Toshihiko Izutsu

Toshihiko Izutsu (井筒俊彦; 4 May 1914 – 1 July 1993) was a university professor and author of many books on Islam and other religions. He taught at the Institute of Cultural and Linguistic studies at Keio University in Tokyo, the Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy in Tehran, and McGill University in Montreal.

Background
He was born in a family of a wealthy business owner in Japan. From an early age, he was familiar with Zen meditation and koan, since his father was also a calligrapher and a practising lay Zen buddhist.

He entered the faculty of economics, Keio University, but transferred to the department of English literature, wishing to be instructed by Professor Junzaburō Nishiwaki. He became a research assistant in 1937, following his graduation with B.A.

Islamic study
In 1958, he completed the first direct translation of the Qur'an from Arabic to Japanese. His translation is still renowned for its linguistic accuracy and widely used for scholarly works. He was extremely talented in learning foreign languages, and finished reading Qur'an a month after beginning to learn Arabic.