Inada, K.
Full Name[edit]
Kenneth K. Inada (1923-2011)
Affiliation[edit]
University of Buffalo, retired
Education[edit]
PhD, University of Tokyo MA, University of Chicago BA, University of Hawai'i
Other Information[edit]
Obituary:
Kenneth K. Inada, Buddhist scholar, UB professor
May 7, 1923—March 26, 2011
Published:April 12, 2011, 12:00 AM
Updated: April 12, 2011, 7:01 AM
Kenneth K. Inada, Ph. D., of Honolulu, a Buddhist scholar and retired University at Buffalo professor, died March 26 in Honolulu. He was 87.
Born and raised in Honolulu, he earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii and master’s degree from the University of Chicago.
Encouraged by Zen scholar D. T. Suzuki, he studied Asian Buddhism at the University of Tokyo, from which he earned his Ph. D. in 1960, making Dr. Inada the first American citizen to receive a doctorate from that university.
Dr. Inada served 10 years on the faculty of the philosophy department at the University of Hawaii before he was recruited by the philosophy department of the University at Buffalo in 1969. He retired in 1997.
Dr. Inada was the author of numerous books and other publications. He was internationally recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on Buddhism and East-West comparative philosophy. In 1990, he became only the second American in 150 years to receive the Culture Award from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Buddhism.
He served in the Army from 1943 to 1945 during World War II and was wounded in action in France as a member of the 442nd Infantry Battalion. About 65 years after the war, Dr. Inada was invited to Houston and honored as a special guest during an appreciation gathering that was organized by the survivors of what was called the “Lost Battalion.” It consisted mostly of a battalion of soldiers from Texas that Dr. Inada, as a member of the 442nd Infantry Battalion, helped to rescue.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, the former Masako Tanaka, and a son, Ernest. Source Accessed September 6, 2011