Shiikane biography of donald

Donald Keene is the th most popular historian down from th inthe 5,th most popular biography from United States down from 4,st in and the 13th most popular American Historian. Among historians, Donald Keene ranks out of After him are Julien RiesStephen E. Among people born inDonald Keene ranks Among people deceased inDonald Keene ranks Selected works [ edit ].

Works in English [ edit ]. Works in Japanese [ edit ]. Translations [ edit ]. Editor [ edit ]. Honorary degrees [ edit ]. Awards and commendations [ edit ]. National honors and decorations [ edit ]. Decorations [ edit ]. Honors [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN The Japan Times. February 24, Retrieved February 24, The New York Times.

Shiikane biography of donald

Archived from the original on November 10, Retrieved February 5, New York: Columbia University Press. Mainichi Daily News. March 14, Retrieved December 5, Donald was not only prolific but was also constantly thinking of new avenues by which to explore Japanese culture and literature. Or he would tell me that he was working on a new book and planned to send me the manuscript in a couple of months.

He always dreaded the peer-review process, waiting anxiously for the reports just like a first-time author. He was eager that his books be judged essential contributions and anxious that they be received well by scholars, even though the general public was the audience he had in mind. It was difficult to find objective peer reviewers for his manuscripts because Keene was such a giant in the field.

Most of the people I could think of to review his work had been his students and so were disqualified. Others were in awe of him and found it difficult to be asked to judge anything he wrote. Though he essentially invented the field of Japanese literature in the United States, by the time I met him in Donald was somewhat out of step with academic trends.

He preferred writing straightforward literary history as a way to educate readers about the wonders of Japanese writing. He also loved writing biographical works about literary or cultural figures, be they famous or neglected. The people he wrote about usually had something in common with Donald, it seemed to me. They had experienced unpleasant childhoods or were loners of one sort or another, often somewhat out of step with their time and place.

Yet, at the same time, he had his own distinct style, defined by its wryness, understatement, and clarity. When you read Donald, you knew you were in the hands of the sensei as all his students called him. Yoshimasa was probably the worst shogun ever to rule Japan. He was a failure as a soldier and incompetent at dealing with state business, but his influence on Japanese culture was tremendous.

In the autumn ofhe transferred to Harvard University; in the following year, he began research at Cambridge University in Britain. Inhe received his doctorate from Columbia for his research into the bunraku puppet theater of Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Under the Allied Occupation —52Japan did not accept any foreign students. It was only after it regained national sovereignty based on the San Francisco Peace Treaty that Keene could fulfill his long-cherished desire of studying in Kyoto.

With a scholarship grant, he arrived in the historic former capital in the summer of Keene stayed in a detached cottage at a traditional minka in Imakumano, eastern Kyoto. It was surrounded by cherry and maple trees, and he could hear the murmuring of a nearby brook. Wishing to experience the lifestyle of an earlier Japan, in the chill of winter he warmed the room with charcoal burned in a hibachi brazier rather than using a stove, and he ate washoku shiikane biographies of donald prepared for him by the minka owner Okumura Ayako.

He also placed a low writing desk on the tatami floors of the study, and worked there sitting in the seiza position. This is where he typed his literature anthologies. The first, the Anthology of Japanese Literaturewas published in Septemberafter he had returned to the United States. Under the terms of the publishing agreement, the Japan Society would purchase any unsold books in the initial 2,copy print run.

By Christmas, however, the first edition was sold out. The unexpected demand was fueled by the many Americans who had come into contact with Japanese people, or had been to Japan during the war and occupation, and wanted to know more about the culture. The following year, the Modern Japanese Literature anthology was published.