Philip B. Yampolsky

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Philip Boas Yampolsky (born October 20, 1920 in New York City , † July 28, 1996 in St. Luke's Hospital, ibid) was an American translator of Japanese literature and Buddhist scholar with Zen as a research focus. Yampolsky was a grandson of the anthropologist and ethnologist Franz Boas .

Yampolsky studied at the Horace Mann School and Columbia College, Columbia University , where he graduated in 1942. In the same year he enrolled in the Navy , where he learned Japanese in order to be able to be used as a translator in the Pacific War . As Lieutenant Junior Grade he took a. a. participated in the Battle of Iwojima and received the Bronze Star for his translation work .

After the war, thanks to a Fulbright scholarship , Yampolsky was able to study Buddhism in Kyoto , where he stayed from 1954 to 1962. During this time he created the first translations of Zen Buddhist literature, including a. in cooperation with Gary Snyder , Burton Watson , Yoshitaka Iriya and Seizan Yanagida .

Returning to the United States in 1962, Yampolsky returned to Columbia University, where he joined the staff of the East Asian Library and received his Ph.D. in 1965. made. In 1968 he became chief librarian of the East Asian Library and held that post until 1981 when he was appointed full professor of Japanese. Although he retired in 1990, he continued teaching until 1994.

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personal data
SURNAME Yampolsky, Philip B.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Yampolsky, Philip Boas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American translator of Japanese literature and scholar of Buddhism
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1996
Place of death New York City