also known as "Lady Murasaki," the author of "The Tale of Genji" - her portrait appears above this text To the right, it looks like a passage from "The Tale of Genji" appears in its original style handwriting. I can only make out a few characters here. The Printing Bureau lists this as a "Series-D" note, differing from the other currently circulating "Series-E" notes. Released on July 19, 2000, it still has quite a few impressive security features, but not quite as many as the "Series-E" notes. Here are a few. Like all modern Japanese notes, this one also features a stunningly detailed watermark. Latent printing appears when the note is tilted in direct light - also notice the microprinting towards the top of this image. And more latent printing that displays "2000" when tilted - also notice to the right, above the thick line, the beginning of very tiny microprinting that says "nippon ginko." This runs across most of the bill's lower front. The red seals on front and back also use luminescent ink, which glows under UV light. The three black dots to extreme left and right front use textured ink for the visually impaired. Each denomination has a unique texture. I think that this bill only saw a short print run and it doesn't appear to have a "Series-E" equivalent, so it seems fair to say that no new 2000 Yen notes are being printed or circulated, but I'm not sure if that's accurate. Anyone who has seen any recently in circulation in Japan, please let me know. From what I could glean online, next to no one sees this bill in circulation anymore and now it's mostly considered a collectible.