Donald Keene

Academic conveyed the essence of Japanese literature to the world

The achievement of making the depth and artistic nature of Japanese literature known overseas is immeasurable. Donald Keene, who was born in the United States and acquired Japanese nationality in his later years, has died at 96. We pray for his soul to rest in peace.

What is worthy of special mention is the feat of getting to the heart of classic Japanese literature, such as “Genji Monogatari” (The Tale of Genji), “Tsurezuregusa” (Essays in Idleness) and “Oku no Hosomichi” (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), and introducing them widely to the world.

Keene deepened friendships with leading Japanese writers who represented the age after the end of World War II, including Junichiro Tanizaki, Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima and Kobo Abe, and energetically translated their works. His action of urging the parties concerned to recommend Japanese writers as candidates for the Nobel Prize for Literature was also rated highly.

Through such activities, the existence of Japanese literature that shines with originality came to be known. It is recognized that Japanese literature has been nurtured as an original culture, not an imitation of foreign literature, and that it uses sophisticated expression.

The products of his research came to fruition in the form of “A History of Japanese Literature,” an overview of history from the Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters) to contemporary literature, which he wrote by himself. His work “Hakutai no Kakaku: Nikki ni Miru Nihonjin,” which won the Yomiuri Literature Prize, shed light on diaries and brought their literariness into bold relief.

Keene also played a major role as an educator. He taught at Columbia University in the United States for more than 50 years and established a foundation for studying Japanese literature overseas. Researchers of Japanese literature in the younger generations have been nurtured smoothly.

We pay respect to Keene for becoming a bridge between Japan and the world by trying to communicate beyond border walls and linguistic difference.

His involvement with Japan started when he read the English version of “Genji Monogatari” and was impressed by the work at the age of 18.

He learned Japanese in the U.S. Navy during the war. It is said that he interrogated Japanese prisoners of war and also deciphered the meaning of diaries Japanese soldiers had left.

Concerning diaries that vividly described the feelings of dying soldiers, he wrote later that they were sometimes intolerably impressive. His energetic research may be a manifestation of his will to facilitate reconciliation between Japan and the United States.

Keene was a person of deep humanity and spared no effort in providing support to disaster victims. After the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, he decided to live permanently in Japan when he saw victims quietly enduring their difficult situations and thought that he wanted to work with the Japanese people. He continued to be a good sympathizer with Japan and the Japanese people.

In his later years, Keene was concerned that the Japanese themselves were ignoring Japanese tradition and culture.

It has also been pointed out that there are few opportunities at schools to read “Genji Monogatari” and other classic Japanese literature and that research on Japanese literature has stagnated. It is necessary to take Keene’s candid advice seriously and look again at the greatness of Japanese tradition and culture.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 26, 2019)