Columbia University's Top Japanologist Discusses His 60+ Year Career as a Part of Japan Society's Centennial Speakers Series

For Immediate Release

Reflections on a Lifetime Engaged with Japanese Culture:
An Evening with Donald Keene

Wednesday, January 30, 6:30 pm


New York, NY -- Japan Society presents Reflections on a Lifetime Engaged with Japanese Culture: An Evening with Donald Keene, the first 2008 installment of the continuing Centennial Speakers Series. Featuring Dr. Donald Keene, Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University and recipient of “Person of Cultural Merit” (Bunka Korosha), the second highest honor that can be bestowed on an individual by the Japanese government, the discussion takes place at Japan Society on Wednesday, January 30 at 6:30 pm. Moderated by Thomas Hare, Professor of Comparative Literature, Princeton University, the event is followed by a reception.

Through his books, translations and articles, Donald Keene has helped shape the English-speaking world's understanding of Japanese culture. Few Americans or Japanese have been as deeply and broadly engaged with Japanese culture as Dr. Keene, whose work ranges from translations of classic works of premodern and contemporary literature and drama to insightful books about modern Japan that have become standards in the field. For this lecture, Dr. Keene reflects on his more than 60-year career as a leading scholar of both traditional and modern Japanese culture.

About Donald Keene
Donald Keene received his B.A. (1942), M.A. (1947), and Ph.D. (1949) degrees from Columbia University, and his Litt. D. from Cambridge University in 1978. Professor Keene began teaching at Columbia University in 1955, and was named Columbia University Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature in 1981 and University Professor in 1989; he is currently a University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus. Professor Keene has published approximately 25 books in English, including a four-volume history of Japanese literature. His Japanese publications include approximately 30 books, some written originally in Japanese, others translated from English. Professor Keene's Meiji Tenno (Shinchosha, 2001; translation by Yukio Kakuchi), a biography of the Meiji Emperor, recently won the 56th Mainichi Shuppan Culture Prize. The English text, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, was published by Columbia University Press in March, 2002, and, among its many enthusiastic reviews, was named one of the Best Books of 2002 by the Los Angeles Times Book Review.

In the autumn of 2002, Professor Keene was awarded one of Japan's highest honors, the title "Person of Cultural Merit" (Bunka Korosha), for his distinguished service in the promotion of Japanese literature and culture; Keene is only the third non-Japanese to be designated this honor. He is also the recipient of the Kikuchi Kan Prize of the Society for the Advancement of Japanese Culture (1962); the Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class (1993) and Third Class (1975); the Japan Foundation Prize (1983); the Yomiuri Shimbun Prize (1985); the Shincho Grand Literary Prize (1985); the Tokyo Metropolitan Prize (1987); the Radio and Television Culture Prize (1993); and the Asahi Prize (1998). He has received honorary degrees from St. Andrew's College (1990), Middlebury College (1995), Columbia University (1997, Tohoku University), Waseda University (1998), Tokyo Gaikokugo Daigaku (1999), and Keiwa University (2000). He was the first non-Japanese to receive the Yomiuri Literary Prize for the best book of literary criticism in Japanese (awarded in 1985 for the original Japanese version of Travelers of a Hundred Ages) and he was awarded the Nihon Bungaku Taisho (Grand Prize of Japanese Literature) for the same work.

About Japan Society
Founded in 1907 by prominent New York City business people and philanthropists, Japan Society has evolved over 100 years into an internationally recognized nonprofit organization presenting a full range of programs within arts and culture, business, education, family, and public policy. Through over 100 events annually, the Society creates rich encounters and exchanges that offer opportunities to experience Japanese culture; foster sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia; and improve access to information on Japan.

Japan Society celebrates the 100th Anniversary of its founding with Japan100: Celebrating a Century, an unprecedented array of high-profile programming in 2007-08. The celebration occurs throughout New York City and in Japan with further national and international exposure through traveling exhibitions, performing arts tours, symposia, fellowships, and exchanges. Through May 2008, the Centennial Speakers Series, sponsored by Citi Group, features discussions by such luminaries as Tadao Ando, Fujio Cho, Beate Gordon, Eikoh Harada, Shintaro Ishihara, Donald Keene, Yuzaburo Mogi, Joseph Nye, Martha Stewart, Junichi Ujiie, Ezra Vogel, and Paul Volcker. Visit www.japan100.org for more information.


Tickets and Information
Tickets to Reflections on a Lifetime Engaged with Japanese Culture: An Evening with Donald Keene are $10/$8 Japan Society members/$5 seniors & students. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E and V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd St.) For reservations, call the box office at 212-715-1258. For further information call 212-832-1155 or visit www.japansociety.org.

The Centennial Speakers Series is generously sponsored by Citigroup, Inc.

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Press Contacts

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Japan Society
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Kuniko Shiobara
Japan Society
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