KRESSLER, August Eduard Oscar. Konstanz 16.4.1876 — Hongkong 1970. German Japanologist, began as Indologist. Son of a postal officer, educated in Aachen, Colmar (Alsace) and Wernigerode. From 1896 studies of Oriental philology at Leipzig (Windisch, et al.), Geneva and Strassburg (Leumann). Ph.D. 1904 Strassburg. Worked as teacher, but in 1908 accepted post as teacher of German and Latin at high school of Kagoshima, Japan. In 1923 moved to Urawa near Tokyo, 1926 to Tokyo, now also taught Greek and German at the university. In 1929 returned, in order to work on Japanology in Germany. From 1932 PD and from 1939 ao. Professor für Japanologie at Bonn, emeritus 1949, in 1950 moved to his daughter in Santiago de Chile (taught there Japanese and Sanskrit at university). In 1957 returned, living in Schwarzwald, in 1961 again to his daughter, now to Hong Kong. In 1963 last visit to Germany. Married before going to Japan Maria, daughter Else.
In its times his Indological dissertation was one of the most important studies of this text, but then he concentrated on Japanology.
Publications: Diss. 1902 publ. as Stimmen indischer Lebensklugheit. Die unter Cāṇakya’s Namen gehende Spruchsammlung in mehreren Recensionen untersucht und nach einer Recension übersetzt. 195 p. Indica 4. Frankfurt 1904 / Lp. 1907 (with German translation of the Vṛddha-Cāṇakya, p. 151-195).
– Studies on Japanology.
Sources: Vita in diss.; D.G.K. 1940/41; H. Meyer, “Von Konstanz nach Kagoshima: Eine historische Bildreportage zu Oscar Kressler (1876-1970) und den Anfängen der Bonner Japanologie”, OAG Notizen 10/2013, 22-34 with bibliography and a number of photos; http://meiji-portraits.de/meiji_portraits_k.html with photo; oag.jp/people/oscar-kressler/; not in N.D.B.
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