Donald Keene


Donald Lawrence Keene was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years. Soon after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he retired from Columbia, moved to Japan permanently, and acquired citizenship under the name. This was also his poetic nom de plume and occasional nickname, spelled in the ateji form 鬼怒鳴門.

Education

Keene received a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1942. He studied the Japanese language at the U.S. Navy Japanese Language School in Boulder, Colorado and in Berkeley, California, and served as an intelligence officer in the Pacific region during World War II. Upon his discharge from the US Navy, he returned to Columbia where he earned a master's degree in 1947.
Keene studied for a year at Harvard University before transferring to Cambridge University where he earned a second master's and became a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge from 1948–1954, and a University Lecturer from 1949–1955. In the interim, in 1953, he also studied at Kyoto University, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia in 1949. Keene credits Ryūsaku Tsunoda as a mentor during this period.
While studying in the East Asian library at Columbia, a man whom Keene did not know invited him to dinner at the Chinese restaurant where Keene and Lee, a Chinese-American Columbia graduate student, ate every day. The man's name was Jack Kerr, and he had lived in Japan for several years and taught English in Taiwan. Kerr invited Keene to study Japanese in the summer to learn Japanese from a student he taught in Taiwan, for Kerr to have competition when learning Japanese. Their tutor was Inomata Tadashi, and they were taught elementary spoken Japanese and kanji.
While staying at Cambridge, after winning a fellowship for Americans to study in England, Keene went to meet Arthur Waley who was best known for his translation work in classical Chinese and Japanese literature. For Keene, Waley's translation of Chinese and Japanese literature was inspiring, even arousing in Keene the thought of becoming a second Waley.

Career

Keene was a Japanologist who published about 25 books in English on Japanese topics, including both studies of Japanese literature and culture and translations of Japanese classical and modern literature, including a four-volume history of Japanese literature which has become the standard work. Keene also published about 30 books in Japanese, some of which have been translated from English. He was president of the Donald Keene Foundation for Japanese Culture.
Soon after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Keene retired from Columbia and moved to Japan with the intention of living out the remainder of his life there. He acquired Japanese citizenship, adopting the legal name. This required him to relinquish his American citizenship, as Japan does not permit dual citizenship.
Keene was well known and respected in Japan and his relocation there following the earthquake was widely lauded.
On February 24, 2019, Keene died of cardiac arrest in Tokyo, aged 96.

Personal life

Although Keene was not married, in 2013 he adopted shamisen player Seiki Uehara as a son.

Selected works

In an overview of writings by and about Keene, OCLC/WorldCat lists roughly 600+ works in 1,400+ publications in 16 languages and 39,000+ library holdings.

Works in English

Works in Japanese

日本の文学. Jp trans. 吉田健一
nihonbungaku
日本の作家
nihon no sakka
Kobo Abe and Donald Keene, 反劇的人間
hangekiteki ningen. In conversation with Kobo Abe
Ooka Shouhei and Donald Keene, 東と西のはざまで　大岡昇平と対談
higashi to nishi no haza made'. In conversation with Ooka Shouhei
Tokuoka Takao and Donald Keene, 悼友紀行 三島由紀夫の作品風土
ドナルド・キーンの日本文学散歩. Column in Asahi Weekly 週刊朝日, 8th Jan 1957 - 26th Sept 1975
Donarudo Kiin no nihonbungaku sanpo
ドナルド・キーンの音盤風刺花伝
Later published as わたしの好きなレコード
watashi no sukina rekoodo
日本文学を読む
nihonbungaku wo yomu
日本の魅力　対談集
nihongo no miryoku. A collection of conversation.
日本を理解するまで
nihon wo rikaisuru made
日本文学のなかへ
nihonbungaku no nakahe
音楽の出会いとよろこび. Jp trans. 中矢 一義.
ongaku no deai to yorokobi
Later published by 中央公論社 1992.
ついさきの歌声 Jp trans. 中矢一義訳
tsuisaki no utagoe
私の日本文学逍遥
watashi no nihonbungaku shouyou
日本人の質問
nihonjin no shitsumon
百代の過客　日記にみる日本人. Column in the Asahi Evening News, 4th Jul 1983 - 13th Apr 1984.
hyakudai no kakaku: nikki nimiru nihonjin
Ryotaro Shiba and Donald Keene, 日本人と日本文化 司馬遼太郎との対談
nihonjin to nihonbunka: conversations with Ryotaro Shiba
Later published as 世界のなかの日本 十六世紀まで遡って見る 司馬遼太郎対談　
sakai no naka no nihon: juurokuseiki made sakanobattemiru. In conversation with Ryotaro Shiba.
少し耳の痛くなる話
sukoshi mimi no itakunaru hanashi
二つの母国に生きて
futatsu no bokoku ni ikite
このひとすじにつながりて. Column in the Asahi Evening News, 7th Jan 1990 - 9th Feb 1992.
kono hitosushi ni tsunagarite
古典を楽しむ 私の日本文学
koden wo tanoshimu: watashi no nihonbungaku
日本人の美意識
nihonjin no biishiki
声の残り 私の文壇交遊録
koe no nokori: watashi no bundankouyuuroku
Yukio Mishima & Donald Keene, 三島由紀夫未発表書簡 ドナルド・キーン氏宛の97通
Mishima Yukio mihappyoushokan 97 letters addressed to Donald Keene
日本語の美
nihongo no bi
明治天皇を語る.
meijiennnou wo kataru . Based on a series of lectures.
日本文学は世界のかけ橋
nihonbungaku ha sekai no kakebashi
Jakucho Setouchi, Donald Keene & Shunsuke Tsurumi, 同時代を生きて 忘れえぬ人びと　
doujidai wo ikite wasureenu hitobito
私の大事な場所
watashi no daijina basho
ドナルド・キーン著作集』（全15巻）
donarudo kiin chosakushou.
The collected works of Donald Keene
Donald Keene & Koike Masayuki, 戦場のエロイカ・シンフォニー 私が体験した日米戦
senjou no Eroica shinfonii: watashi ga keikenshita nichibeiikusa
Donald Keene and Setouchi Jakuchou, 日本を、信じる
私が日本人になった理由―日本語に魅せられて
watashi ga nihonjin ni natta riyuu - nihongo ni miserarete
Translation of the History of Japanese literature series
日本文学史
nihonbungakushi
  • History of Japanese literature: Modern era, published in 8 volumes,. Jp trans. 角地幸男, 徳岡孝夫 & 新井潤美
  • History of Japanese literature, including modern era and pre-modern era, published in 18 volumes. Jp trans for Pre-modern: 土屋政雄
  • History of Japanese literature: Modern era, published in 9 volumes, 2011-2012''. Editor. 徳岡 孝夫

Translations

  • Chikamatsu Monzaemon, The Battles of Coxinga: Chikamatsu's Puppet Play, Its Background and Importance
  • Dazai Osamu, No Longer Human
  • Chikamatsu Monzaemon, The Major Plays of Chikamatsu
    • Includes critical commentary
    Keene was awarded various honorary doctorates, from:

    Decorations