Japanese Literary Awards

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Donald Keene

キーン ドナルド

Kīn Donarudo

Aliases: Donald Lawrence Keene / キーン・ドナルド / 鬼怒鳴門
Pen Names: Donald Keene（Used as his professional/pen name for publications and translations）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-06-18 （Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States）
Died
2019-02-24 （Tokyo, Japan (hospital)） age 96
Nationality
United States, Japan
Languages
English, Japanese
Residence History
Brooklyn, New York City, United States → Cambridge, United Kingdom → Kyoto, Japan → Kita, Tokyo, Japan → Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan

Career

Occupations
Scholar, Literary critic, Translator, Japanologist, Professor
Active Years
1938-2019
Affiliations
Columbia University, Donald Keene Center for Japanese Culture (Columbia University), Donald Keene Foundation, International Research Center for Japanese Studies
Memberships
Japan PEN Club (Honorary Member), American Academy of Arts and Letters
Influenced By
Mark Van Doren, Lionel Trilling, Ryūsaku Tsunoda
Influenced
Yukio Mishima, Kobo Abe, Kenzaburo Oe, Scholars and translators who popularized Japanese literature abroad

Education

Columbia University
Faculty of Arts / English / Japanese Studies
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Period: 1938-1943
Year of Graduation: 1943
Country: United States
Entered on a Pulitzer scholarship; earned BA
Columbia University, Graduate School of Oriental Studies
Graduate School of Oriental Studies / Japanese Studies
Degree: Ph.D.
Period: 1943-1949
Year of Graduation: 1949
Country: United States
Studied under mentors including Ryūsaku Tsunoda; completed doctoral program
University of Cambridge
Corpus Christi College (affiliate, lecturer) / Research and teaching
Period: 1948-1953
Year of Graduation: 1953
Country: United Kingdom
Studied and lectured; served as lecturer while at Cambridge
Kyoto University (as Ford Foundation scholar)
Period: 1953 (留学)
Country: Japan
Studied in Kyoto on a Ford Foundation fellowship

Awards

Kikuchi Kan Prize
1962
Organization: Bungei Shunjū (awarding body)
Result: 受賞
Yamakata Banto Prize
1983
Organization: Yamakata Banto Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Yomiuri Prize for Literature
1985
Work: A History of Japanese Literature
Organization: Yomiuri Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Japan Literature Grand Prize
1985
Organization: Japan Literature Grand Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize (Arts and Culture)
1991
Organization: Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize Foundation
Result: 受賞
Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star
1993
Category: 栄典
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Asahi Prize
1998
Organization: Asahi Shimbun
Result: 受賞
Mainichi Publishing Culture Award
2002
Organization: Mainichi Newspapers
Result: 受賞
Person of Cultural Merit
2002
Organization: Government of Japan (MEXT)
Result: 選定
Order of Culture
2008
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 受章
Junior Third Rank (posthumous)
2019
Organization: Government of Japan
Result: 叙位

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

A History of Japanese Literature

1976 Literary history, scholarly study

A multi-volume comprehensive history of Japanese literature covering pre-modern to modern periods.

history of Japanese literatureperiod comparisonstranslation and reception
Translations
  • English editions / translations of parts

Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World

2001 Biography

A biography examining the life and historical context of Emperor Meiji.

modernizationimperial historypolitics and culture
Translations
  • English edition and translations available

Travelers of a Hundred Ages: The Japanese As Revealed Through 1,000 Years of Diaries

1984 Travel/essay and cultural criticism

An essay collection analyzing Japanese sensibilities through diaries spanning a millennium.

diary literatureJapanese cultural sensibilitieshistory and the individual
Translations
  • 'Travelers of a Hundred Ages' (English translation)

Bibliography

  • Travelers of a Hundred Ages
  • A History of Japanese Literature
  • Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World
  • Why I Became Japanese
  • The Japanese Aesthetic Sense
  • Record Critiques and Musical Essays
  • Collected Works of Donald Keene (15 vols.)

Adaptations

  • NHK specials and documentary programs

Translations by Author

  • English translations of works by Dazai Osamu and other modern writers
  • Translations of Chikamatsu's plays into English

Translations of Works

  • English and other translations of 'Travelers of a Hundred Ages'
  • Translations of parts of 'A History of Japanese Literature' into English

Style & Themes

Literary Style
clear, learned, and objective prose
Recurring Motifs
bridging Japanese culture to the Westinterest in diaries and travel writingexaminations of aesthetics and suggestiveness

Health

  • heart failure
    2019年2月
    Died of heart failure in 2019
  • appendicitis (in youth)
    1942年頃
    Hospitalized while attending navy language school; led to first encounter with Japanese literature

Legacy

Donald Keene was a leading scholar and translator who introduced Japanese literature and culture to the English-speaking world and served as a cultural bridge between Japan and the West.

Museums

  • Donald Keene Center, Kashiwazaki Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, Japan Opened in 2011
  • Donald Keene Center for Japanese Culture (Columbia University) New York, United States (Columbia University) Opened in 1986

Academic Societies

  • Japan PEN Club (Honorary Member)
  • International Research Center for Japanese Studies (affiliations)

Archives

  • Kita City Central Library: Donald Keene Collection Corner
  • Archives and holdings at the Donald Keene Center (Columbia University)

In Popular Culture

  • NHK specials and documentary programs
  • Documentary drama 'To the Japanese I Love: Donald Keene — 70 Years with Literary Masters' (NHK)

Quotes

  • On the whole, I believe Japan has moved in a positive direction.
    Source: Interview (on his naturalization and residency decision) (2011)
  • It has been my work to present Japanese culture in English.
    Source: Lectures and writings

Trivia

  • Adopted son is shamisen player Makoto Keene (Uehara Makoto)
  • His death date, February 24, is commemorated as 'Keene Day' (Yellow Dog memorial)
  • He loved ice cream
  • Naturalized as a Japanese citizen late in life and registered the name as 'キーン ドナルド' in the family register