Soon after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, he retired from Columbia, moved to Japan permanently, and acquired citizenship under the name Kīn Donarudo (キーン ドナルド) which is essentially his birth name in the Japanese name order.

When Keene was seven years old, the Great Depression was beginning to gain momentum in the United States, which subsequently had a negative effect on his family.

In Paris, Keene met a girl around the same age, but had a hard time talking to her due to a language barrier, but proceeded to sing to her Frère Jacques which was the only song he knew in French.

Keene attended the James Madison High School, while living with his mother, where he showed great academic achievement.

[6] He than enrolled at Columbia University, where he received a bachelor's degree 1942,[7] studying under Mark Van Doren, Moses Hadas, Lionel Trilling, and Jacques Barzun.

While at Columbia he was obsessed with Arthur Waley's English translation of The Tale of Genji and became increasingly interested in Japanese culture after he met Ryusaku Tsunoda, an individual who Keene cites as a mentor and key influence in his writings.

While staying at Cambridge, Keene went to meet Arthur Waley who was best known for his translation work in classical Chinese and Japanese literature.

?Separate work] bunraku kinou no senchi kara Second book in the "A History of Japanese Literature" series nihon bungakushi kinseihen nihon tono deai nihon bungaku sanpo nihonsaiken Third book in the "A History of Japanese Literature" series Fourth book in the "A History of Japanese Literature" series koten no tanoshimi Later published by 宝島社,　2000. hyakudai no kakaku: nikkini miru nihonjin Later published by Asahi, 2011 and 2012.

sukoshi mimi no itakunaru hanashi futatsu no bokoku ni ikite [Living in two countries] kono hitosushi ni tsunagarite koden wo tanoshimu: watashi no nihonbungaku nihonjin no biishiki koe no nokori: watashi no bundankouyuuroku [Remaining voices: Record of my literary circle] Mishima Yukio mihappyoushokan 97 letters addressed to Donald Keene nihongo no bi [The beauty of Japanese] meijiennnou wo kataru [Stories of the Emperor Meiji].

nihonbungaku ha sekai no kakebashi doujidai wo ikite wasureenu hitobito watashi no daijina basho donarudo kiin chosakushou (zen-15gan).

The collected works of Donald Keene (15 volumes) [excluding 日本文学史 The history of Japanese literature] senjou no Eroica shinfonii: watashi ga keikenshita nichibeiikusa watashi ga nihonjin ni natta riyuu – nihongo ni miserarete 日本文学史 nihonbungakushi Includes critical commentary Keene was awarded various honorary doctorates, from: