Josef Kreiner

In 2015 an award was created called the Josef Kreiner Hosei University Award for International Japanese Studies by Hosei University Research Center for International Japanese Studies staff to honour Josef Kreiner for his efforts to promote Japanese studies in Europe.

Kreiner is a pioneer of ethnological Japanese research and a specialist for Okinawa and the Ainu. Kreiner was a co-founder of the European Association for Japanese Studies and was later president between 1973-1980. He was the first director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies and was later founder of the Philipp-Franz von Siebold Foundation. It was named in honour of Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician, botanist, who achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora and fauna and the introduction of Western medicine in Japan. In 2013, well after his retirement, Kreiner worked as a visiting Fellow for special tasks at the Hōsei University to supervise, among others, the newly founded International Association of Ryukyuan and Okinawan Studies. In 2015, he was a visiting scholar at the Tokyo National Museum.

Josef Kreiner was the son of Anton and Anna Kreiner. Kreiner studied the ethnology of Japan, its people and its prehistory at the University of Vienna and University of Tokyo. He was promoted in 1964 to Dr Phil at the University of Vienna. After two years, as a lecturer at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Kreiner habilitated in Japanology in Vienna, under Alexander Slawik. From 1969 - 1971 Kreiner spent his time at the University of Bonn as a lecturer before taking the venia legendi at Bonn in 1970. He was sub subsequently promoted to Professor of Japanese Studies in Vienna, and between 1971 and 1977 Kreiner was Director of the Institute of Japanese Studies. From 1975 to 1979, Kreiner was President of the European Association for Japanese Studies. From 1977 to 2008 Kreiner was Professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Bonn.

Josef Kreiner (15 March 1940 in Vienna) is an Austrian Japanology ethnologist, Professor of Japanese studies at the University of Bonn and Director of the Japanological Seminar of the University of Bonn from 1977 until his retirement in 2008.