l x I N T R O D U C T I O N T O V O L U M E 1 3 1921) in reward for your research in theoretical physics and specifically for your discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect but without taking into consider- ation your theories of relativity and gravitation pending future confirmation of their due merit.” The award ceremony was to be held on 10 December and it is “incum- bent upon you to deliver a public lecture” (Doc. 385). Intriguingly, Einstein made no note of the Nobel Prize award in his diary. The earliest extant letter of congratulations for the prize came from Niels Bohr, who received the prize for 1922: “For me it was the greatest honor and joy I could possibly get from abroad that I should be considered for the award at the same time as you” (Doc. 386). Einstein reciprocated: “It is a special pleasure for me that I re- ceive the prize together with my admirable and beloved Bohr” (Doc. 420). In re- sponse to Bohr’s trepidation that he would receive the prize prior to Einstein’s return, he wrote: “I find your fear of possibly getting the prize before me especially endearing—that is truly Bohrian” (Doc. 421). The day after the awards ceremony, the Nobel Foundation informed Einstein of the prize money it had deposited for him in a Stockholm bank. The amount in ques- tion was 121,572.54 Swedish kronor, equivalent to 32,653.76 US dollars at the time, and equivalent to approximately forty-nine annual combined Berlin salaries for Einstein. The foundation held on to the gold prize medal and the certificate, awaiting Einstein’s instructions (Doc. 396). In March 1923, upon Einstein’s return to Berlin, Arrhenius proposed two options for receiving the prize: he could either participate in the next official ceremony, in December 1923, or he could give a pop- ular lecture in Gothenburg, where a large Swedish exhibition and a meeting of nat- ural scientists would take place in the summer (Doc. 445). A week later, Einstein proposed Gothenburg (Doc. 449). The SS Kitano Maru arrived in Kobe on 17 November. The Einsteins were met by Tokyo physicists Nagaoka and Ishiwara by Fukuoka physicist Ayao Kuwaki by the German consul, Oskar Trautmann and by various Zionists and representa- tives of the Japanese-German association. In an interview upon arrival, Einstein told reporters that he had wanted to visit Japan ever since reading Lafcadio Hearn’s books and Lord Redesdale’s “Tales of Old Japan.”[30] The Einsteins proceeded by train to Kyoto, and then departed for Tokyo. Einstein’s arrival in Tokyo was later described by his host Sanehiko Yamamoto as akin to “welcoming a general returning from a victorious campaign.” Tens of thousands gathered on the train platform and in the square outside the station. Cries of “Einstein! Einstein!” and “Banzai” were heard. The German ambassador de- scribed the scene as a “life-threatening throng.”[31] For Einstein, the welcome was similar to being “buried alive” (Doc. 379, [p. 17]). The public lectures began on 19 November, with the first in the series held at Keio University, attended by 2,000 people from all walks of life and including
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