TEHRAN – Keio University in Japan has established a new research award named after the Japanese Iranologist and Islamologist Professor Toshihiko Izutsu (1914-1993).
Japanese researchers who have compiled or written the best books or articles on Iran and Islam will receive the biennial award in 2015, Iran’s Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) said in a press release on Tuesday.
The decision was announced during a meeting Iran’s cultural attaché in Japan, Reza Yusefi, had with the officials of Keio University held to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the professor.
Iran’s Cultural Office is due to collaborate with the university in organizing the award.
Toshihiko Izutsu was Professor Emeritus at Keio University in Japan and author of many books on Islam and other religions.
He taught at the Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Studies at Keio University in Tokyo, the Iranian Institute of Philosophy in Tehran, and McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
He was fluent in over 10 languages, including Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Greek.
RM/YAW
END