Learning about Keene’s Wish for Peace from His Time in Hawaii; ‘No Such Thing As a Meaningful War’

By Futoshi Mori / Japan News Senior Writer

7:01 JST, August 11, 2025

Renowned scholar of Japanese literature Donald Keene had deep ties to Hawaii. His adopted son, Seiki Keene, walked around Oahu Island in June this year “to trace the footsteps of my father, who hated war and devoted his life to the study of Japanese literature.”

After the war, Keene kept studying Japanese literature while traveling between Japan and the United States. In 2006, he met Seiki, a shamisen player for puppet theater. Seiki accompanied Keene to museums and concerts almost every month, and the two became close friends. Keene was single, and he trusted Seiki so much that he asked him to become his adopted son.

Keene, who decided to live permanently in Japan, acquired Japanese nationality in March 2012. Shortly thereafter, Keene, then 89, formally adopted Seiki, then 61, as his son. The two lived together for about seven years until Keene’s death in February 2019.

Pearl Harbor

“Americans visiting Hawaii come here first, before going to the beach,” a Japanese tour guide said at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. “In the United States, which is a multiracial country, this is a symbolic place that confirms the unity of the people.”

However, when Seiki asked Keene to visit Pearl Harbor with him 10 years ago, he declined.

Visitors must watch a short film about 15 minutes long summarizing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before heading to the USS Arizona Memorial. The film depicts the situation in Japan at the time, the Pearl Harbor attack operation and the damage it caused, emphasizing that it was a war of justice for the United States. American visitors watched the screen in silence.

The USS Arizona Memorial is located directly above the battleship Arizona, which was sunk during the attack, and commemorates the more than 1,000 people lost on the ship. Seiki stared at the names of the dead inscribed on the wall and repeated Keene’s words: “There is no such thing as a meaningful war.”

Postwar exchanges

“Henry and Donald were good friends, and they used to drink together at our house and finish a bottle of Chivas Regal in one night,” said Marjie Yokoyama.

At a nursing home in Honolulu, Yokoyama, 97, shook hands with Seiki for the first time in 10 years and shared memories of Keene. Yokoyama is the widow of Henry Yokoyama, a second-generation Japanese American who served as a language soldier with the U.S. Army.

Keene and Henry worked together in Hawaii during the war, translating Japanese military documents. It was Marjie who suggested scattering Keene’s ashes in the sea off Hawaii.

After the war, Keene began teaching at Columbia University and traveled back and forth between Japan and the United States. Planes had to refuel in Hawaii, so he often stayed at the home of Yokoyama, who had become a doctor. Keene was fondly called “Uncle Donald” by Yokoyama’s children, and they went snorkeling together in the beautiful Hanauma Bay.

Lifelong wish for peace

The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific is located in a volcanic crater known as the Punchbowl, and Henry Yokoyama is buried there. From the cemetery’s observation deck, Honolulu and the Pacific Ocean can be seen, and Seiki scattered Keene’s ashes in that ocean.

Keene told Seiki: “War was unfortunate. But in a way, it deepened interest and understanding of Japan. If we get to know each other better, war can be avoided.”

“I feel like I understand why my father avoided visiting the Pearl Harbor facility,” Seiki said. “Perhaps he wanted to focus on the new era of peace between Japan and the United States that was built after the war, rather than the dark days of the war he detested.”

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