Donald Keene becomes Japanese

According to the 官報 {kampō} (Official Gazette [of the Japanese Diet]), "Living Treasure" Donald Keene acquired Japanese naturalization on March 8th, 2012. At a press conference held at his home (!), he commented, 「待ちわびていた知らせ。うれしく思いました」 {"Machiwabite ita shirase. Ureshiku omoimashita."} ("This is news I've been waiting for. I'm pleased.") Like most people that get naturalized in Japan, he received the news via telephone from a case worker.

Professor Keene, who has received numerous awards from both the U.S. and Japan, decided to acquire Japanese citizenship soon after the east Japan tsunami and earthquake disaster. The process only took about four months, which is a bit on the fast side compared to most applicants, who normally take anywhere from over a half a year to sometimes over a year. Some people speculate that his advanced age (89) and his indisputable contributions to Japanese society may have contributed to the speed of his processing. As his original nationality is American, he will renounce his U.S. citizenship within two years.

Upon his naturalization becoming official, Kita Ward, knowing that Professor Keene enjoys Japanese word play and puns, presented him with a giant mock 名刺 {meishi} (Japanese business card) with his name written in 漢字 {kanji} (Japanese sinograms) as 『鬼怒鳴門』, which is "KĪN Donarudo" transliterated phonetically (当て字 {ateji}) but character-by-character means "Devil Angrily Howling [at the] Gate" or "Ogre Angry / Steamed Fish Paste Cake aka 'kamaboko'". It is derived from two places in Japan: 鬼怒川 {Kinugawa} (Kinugawa River) and 鳴門市 {Naruto-shi} (Naruto City) in 徳島県 {Tokushima-ken} (Tokushima Prefecture) on 四国 {Shikoku} (Shikoku island).

For the record, I neither had a press conference nor was I given gag gift business cards from my Tōkyō ward. ☺ It would have been neat to receive something to mark the very special occasion, like a little pin of the Japanese flag or one's new name written in Japanese calligraphy on parchment. I had a conversation with an Australian the other night (who naturalized from New Zealand citizenship) and he too wishes he received a momento of the occasion. I heard that those naturalizing to U.S. citizenship sometimes get little U.S. flags.

Actually, Professor Keene chose to have his Japanese name be: 『キーンドナルド』 {"KĪN Donarudo"} in カタカナ {katakata} (Japanese syllabet often used for foreign origin words). I learned something new regarding his name choice: apparently the use of the 長音符 {chōompu} (long sound mark), which is used in 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet) to indicate an extended vowel, usually but not always in non-native words, is a permissible character on a 戸籍 {koseki} (Japanese family register), so long as it's used correctly (it doesn't appear at the beginning of a name or after a 『ん』 {"n'"} character). The 仮名 {kana} (Japanese syllabet) repeating characters 《ゝ》 and 《ゞ》, the 漢字 {kanji} (Japanese sinogram) repeating character 《々》, and the obsolete characters 『ゐ／ヰ』 {"yi"} and 『ゑ／ヱ』 {"ye"} and 『を／ヲ』 {"o"}  are also permissible.

Some news sources are implying that his name is registered as 『キーン・ドナルド』 {"KĪN · Donarudo"}, but actually the 中黒 {nakaguro} (full width middle dot; 《・》) is not a permitted character for an official 戸籍名 {koseki-mei} (Japanese family register name).

Although I don't know if he has a Japanese passport yet, most likely his Japanese passport will list him under the name "Donald Keene" (with perhaps a first + middle name listed in parentheses beside his given name), not "Donarudo Kiin", as Japanese passports allow non-Japanese spellings if there's an overseas connection.

When you naturalize, you're allowed to choose anywhere in the country as your 本籍 {honseki} (registered domicile), but that information is considered by some to be private — it's no longer printed on Japanese driver's licenses, for example — so who knows where Professor Keene considers "home" to be within Japan.

New Japanese citizen Professor Keene will be travelling — old school, by ship  — to India and Africa for vacation for a bit. Japanese passports enable easy travel to most places in the world as they are accepted by most countries with visa waiver programs. India, though, is a bit stricter on those who have naturalized or have multiple nationalities or have lived in a foreign country for less than two years.

Congratulations Keene-sensei!