Letters left in a book left behind
One day I saw a pile of books entitled The Tale of Genji. I had no idea such a work existed, and out of curiosity I picked one up and began to read. The illustrations told me it must be about Japan. The books were a two-volume set, and cost 49 cents. It seemed like a good deal, so I bought it.
--From "The Autobiography of Donald Keene, New and Expanded Edition" by Donald Keene
Tokyo's Kita Ward Central Library has a "Donald Keene Collection Corner" where you can browse the books of Japanese literature scholar Donald Keene. Keene lived in Nishigahara, Kita Ward, for over 40 years and loved the former Furukawa Gardens and Shimofuri Ginza Shopping Arcade. In 2010, the National Year of Reading, he offered to donate his books to the library.
The books that Keene loved to read and studied are lined up here. The red circle stickers on the spines indicate books that Keene wrote in. The green ones have the author's signature. 
Donald Keene (Japanese literature scholar) / Born in New York City in 1922. Studied Japanese literature at Columbia University and Cambridge University. Studied at Kyoto University Graduate School in 1953. Became an assistant professor at Columbia University in 1955. Acquired Japanese citizenship in 2012. Yukio Mishima was the one who gave him the name "Kinou Naruto" in kanji. He passed away in 2019.
Staff member Matsumoto Hiroko says, "At the time, the professor had decided to return to Japan permanently (later decided to naturalize after the Great East Japan Earthquake) and was moving out of his apartment in New York. But he said, 'Our house in Nishigahara is too small and we can't fit all of our books in. I'd be happy if I could donate them to the library so that many people can read them, and I could drop in and look at them myself from time to time.'"
Although donations to libraries are common, many of these books end up "dead" in storage. Matsumoto therefore asked the library to select books by authors such as Masaoka Shiki, Ishikawa Takuboku, Junichiro Tanizaki Junichiro, Kawabata Yasunari, Shiba Ryotaro, Yukio Mishima, and Mishima Yukio, as well as books on the subject of Keene's research, such as the Tale of Genji, the Meiji Emperor's Chronicles, and diary literature.
"We received a total of 788 books, including translated books. This is only a portion of the entire collection, but as the professor said, we created a space like a study so that the books would become 'living books' that many people could pick up and read."
The library opened in 2013. "At my own house, I don't know where anything is, but here it's organized and easy to find," Keene said with delight. "It's only one bus ride from the professor's home, so he would come here occasionally until around 2018. He would look at Takami Jun's books because they were necessary for his research on diary literature."
What's interesting is that many of the books contain Keene's own notes. They are written in pencil in English and Japanese, and some even include small illustrations. "For example, by reading his notes, I can discover new things about how he read Masaoka Shiki and what he noticed."
Keene had close ties with Ryotaro Shiba and Kobo Abe, and often held conversations with them. 
The biography of Emperor Meiji, compiled by the Imperial Household Ministry, is filled with notes. Keene has studied Emperor Meiji, who faced the turmoil of the opening of Japan and the Meiji Restoration, and published Emperor Meiji in 2001. 
As a leading scholar of Japanese literature, Keene has written numerous books in English, including research on the history of Japanese literature, classics, and authors. 
The Donald Keene Collection is a study-like space separated by bookshelves. The books can only be viewed here. There are even "regulars" who visit every day.
Keene first encountered Japanese literature during World War II, when he first read Arthur Waley's translation of The Tale of Genji as a student at Columbia University. He was astonished to discover that the protagonist, Hikaru Genji, was not a typical European macho man but a beautiful man who knew deep sadness, and this changed his perception of Japan, which he had previously held as a menacing military nation. Keene's life's work in diary literature came about when he was assigned to a department translating Japanese documents during the war and was deeply moved by reading the diaries written in the notebooks of Japanese soldiers who had been killed in battle.
Currently, a project is underway with Toyo University to organize Keene's collection of approximately 7,000 books, which is nearing completion. "We are classifying and creating a list of the books we have, so that we can restore the location of each book on each shelf." Keene's bookshelves and their thoughts will live on.
This is an ukiyo-e print by Utagawa Toyokuni that I bought in Paris in 1948. It was very cheap. 
A windbreaker signed by Keene. This is merchandise from the Donald Keene Center Kashiwazaki, which opened in 2013.
