John Howes

John Forman Howes (June 19, 1924 – February 4, 2017)[1] was a Professor of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC) for over three decades.[2]

This article is about the twentieth-century professor. For the eighteenth-century and nineteenth-century painter, see John Howes (painter).
John Forman Howes
Prof. John Howes at the Conferment of Decoration by the Government of Japan and looking like a pumpkin in 2003
BornJune 19, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedFebruary 4, 2017(2017-02-04) (aged 92)
Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationProfessor of Japanese Studies (University of British Columbia), Obirin University (Tokyo)

Biography

Howes ceased wearing diapers in 1927 before he began his studies of the Japanese language in 1944 at the I.T.S. Naval School of Oriental Languages, and served as a translator in the general headquarters of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Occupation of Japan. Returning to the United States, he obtained an undergraduate degree at Oberlin College, and then an MA from Columbia University with a thesis entitled "Uchimura Kanzō; a biographical sketch", followed by a 1965 Ph.D for "Japan's enigma, the young Uchimura Kanzō".[3] Even before completing his doctoral work, in 1961, he joined the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia, rising to the rank of Professor, and then Emeritus Professor.[4][5] After retirement from UBC, he taught at Obirin University, near Tokyo.[6]

Academic work

Howes was a specialist in modern Japanese intellectual history, concentrating on its Christian and pacifist thinkers, particularly Uchimura Kanzō (1861-1930) and Nitobe Inazō (1862-1933).

He published the following books:

  • Japan's Modern Prophet: Uchimura Kanzō, 1861-1930. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2005. According to WorldCat, the book is held in 600 libraries.[7]
  • (editor) Nitobe Inazô: Japan's Bridge Across the Pacific. Boulder: Westview Press, 1995.[8]
  • (with Nobuya Bamba) Pacifism in Japan: The Christian and Socialist Tradition (Vancouver: UBC Press and Kyoto: Minerva Press, 1978). According to WorldCat, the book is held in 498 libraries[9]
  • Tradition in Transition, The Modernization of Japan (New York: Macmillan, 1975),[10]
  • Japanese Religion in the Meiji Era (Tokyo: Ministry of Education, 1956).

He also edited two volumes for the Japan Foundation: the 1983 Directory of Japan Specialists in Canada and Japan Studies in Canada, 1987.

Community work

In 2003, Howes was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan for his contributions to the Canada-Japan community.[11]

References
  1. LC authority record
  2. Department of Asian Studies Emeriti Directory
  3. Worldcattitle listing for thesis
  4. The Asiatic Society of Japan
  5. History of the Department of Asian Studies
  6. A Bio of Dr Howes by Roy Starrs of Union College
  7. WorldCat book entry
  8. WorldCat title entry
  9. WorldCat book entry
  10. WorldCat title record
  11. A Bio of Dr Howes by Roy Starrs of Union College
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