Eileen Lynn Kato (23 March 1932 – 31 August 2008) was an Irish academic, translator and expert in Japanese poetry and theatre. In 1991, she was appointed to the Japanese Imperial Household as a ''goyogakari'' (advisor), a post she held until 2007, shortly before her death. She was the first foreigner to hold such a position. In addition to being an authority on Japanese poetry and theatre, and Waka art, she had a deep knowledge of Old-Middle English, Old Irish, Medieval French and Classical Japanese.

Early life and education

Eileen Lynn was born in

Bangor Erris Bangor Erris () is a town in Kiltane parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland with a population of over 300. It is on the banks of the Owenmore River and is a "gateway" to the Erris Peninsula linking Belmullet with Ballina and Westport. It i ...

on 23 March 1932, daughter of Jimmy Lynn from Briska, a townland just outside Bangor Erris, and Mary (née Tracy), originally from Galway. She attended the Ursuline Convent school in Sligo, and progressed to

University College Galway The University of Galway () is a public university, public research university located in the city of Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Ga ...

, where in 1953 she secured a first class honours degree in French and Spanish. In 1954 she won a scholarship from the French government, and attended the University of

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, where she earned an MA, and then, having won a second scholarship, she attended the Sorbonne in Paris. When her husband was posted to the United Nations in New York during the 1960s, she completed a second MA, in Japanese Studies, at Columbia University, partly under the supervision of renowned scholar

Donald Keene Donald Lawrence Keene (June 18, 1922 – February 24, 2019) was an American-born Japanese scholar, historian, teacher, writer and translator of Japanese literature. Keene was University Professor emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japane ...

Academic and cultural career

Kato's work primarily focused on translations mostly from Japanese to English. She also translated ''

waka WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...

'' poems - Japan’s traditional poetic form - into Irish and English Irish poetry. Her work was included in several collections, including ''Twenty Plays of the Noh Theatre.'' She also wrote poetry, including waka. While living in Japan, Kato developed an expertise in the

Noh theatre is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...

- the classic form of Japanese dance and drama. She frequently attended the theatre and she counted many famous Noh actors as personal friends. She also published a number of articles about Irish and Japanese literature in academic journals such as ''

Monumenta Nipponica ''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual academic journal of Japanese studies. Published by Sophia University (Tokyo), it is one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of Asian studies, being founded in 1938. Although the jo ...

''.

Personal life

While in

, she met her husband, Yoshiya Kato, who was a Japanese diplomat serving in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The marriage was only the second case since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in which a Japanese diplomat married a foreign national, and the marriage required the approval of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. They lived in various locations including the US, China and Egypt, and conversed in French. Kato also became a Japanese citizen.

Death

She died aged 76 on 31 August 2008. In a gesture reserved for those of outstanding merit and stature, the Emperor of Japan had a bowl of white roses placed by her portrait at her funeral in Tokyo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kato, Eileen Lynn 1932 births Writers from County Mayo Alumni of the University of Galway Translators from Japanese 20th-century Irish poets Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Japanese literary scholars Scholars of Japanese literature Japanese poets 2008 deaths Naturalized citizens of Japan 20th-century Irish translators Irish emigrants to Japan University of Poitiers alumni Paris-Sorbonne University alumni Irish writers in Japanese Irish women poets Scholars and academics from County Mayo