Donald Keene Exhibition Kicks off in Japanese-Style Cultural Facility in Soka, Saitama Pref.; Set of Matcha Tea, Sweet Inspired by His Beloved Dog Available

By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer

17:35 JST, June 24, 2025

An exhibition tracing the footsteps of Japanese literature scholar Donald Keene in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, started on Tuesday at a cultural facility located on the grounds of the Soka City Culture Hall.

Around 40 items are on display in the exhibition, titled “Exhibition on Donald Keene’s bonds with Soka City,” including work tools such as a word processor and dictionary used by Keene in his study, as well as handwritten manuscripts and panel photographs. It is being held in a Japanese-style facility named Zenso-an: Travelers of a Hundred ages.

Keene died in 2019 at the age of 96.

At the venue, there is also an audio recording of a discussion between Keene and haiku poet Momoko Kuroda, who died in 2023, about the appeal of Matsuo Basho and the value of his work “Oku no Hosomichi” (The Narrow Road to Oku). The discussion took place in Soka in 2014 to commemorate the award ceremony for the first Donald Keene Award and the seventh Oku no Hosomichi Literary Award, both of which are hosted by the city of Soka.

“Looking at his handwritten manuscripts in the re-creation of his study with a desk, I feel as if my father is here,” said Keene’s adopted son, Seiki, 74, who visited the venue right after it opened. “My father loved tatami mats, so it’s nice to be able to view the displayed items in tatami rooms in this kind of Japanese-style structure.”

Keene studied “The Narrow Road to Oku,” a work of travel literature from the Edo period (1603-1867), throughout his life and translated it for the world to read. Basho, who traveled north from Edo, present-day Tokyo, walked through Soka on his journey described in the book. Keene’s studies led to an exchange between him and the people of Soka, and he was involved in the establishment of two awards in Soka and named Zenso-an, which opened in 2019.

The exhibition is open through Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Zenso-an is offering a limited time set of matcha tea and a fresh Japanese sweet for ¥800. The sweet is modeled after Keene’s beloved dog from his childhood.