This book takes an in-depth look at the study of Japan in contemporary Britain, highlighting the many strengths but also pointing out some weaknesses, while at the same time offering a valuable historical record of the origins and development of Japanese Studies in British universities and other institutions. It comprises essays written by scholars from universities all over Britain – from Edinburgh and Newcastle to Cardiff, SOAS and Oxbridge+, as well as contributions from various supporting foundations and organizations – from the British Association of Japanese Studies (BAJS) to the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures (SISJAC). It opens with an historical overview by Peter Kornicki, followed by chapters on the important role of missionaries in advancing Japanese language studies in pre-war Japan by Hamish Ion and the contribution of the British consular and military officers before 1941 by Jim Hoare. Japanese Studies in Britain gives a snapshot of the present state of Japanese Studies in Britain. It also provides an important new benchmark and point of reference regarding the present options for studying Japan at British universities. It offers in addition a wider perspective on the role, relevance and future direction of Japanese Studies for academia, business and government, students planning their future careers and more generally the world of education, as well as readers interested in the developing relationship between Britain and Japan.

Sir Hugh Cortazzi, GCMG, was British Ambassador to Japan 1980-1984 and Chairman of The Japan Society, London, 1985-1995. He has written extensively on Japan. His many books include Isles of Gold: Antique Maps of Japan (1983), The Japanese Achievement (1990) and his memoir Japan and Back and Places Elsewhere (1998). He compiled and edited seven volumes of Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, most recently volume X (2016).

Preface

Acknowledgements

List of Contributors

List of Relevant Biographical Portraits

Part I: History

1 A Brief History of Japanese Studies in Britain – from the 1860s to the Twenty-first Century

Peter Kornicki

2 British Missionaries and Japanese Studies in Pre-war Japan

Hamish Ion

3 British Consular and Military Officers in Japan before 1941

J. E. Hoare

Part II: Japanese Studies at Universities

4 Cambridge University

Richard Bowring

5 Japanese Library Collections: Cambridge and Elsewhere

Koyama Noboru

6 Cardiff University

Christopher Hood

7 Durham University
Don Starr

8 University of East Anglia

Simon Kaner

9 University of Edinburgh

Ian Astley, Helen Parker and Urs Matthias Zachmann

10 University of Leeds

Mark Williams

11 London School of Economics

Ian Nish and Janet Hunter

12 Manchester University

Jonathan Bunt

13 University of Newcastle

James Babb and Joanne Smith Finley

14 Oxford University

Roger Goodman and Arthur Stockwin

15 Oxford Brookes

Joy Hendry

16 Sheffield University

Gordon Daniels

17 SOAS, University of London

Andrew Gerstle and Alan Cummings

18 The White Rose East Asia Centre:

Collaboration in Japanese Studies Between the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield

Glenn Hook

19 Japanese Studies at Other Universities in Britain

Hugh Cortazzi

Part III: Foundations and Other Organizations

20 The British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS)

Caroline Rose

21 The Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and Japanese Studies in UK Universities

Jason James

22 The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation: Japanese Studies Funding and Policy, 1985–2016

Stephen McEnally

23 The Japan Foundation’s Support for Japanese Studies in Britain

Ishikawa Yui

24 The Japan Society and Japanese Studies in the UK

David Warren

25 Japanese Studies in the UK: The Role of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Polly Watson

26 The Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures

Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere

27 The Tanaka Fund and its Impact on Japanese Studies Library Collections in the

UK through the JFEC and the JLG Cooperative Acquisitions Scheme

Gill Goddard

Bibliography

Index