Donald Keene

Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019), also known as Donarudo Kiin (鬼怒鳴門, Kiin Donarudo),^[1] was an American and Japanese scholar, teacher, writer, translator and Japan studies expert.^[2]

Keene's contributions to the understanding of Japanese culture were recognized by the Japanese government in 2002 and in 2008.^[3] In 2012, Keene became a Japanese citizen and he explained,

"You cannot stop being an American after 89 years.... But I have become a Japanese in many ways. Not pretentiously, but naturally."^[2]

1. ↑ "Donald Keene obtains Japanese citizenship; shows off 鬼怒鳴門 as his name," Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine Japan Today. March 9, 2001; retrieved 2012-11-18.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Fackler, Martin. "Lifelong Scholar of the Japanese Becomes One of Them," The New York Times, November 2, 2012; retrieved 2012-11-02.
3. ↑ Keene Center of Japanese Culture, About Donald Keene Archived 2011-10-04 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2012-11-02.