2013 KAN'ICHI ASAKAWA AWARD CEREMONY
On May 9, 2013, The Dartmouth Club of Japan honored Dr. Donald L. Keene as the 2013 Asakawa Award Recipient
The Asakawa Award
Established in 1992 by the Dartmouth Club of Japan in memory of Dr. Kan'ichi Asakawa who was the first Japanese student to graduate from Dartmouth College (class of 1899) and a famed historian, the Kan'ichi Asakawa Award is given to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of international understanding. Through words and action, in commerce; the arts; diplomacy; science; public service; or other areas, this individual provides inspiration to all those who endeavor to construct and cross bridges of finer communication between people of different cultures. While the promotion of international understanding may not have been an overt goal during the recipient's career, it has been a recognized and highly regarded achievement, and thus has become an integral part of his or her contribution.
Established in 1992 by the Dartmouth Club of Japan in memory of Dr. Kan'ichi Asakawa who was the first Japanese student to graduate from Dartmouth College (class of 1899) and a famed historian, the Kan'ichi Asakawa Award is given to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of international understanding. Through words and action, in commerce; the arts; diplomacy; science; public service; or other areas, this individual provides inspiration to all those who endeavor to construct and cross bridges of finer communication between people of different cultures. While the promotion of international understanding may not have been an overt goal during the recipient's career, it has been a recognized and highly regarded achievement, and thus has become an integral part of his or her contribution.
About Dr. Donald Keene
Professor Keene has dedicated his life to understanding and teaching Japanese literature to generations of university students in the United States. Dr. Keene's educational path spanned the U.S. Navy's Language School to Harvard, Corpus Christi College (Cambridge), Kyoto University and Columbia University. He has been personally acquainted with many of Japan's most prominent writers of the latter half of the 20th century and has published over 25 books on Japanese literature, taking a leading role in bringing recognition in the West to what would otherwise might have been an ignored or, at least, poorly understood body of important work.
Professor Keene moved to and became a citizen of Japan in 2011 in an act of penultimate empathy for the country that has maintained a dominant place in his powerful intellect. He acquired his Japanese citizenship, and adopted the pseudonym 鬼怒鳴門 (キーン・ドナルド) on March 8th, 2012. This required him to relinquish his American citizenship, as Japan does not permit dual citizenship. Keene is well known and respected in Japan and his move there in the aftermath of the earthquake crisis was widely lauded. Keene gave a lecture in Sendai in October 2011.
Professor Keene not only represents a meaningful addition to the family of Asakawa Award recipients, but may also be the only recipient in the history and the future of the award to have actually met our eponymous sempai of the Class of 1899.
Professor Keene has dedicated his life to understanding and teaching Japanese literature to generations of university students in the United States. Dr. Keene's educational path spanned the U.S. Navy's Language School to Harvard, Corpus Christi College (Cambridge), Kyoto University and Columbia University. He has been personally acquainted with many of Japan's most prominent writers of the latter half of the 20th century and has published over 25 books on Japanese literature, taking a leading role in bringing recognition in the West to what would otherwise might have been an ignored or, at least, poorly understood body of important work.
Professor Keene moved to and became a citizen of Japan in 2011 in an act of penultimate empathy for the country that has maintained a dominant place in his powerful intellect. He acquired his Japanese citizenship, and adopted the pseudonym 鬼怒鳴門 (キーン・ドナルド) on March 8th, 2012. This required him to relinquish his American citizenship, as Japan does not permit dual citizenship. Keene is well known and respected in Japan and his move there in the aftermath of the earthquake crisis was widely lauded. Keene gave a lecture in Sendai in October 2011.
Professor Keene not only represents a meaningful addition to the family of Asakawa Award recipients, but may also be the only recipient in the history and the future of the award to have actually met our eponymous sempai of the Class of 1899.
Photos by Max Friedman '10