Polish honour for Japanese academic
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
23.06.2015 11:41
Tokimasa Sekiguchi, a professor in Polish studies at Tokyo University, has received the Gloria Artis Medal of Cultural Merit.
Prof. Tokimasa Sekiguchi (R) was awarded the Gloria Artis silver medal by Minister Omilanowska. Photo: International Cultural Centre
The medal was awarded by the Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage Małgorzata Omilanowska.
The ceremony was held on Monday at the International Cultural Centre in Kraków, with which Sekiguchi has worked closely for four decades.
He studied Polish language and literature at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in 1974-1976, thanks to a Polish government grant.
Talking to journalists after the ceremony, he recalled the beginnings of his interest in Poland. “I fell in love with the Polish actress Lucyna Winnicka when watching films directed by her husband [Jerzy Kawalerowicz – ed.]: ‘NightTrain’ and ‘Mother Joan of the Angels’,” Sekiguchi said.
“The theatre of Tadeusz Kantor was another of my early fascinations.”
Tokimasa Sekiguchi has translated into Japanese numerous works by Polish authors, including Witold Gombrowicz, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Czesław Miłosz and Zbigniew Herbert.
Right now, he is working on the translation of The Doll by the novelist Bolesław Prus (1847-1912). His output also includes a biography of Chopin published in Japan in 2001. (mk/rg)