Kitasawa, Sukeo, The Life of Dr. Nitobe, Toyko: Hokuseido Press, 1953, 93 pp.
Beginnings. Inenosuke (who later changed his name to Inazo) Nitobe was born in 1862 in Morioka in the northeastern part of the island of Honshu. His father, Jujiro Nitobe, was a high official of the samurai clan of Lord Nambu. However, his father’s influence was short lived; he died when Inazo was five years of age. Inazo studied with local teachers in Morioka, but was not satisfied with them. This was the Meiji Era where Japanese society was in transition from feudalism to new structures in internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations. Inazo wanted to be part of this and nagged his mother to let him go to Tokyo. His uncle Ota lived in Tokyo and wished to adopt Inazo to educate him to become a leader for the new age. So in his early teens he and his elder brother and a servant made the trip of 400 miles to Tokyo. At age 14 he entered the Tokyo English School, the precursor of Tokyo Imperial University.
Inazo’s grandfather,Tsuto, was well known for building a long tunnel and canal which made it possible to develop a vast barren tract of land in Aomori Prefecture into fertile rice fields, saving thousands of poverty-stricken farmers. In 1876 the Emperor Jeiji, honored the Nitobe family in his visit to the northeastern district for Tsuto’s achievement. The Emperor expressed the wish that the family would inherit Tsuto’s noble spirit and contribute to the agricultural development of the country. Although Inazo was in Tokyo at the time, he took this as an imperial command and gave up his idea of studying law in favour of pursuing agricultural science. The Emperor left a generous gift of money to the family and Inazo, being the youngest, received a small portion of it. He used his gift to purchase a copy of the English Bible. He was studying the Bible at the time with one of the foreign teachers at Tokyo English School, M. M. Scott. The story of Jesus’ selfsacrificing mission deeply impressed him and he believed that Christianity would make Japan a strong and civilized nation.
After two years of study, Inazo passed a competitive examination and entered Sapporo Agricultural College in Hokkaido. Among his classmates were Kingo Miyabe, Kanzo Uchimura, Takajuro Minami, Isamu Hiroi and others, who became distinguished leaders. One month after matriculation Inazo became a Christian. Inazo placed second as a scholar his first year and first in his second year at Sapporo. He was also a keen competitor in sports. He was known for his temper outbursts and indignation against unrighteousness of any kind. He later overcame this.
In his second year his beloved mother died. He became depressed. It was by reading Thomas Carlyle’s Sartor Resartus that his melancholia lifted.
Upon graduation Inazo took the entrance examination to study at Tokyo University. He told the examining professor that he wanted to study English and be a bridge across the Pacific. By amalgamating Western and Japanese cultures a better one may emerge. He achieved an excellent record at Tokyo University, but after finishing he resolved to go to America to continue his studies. His uncle Ota approved of this idea and provided funds for him to do this. He did graduate studies in economics, history and literature at Johns Hopkins University. Among his classmates were Woodrow Wilson, Shosuke Sato and John Dewey. He needed funds to live on and history Professor Herbert Adams employed him so that Inazo could support himself. Inazo also earned money by giving public lectures on Japan and the need to revise the unequal treaty imposed on Japan by the West in 1857.
He was invited to speak to the Friends Foreign Missionary Society in Baltimore and met
Mary Patterson Elkinton there. She was the daughter of a well-known Quaker family in Philadelphia (her father, Joseph Scotton Elkinton, was involved with the resettlement of the Doukhobors in Canada). She told him that she wanted to work with her friends to revise the treaty.
Out of the blue in 1887 Inazo received a letter from his former classmate Shosuke Sato, who was then secretary and professor at Sapporo Agricultural College, informing Inazo that he had been appointed assistant professor and would be allowed three years further study in Germany at government expense. This meant that he would have to leave American soon. Also at this time Inazo received a request to write an article for a journal in Japan on the position of women in America. This was a subject with which he was unfamiliar, so he sought the help of Mary Elkinton. Their collaboration gave him the opportunity to get to know more about her character as well as her literary skills and intellectual depth. She made an unforgettable impression on him and he wrote to her as he travelled through Ireland, Scotland, England and Holland on his way to Germany. Shortly after he arrived in Bonn, Mary sent him a report that she and her friends had won over several Congressmen to vote to revise the Japanese treaty.
Many letters of intimate affection must have traversed the Atlantic. Inazo outlined his hopes and aspirations and also the difficulties that lay ahead. Near the end of the year they decided to get married. However there was opposition from both Uncle Ota and the Elkintons. But all attempts to dissuade them were in vain.
Inazo spent his first year at the University of Bonn, the second at the University of Berlin and the third year at the University of Halle. He studied agrar-politics, history of agriculture, economics, and statistics. He finished his thesis, Intercourse Between the United States and Japan, after Mary had corrected his English, he submitted it to Prof. Adams at John Hopkins University. It was published in the Johns Hopkins Historical Series.
In 1888 the government sent him to Belgium where he was influenced by the great scholar Professor de Lavelleye at the University of Liège. One day Prof. de Lavelleye asked him, ‘What moral and religious education is offered in the schools of Japan?’ Inazo replied that religious education was not permitted. ‘How can a nation be led in the way of righteousness without religion?’, asked Prof de Lavelleye. Inazo was unable to adequately reply. Years later he wrote, Bushido, The Soul of Japan, in an attempt to answer this question, but by then Prof de Lavelleye has passed away.
At the end of his three years, Inazo wrote his German thesis, Land Possession and Distribution, and its Agricultural Use in Japan, and received his Ph. D. from the University of Halle in 1890.
Inazo returned to Philadelphia to marry Mary, but her father was bitterly opposed to the marriage would not permit Inazo to enter the house. Joseph Elkinton feared Inazo would take his daughter away from America. The weighty Quakers of the Meeting sided with Elkinton and did not grant permission when the intention was laid before the Meeting in 1890. But the couple persisted and gradually won over Mary’s brothers and then other relatives and influential members of the Meeting. When the marriage proposal was presented to the Meeting for the third time consent was given in spite of parental opposition. Inazo and Mary were married on New Year’s Day 1891.
Marriage and a new life. The wedding took place at Arch Street Meeting House. In addition to Mary’s brothers, and Aunt Sara and Uncle Ephriam Smith, who took the place of her parents, Rendall and Helen Harris, Friends from England attended. A few days prior to the couple sailing to Japan, Mary’s parents relented and gave their approval and invited Mary and Inazo to their home. The journey took 18 days to reach Yokohama. Inazo’s relatives met them at the docks. It was a big task for Mary to adapt to the strange customs and new language. Inazo’s younger sister, Kisa, helped her. At the family welcoming formal dinner, Mary was surprised when Inazo slipped off his shoes, but Kisa brought knitted covers to put on Mary’s shoes as a compromise for her. When Mary was unable to kneel properly, Kisa brought a short stool and put cushions over it. Kisa was more progressive than Inazo and contrasted with her elder sister, Mine, who was quite conservative. Mary was delighted when Uncle Ota took her to a high-class store to order a silk kimono and an obi (belt) and haori (coat) with the crests of the Nitobe family on them, symbolizing she was part of the family.
The Nitobes were invited to a formal tea ceremony by Count Matsuura and on another occasion Prince Konoye, Sr., president of the House of Peers, invited them to the Diet. They met Prince Shimazu and other former feudal lords with the traditional regalia. They also visited the Friends Centre in Mita (Quakers and other Christian missionaries were active in Japan at this time).
Inazo had been appointed full professor at Sapporo Agricultural College. There were almost no railways in northeastern Japan in those days, so the couple travelled mostly by steamer to Hokkaido. At Sapporo all of the professors, some of their wives and two American women missionaries came to greet them. It was an overwhelming reception for both of them and marked the beginning of their new life together. They were provided with a residence with five rooms.
Inazo deeply impressed Mary by the value and magnitude of his work and the true greatness of his spirit. She made him the heart and centre of her life. The strong faith in God and love of humanity she practiced impressed her friends and Japanese relatives, including the admiration of Uncle Ota who had initially opposed the match.
In January 1982 a baby was born to them, but in spite of expert medical help, Thomas died within a week. This was a time of deep sorrow. Mary did not regain her health for some years. Inazo had lost his father at five and been separated from his mother at nine, however this grief was so deep, it became a cause for his breakdown a few years later. The words of Goethe and Carlyle helped him. He considered Buddha’s approach of lifting himself above the suffering of life in an attempt to free life of it, and the Christian approach of bearing the cross, which he thought was noble. He continued to test the truth of both. He adored Abraham Lincoln, who suffered profound melancholy,
The death of Thomas drew the Nitobe family close together. Mary won her Japanese relatives and friends to her because they saw in her the ideal Japanese wife devoted to her husband’s welfare and fully content to submerge her life in his. She abandoned her study of the Japanese language to have more time to help Inazo in English, protect his health and encourage and inspire him. He could never have gained his balanced and saintly character, nor accomplished his great work and service as a scholar, educator, journalist and internationalist without her intelligent devotion to all of his life and activities.
Educator and administrator. Four of the nine full professors had higher degrees from America or Germany. There was one American member of the faculty, Arthur Brigham, from Harvard. Inazo became head of the Instruction Department and revised the curriculum to raise the academic standards. He attracted students for his wide knowledge and humour. In addition to teaching History of Agriculture, Agrar-politics, economics, German and English, he also gave lectures on Thomas Carlyle, Goethe and others. He saw these outside lectures as important opportunities to guide the minds and hearts of the students to the best the West had to offer. He tried to establish friendly relationships with the students and he encouraged them to come to his home. His reputation as a teacher spread and students from Tokyo transferred to the College. In 1891 he was appointed principal of Hokumei Middle School and he enjoyed the chance to teach teenagers. He spent many hours giving them guidance about personal problems. One evening a week he would invite the middle school boys to his home where he would share his favorite stories from Western literature and from his personal experience in America and Europe with them. He taught a group of non-Christian students the Bible as literature and wrote a series of articles on the life of William Penn. This appealed to the people of Hokkaido, because they were themselves colonists and they were impressed by his strong faith and leadership in organizing the Quaker colony.
Inazo also acted as the technical adviser of the prefectural government and gave practical guidance to farmers. A night school was started for the young boys and adults unable to go to day school. Inazo contributed $2,000 to start it. He was deeply concerned about the life of the Ainu tribe in Hokkaido, and wrote articles to promote awareness of the need to protect them. He did at least the work of five men. In 1897 fatigue finally caught up with him. His grief over the loss of his child and Mary’s long illness and temporary absence for convalescence in America culminated in Inazo having a serious nervous breakdown. His doctors advised him to stop all work and reading of any kind and to rest for three to five years. It looked like the brilliant career of this young professor was over at age 36.
He looked haggard. Friends and students gathered weeping to see him off to Ikaho spa, but he was smiling and waving his Sartor Resartus in his hand as the train left the station.
At Ikaho hot spring he had long hours of rest and meditation, and his health improved rapidly. The next year Inazo and Mary settled in Monterey, California, among the pine forests and white sandy beaches. The mild climate and refreshing sea breeze were very effective in promoting his healing. During his convalescence, the question Dr. de Lavelleye raised came to mind. As his health improved, his thoughts crystallized and he got the idea of writing a book to respond to the question, ‘How can one acquire the idea of right and wrong without moral instruction based on religious belief?’ Unable to write, he dictated it to Anna Hartshorne, his friend and secretary. In the following year, 1899, Bushido, the Soul of Japan, was published.
Little was known about Japan in the West. When Japan had a military victory over Russia in 1905 there was great surprise and it was discovered that in Japan there was a strong spiritual quality known as Bushido. To understand this spirit, people read Inazo’s book, and the English version was rapidly translated into German, French, Bohemian, Polish, Norwegian, Mahratti, Chinese and other languages. It was read by many influential people, among them President Theodore Roosevelt, President John F. Kenney and Robert Baden-Powell. He became world famous.
As soon as he finished writing Bushido, he began work on his unfinished History of Agriculture, the second volume of a trilogy on agriculture. In March 1899 the Japanese Government awarded him the degree Doctor of Agriculture for his scholarly contribution to agriculture.
After two years of convalescence as Inazo was about to leave the Pacific coast, he received an invitation to take a position in Formosa. Japan was administering Formosa after the Sino-Japanese War (1894-95). After consulting with his friends at Sapporo he decided to accept the offer, but allow his health to improve and to study colonial administration and industrial developments in other parts of the world, he decided to take a leisurely trip around the world. In 1899, Inazo, Mary and their adopted son, Yoshio, first went to visit Mary’s parents in Philadelphia, who were exceedingly glad to see them.
In 1900 they left America for Spain, London, Paris, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Egypt. In 1901 they returned to Japan. The military occupation of Formosa had ended and Shimpei Goto, the Civil Administrator, had been given a free hand in selecting the best personnel for the Taiwan Government. His first choice was Inazo for the head of the Industrial Bureau with a salary equivalent to that of a minister of a department.
Inazo had thoroughly studied the history, soil, climate, crops and methods of native cultivation. He had conducted a research tour to the Philippines, Java and Australia and prepared a report on Taiwan Sugar Policy for Governor General Kodama. He told Kodama that it would take strong leadership to implement the policy of reform. The Diet wanted to reduce the appropriations required, but when they learned that the bill was based on Inazo’s careful research over years, passed it at once. The sugar policy enabled Taiwan to become economically independent and increased the Japanese national income by several billions of yen.
In 1903 he was offered a professorship at Kyoto Imperial University. He accepted and gave lectures on Agronomics and Statistics. His first speech was on Japan’s Mission in the Orient, and it inspired the entire student body. They adopted a 16-year old niece, Kotoko, a daughter of Mine. Mary had little aptitude to learn Japanese and Kotoko served
as her interpreter. In 1906, Kyoto University conferred the degree Doctor of Jurisprudence on Inazo.
President of the Fist National College. Baron Makino, the Minister of Education, asked Inazo to become president of The First National College in Tokyo. Inazo was reluctant to accept and stipulated three conditions: the appointment be two years at most, an additional post at Tokyo Imperial University be provided, and he be allowed to take a 30 minute nap after lunch. These were agreed to and Inazo moved to Tokyo, where he had the opportunity to teach the cream of youth selected by rigid, competitive examinations. Inazo gave lectures on ethics and morals as well as lectures on Lincoln, Carlyle, Goethe, Schiller, Milton and others. He also held weekly conferences with the students. The twoyear term stretched to eight years. In his time as president, the College rose to its greatest prominence. His speeches of idealism were addressed to all the young men and women in the nation.
There were some who resented Inazo’s popularity. Inazo was the first exchange lecturer from Japan and delivered a series of lectures at Brown, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Virginia, Illinois and Minnesota Universities. He also spoke to the Japanese living on the Pacific coast and advised them to observe their obligations to America and to respect the habits and customs of their American neighbours. A few ultra-patriotic Japanese thought his remarks were unpatriotic. When he returned home he found the secret police dogged his steps whenever he made a public speech. After one speech a young man, dressed in formal Japanese dress, asked permission to meet with him. When he entered, the young man bowed in perfect samurai fashion with his forehead on the mat. Coming nearer he presented his visiting card to Inazo, and again bowed his head to the mat. Straightening up he said, ‘Dr. Nitobe, I have come to make my most profound apologies. The fact is, I came here tonight prepared to kill you before you left the premises.’ At this point the young man took out a short dagger from concealment under his silk coat. He presented to Inazo, handle first. ‘On account of things which I heard that you had said in America, I thought you were a traitor to our Emperor, but I have patiently listened to your address, and as I heard your words and felt your spirit, I realised I was mistaken. I present to you this dagger as evidence of my sincerity in this apology, and I give you my pledge that as long as you live I shall be one or your protectors.’
Shortly after this incident Inazo was offered the position of Minister of Education. However knowing the Government’s conservative educational policy and the conditions of Emperor Worship and ultra-nationalism that had been fostered in the country, ignoring human rights and disregarding civil rights, he declined.
Inazo contributed to popular journals, including magazines for women. In contrast to other scholars he tried to present difficult philosophical ideas in plain, readable language. He displayed great learning and brought the ideas of East and West, ancient and modern together. He had a deep appreciation of oriental culture, but as a Quaker he loved hours of prayer and meditation, waiting in holy expectancy, communing with God. He had a never-ceasing interest in agriculture.
When he retired from the College, the entire student body followed him to the school gate to bid him farewell. About 600 of them followed him home. The students asked Mary and Inazo to stand on the porch while they gathered in the garden to sing a farewell song, especially composed by a student for the occasion. A representative thanked Inazo and Mary for their love and guidance, and expressed the earnest desire of the students to follow the teachings of Inazo. They presented Inazo and Mary with a basket of azaleas. Inazo requested three minutes of silent prayer in response.
The following year some of the same boys, who had entered Tokyo University, invited Inazo to meet with them. Inazo arrived with a pot of azaleas. When Inazo came to speak, he told them that Mary had planted the azaleas in the garden that they brought the previous year at the farewell party, and they spread their roots and grew, and this blossomed again. Everyone at the banquet was electrified at the thought that the azaleas they had thought had faded and gone away, still survived with fresh vigor. They realised that Inazo and Mary had loved and thought of the boys far more than they had loved and thought of Inazo and Mary. They named this gathering the ‘Azalea Society’ and they met every year thereafter.
Mary had also planted the green cedar branches which were mixed with the azaleas in the basket. These grew into tall trees and were a delight to Inazo and Mary. Today one can find distinguished disciples of Inazo in almost any field or profession in Japan. These include a former Prime Minister, a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, several University Presidents and former Cabinet members. Education was the prime interest of his life and for seven years he showed his ability as a young professor and principal at Sapporo, for eight years as president of the First National College he fought for school reform, and in his sixties, he created a spiritual foundation of Tokyo Woman’s Christian College as its first president. He improved agriculture and increased the production of the country as an expert advisor in Hokkaido, in Formosa, and the northeastern district of Honshi, but his best crops were the students he taught.
As true world citizen. Inazo and Mary made a tour of America and Europe in 1919 to survey the world situation after World War I. When they visited Paris, the League of Nations had already been formed. Japan was one of the four permanent members (Great
Britain, France, Italy and Japan) of the League Council, and thus was given the post of
Under-Secretary General of the League. Japan’s chief and associate delegates, Prince Saionji and Count Makino, were unable to find a suitably qualified person. Just at that time, Inazo made a formal visit to the Embassy. Count Makino looked at him and exclaimed, ‘Here is a splendid candidate.’ Count Makino had previously appointed Inazo as president of the First National College in 1906, which had given Inazo an opportunity to address the entire nation from the capital. Now in 1919 he was giving Inazo an opportunity to become a figure of international importance.
Inazo’s contribution to the League of Nations was acknowledged in America and Europe. Of particular note was his contribution to the creation of the Committee for Intellectual Cooperation. The League sent lecturers to different countries in Europe to promote the aims of the League. Nine times out of ten Inazo was chosen to be the lecturer from the Secretariat, because he was the most qualified and made the deepest, lasting impression. He became the most loved and respected person in Geneva. The University of Geneva, which rarely conferred honorary degrees, granted a Doctor of Laws degree to Inazo. Inazo was seen as a true world citizen, taking the best in wisdom and culture from Japan, America and Europe and became an intellectual bridge between East and West.
In Japan, however, the Japanese militarists ignored the liberalism and internationalism Inazo stood for, and embraced Fascism instead. This led to the invasion of China and the Pacific War, and finally the complete defeat of the country.
Inazo was respected for his gentleness and spirituality. His love of children was instinctive. He could not refuse requests for personal help or for a lecture or manuscript. However in addition to his meekness, he was also able to be stern and stand up for his principles. This quality was nurtured from his boyhood as the son of a samurai.
Last eight years. In 1924 the US Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Act which limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890. The aim was to restrict Southern and Eastern Europeans who were immigrating in large numbers starting in the 1890s. The Act barred specific origins from the Asia–Pacific Triangle, which included Japan, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Indochina, Singapore, Korea, Dutch East Indies, Burma, India, Ceylon and Malaya. Inazo, Viscount Shibusawa and others were deeply disappointed but kept silent. The ultra-nationalists and militarists vigorously proclaimed their judgment against America was correct. Resentment against America steadily grew and rearmament programs were carried out with renewed vigour on a large scale. Inazo resolved to himself that he would not step on US shores until this law was repealed.
After serving six years at the League of Nations, Inazo resigned to return to Japan. He was soon lecturing on world peace and internationalism in the face of the rising tide of militarism.
Inazo was made a member of the House of peers. In his maiden speech he reproached General Tanaka’s Cabinet, where one of the Cabinet members had abused the imperial prerogative to save his term of office. He was so effective that scores of votes supported his position and the overbold general was ousted from office quite precipitately. This was a surprise to many of the Diet members, who had not expected such a result, but Viscount Ishii, also a member of the House of Peers, knew of his outstanding reputation in Europe as a powerful speaker.
In 1929 Inazo became the director of the Institute of Pacific Relations. In 1931 the Institute met in Shanghai for the Fourth Conference. A few days prior to the opening of the Conference, Japan invaded Manchuria. Anti-Japanese riots broke out in Shanghai and they became so violent that Japan landed marines and placed them in the Japanese quarters in the International Concession. Inazo was in poor health and had a nurse accompany him. During the Conference, the Chinese delegates had much to say against the Japanese action. When one delegate made an abusive attack, Inazo rose to his feet with deep indignation and silenced the speaker and extracted a written confession from him.
Three years later Inazo gave an interview in Matsuyama and said, ‘Two insidious dangers confront Japan today --- militarism and communism.’ This remark provoked the military and ultra-nationalists. Some of the young officers, particularly, saw him as unpatriotic and severely criticized and even threatened him. Inazo was ill at the time and confined in St. Luke’s Hospital, when Admiral Sakonji, the Vice Minister of the Navy and Colonel Tetsuzan Nagata of the Army Department come to visit him at the hospital for a frank conference on the issue. They wanted to know what his purpose was in his speech at Matsuyama. They also wanted to know what the international reaction was to Manchurian military action and the recent confrontation between the Chinese army and the Japanese marines at Shanghai. Inazo was a recognised authority on the matter and had an international reputation. He must have convinced them of his patriotism, because after this meeting the press dropped the issue completely.
In April of 1932 Inazo decided to revoke his earlier resolve not to step on the shores of America until the Anti-Japanese Immigration Law was repealed. His Inner Light led him to travel to America to explain the purport of the Manchurian Affair. Chinese propaganda was sweeping America from coast to coast and Inazo was denounced as supporting the militarists. He met with President Hoover and other dignitaries and gave over one hundred lectures on this trip. The Secretary of State, Mr. Stimson, offered Inazo a 30 minute reply to be broadcast on radio right after he delivered his own speech on the Manchurian Affair. Inazo was deeply grateful for this rare opportunity.
In March 1933 Inazo and Mary returned to Japan. Four months later Inazo, age 72, attended the Institute of Pacific Relations Conference in Canada. On 13 September he had an attack of acute indigestion and entered Jubilee Hospital. He underwent an operation, but didn’t rally. He died that evening.
He once said, ‘One of my ambitions is to be remembered by at least one person with affection and gratitude twenty years after my death.’ Thousands of people joined his funeral procession.
One day when Michiko Kawai was hard pressed by her school finances, a man named Okoshi Komuro sent her 1,000 yen. He included a note saying that Inazo had helped his widowed mother with finances during his high school and university time, but had forbidden her to tell him. He had learned about Inazo’s generosity only recently. When he tried to send the money to Inazo, it was returned a note: ‘There is a queer woman named Michiko Kawai who has started a school within funds. If you and your mother do not object to helping her, I should be grateful.’ Komuro had known Miss Kawai, because when he was a student, she would teach him how to use a knife and fork, and other table manners at the Nitobes’ house. He was so impressed with her that he had named his first daughter Michiko.
Sukeo Kitasawa published this biography twenty years after the death of Inazo Nitobe.
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The Life of Dr. Nitobe
Hardcover – 1953
by Sukeo Kitasawa (Author), Frontispiece (Illustrator)
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See all formats and editions
Hardcover
from $3.992 Used from $3.99
Dr. Inazo Nitobe, who was known as an exceptional product of modern Japan, had a dream in his youth to become a "bridge across the Pacific." This dream was realized far beyond his early expectations. His conversion to the Christian faith in his college days, his studies at Sapporo, Johns Hopkins, Halle, Bonn and Berlin, and his marriage to an American woman of Quaker faith- all these made Dr. Nitobe a competent teacher and scholar of lovable character and personality. While he was yet in his thirties, he wrote Bushido, the Soul of Japan which made his name known throughout the world. His experiences as administrator of the colonial government, as college president and university professor, and as popular journalist and the most noted public lecturer in the Meiji and Taisho eras, prepared Dr. Nitobe for a greater task. Quite providentially he was appointed Under-Secretary General of the League of Nations. He was the moving spirit and the outstanding figure at Geneva. Dr. Nitobe was a true world citizen. Japan, America, and Europe, from each of these, he took the best in wisdom and culture, and became a true intellectual bridge between East and West.
------------
Editorial Reviews
Dr. Inazo Nitobe, who was known as an exceptional product of modern Japan, had a dream in his youth to become a "bridge across the Pacific." This dream was realized far beyond his early expectations. His conversion to the Christian faith in his college days, his studies at Sapporo, Johns Hopkins, Halle, Bonn and Berlin, and his marriage to an American woman of Quaker faith- all these made Dr. Nitobe a competent teacher and scholar of lovable character and personality. While he was yet in his thirties, he wrote Bushido, the Soul of Japan which made his name known throughout the world. His experiences as administrator of the colonial government, as college president and university professor, and as popular journalist and the most noted public lecturer in the Meiji and Taisho eras, prepared Dr. Nitobe for a greater task. Quite providentially he was appointed Under-Secretary General of the League of Nations. He was the moving spirit and the outstanding figure at Geneva. Dr. Nitobe was a true world citizen. Japan, America, and Europe, from each of these, he took the best in wisdom and culture, and became a true intellectual bridge between East and West.
Product details
Hardcover: 93 pages
Publisher: Hokuseido Press; First Edition edition (1953)
Language: English
ASIN: B000O97H08
Package Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 0.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
by Sukeo Kitasawa (Author), Frontispiece (Illustrator)
Be the first to review this item
See all formats and editions
Hardcover
from $3.992 Used from $3.99
Dr. Inazo Nitobe, who was known as an exceptional product of modern Japan, had a dream in his youth to become a "bridge across the Pacific." This dream was realized far beyond his early expectations. His conversion to the Christian faith in his college days, his studies at Sapporo, Johns Hopkins, Halle, Bonn and Berlin, and his marriage to an American woman of Quaker faith- all these made Dr. Nitobe a competent teacher and scholar of lovable character and personality. While he was yet in his thirties, he wrote Bushido, the Soul of Japan which made his name known throughout the world. His experiences as administrator of the colonial government, as college president and university professor, and as popular journalist and the most noted public lecturer in the Meiji and Taisho eras, prepared Dr. Nitobe for a greater task. Quite providentially he was appointed Under-Secretary General of the League of Nations. He was the moving spirit and the outstanding figure at Geneva. Dr. Nitobe was a true world citizen. Japan, America, and Europe, from each of these, he took the best in wisdom and culture, and became a true intellectual bridge between East and West.
------------
Editorial Reviews
Dr. Inazo Nitobe, who was known as an exceptional product of modern Japan, had a dream in his youth to become a "bridge across the Pacific." This dream was realized far beyond his early expectations. His conversion to the Christian faith in his college days, his studies at Sapporo, Johns Hopkins, Halle, Bonn and Berlin, and his marriage to an American woman of Quaker faith- all these made Dr. Nitobe a competent teacher and scholar of lovable character and personality. While he was yet in his thirties, he wrote Bushido, the Soul of Japan which made his name known throughout the world. His experiences as administrator of the colonial government, as college president and university professor, and as popular journalist and the most noted public lecturer in the Meiji and Taisho eras, prepared Dr. Nitobe for a greater task. Quite providentially he was appointed Under-Secretary General of the League of Nations. He was the moving spirit and the outstanding figure at Geneva. Dr. Nitobe was a true world citizen. Japan, America, and Europe, from each of these, he took the best in wisdom and culture, and became a true intellectual bridge between East and West.
Product details
Hardcover: 93 pages
Publisher: Hokuseido Press; First Edition edition (1953)
Language: English
ASIN: B000O97H08
Package Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 0.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.1 ounces
