I was awarded a Japan Foundation Special Prize from the Japan Foundation in 1999. Even now, remembering it makes me happy. Time passes quickly—it has been nearly 25 years since then. I first visited Japan in 1970, and at that time, there were no courses in Turkey for the study of Japanese. That was over 50 years ago now.

The path I took was, without doubt, difficult, and I was faced with continuous hardship, but that’s how I was able to do my best. However, the important thing was that I did not take that long journey alone. I am particularly grateful to my late teacher, Professor Kosaka Masataka, and to all the lecturers at Kyoto University and the Japanese students; I am also grateful for the government scholarship (MEXT) and of course for the research funds I received for my doctoral course. Then, in 1999 I was awarded a major prize. Everyone in the Japan Foundation, which has sent out a succession of award winners, was always there for me. Thanks to this continuous support, I was able to continue my research on Japan.

Last year, I summarized my accomplishments over this half-century in a book: Türkiye'de Japon Dili Eğitimi ve Japonya Çalışmalarının 50 Yılı [50 years of Japanese-Language Education and Japanese Studies in Turkey]. This work was published with the cooperation of the Turkish Japanese Foundation, which I helped to found, and our Alumni Association. I should note that this book was published simultaneously in Turkish and Japanese. For the Japanese version, I received help from my young colleague, Professor Ali Volkan Erdemir. He is a leading figure in Japanese literature in Turkey, and currently teaches Japanese literature in Erciyes University in Kayseri. Unlike when I set off for Japan, there are now Japanese-language and Japanese literature courses in over 20 universities in Turkey, which accept many researchers and carry out key investigations and research in the fields of Japanese language, Japanese literature, and Japanese studies. It will be a privilege if I am able to continue contributing in some way to the development and popularization of research on Japan in Turkey. This is my good fortune, and I am proud of it.

Ahmet Mete Tuncoku

(Original text in Japanese)

The Japan Foundation Awards / Special Prizes (1999)