Sukehiro Hirakawa

Born in 1931, Sukehiro Hirakawa is Pprofessor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo and a director at the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals. A prolific scholar and author, Professor Hirakawa has studied in France, Germany, and Italy, translated the Divine Comedy into Japanese, published and/or edited dozens of books, worked extensively in Japanese modern history, and has won, among other awards, the Suntory Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities, the Yomiuri Prize for Literature, the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, the Watsuji Tetsurō Culture Prize, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, and the Japan Essayist Club Prize. Professor Hirakawa’s English works include Japan’s Love-Hate Relationship with the West (Global Oriental, 2005).