Edwin O. Reischauer: The Foreigner Who Visited Keio University

2017/01/01

At the time of his visit to Keio University in January 1970

It was on April 19, 1961, that Reischauer arrived at Haneda on a special plane as the fourth post-war U.S. Ambassador to Japan. Despite the early hour of 6:40 a.m., a welcoming crowd of about 200 people was waiting.

Welcomed by applause, the new ambassador gave his inaugural address in both English and Japanese at the airport lobby.

"I will now speak briefly in Japanese. We are very happy to have come to Japan once again. As many of you may know, both my wife and I were born in Tokyo, so it feels like returning to our hometown. It is a pleasure to see old friends, but it is also a joy to make many new friends. As I take up my post in Japan this time, I feel a great responsibility, but I place great hope in the future. Of course, various problems will likely arise, but looking back at the history of Japan, especially the history of Japan-U.S. relations, I believe we can have full expectations for the future of both countries..."

It was Japanese without a foreign accent. The ambassador himself noted in his diary, "Adding the Japanese was, if I say so myself, a job well done." The scene of the ambassador's arrival was broadcast live on the NHK 7:00 a.m. television news and was rebroadcast many times that day, including on commercial stations, creating a favorable impression on the Japanese people from his very first step. Many ambassadors had been posted to Japan since before the war, but he was the first to give a greeting in Japanese. So, what kind of background did Ambassador Reischauer have?

Reischauer was born in Tokyo on October 15, 1910. His father, Karl Reischauer, was a missionary who came to Japan after graduating from a theological college. Three children—the eldest son Robert, the second son Edwin, and the eldest daughter Felicia—were born in Japan. Children of missionaries born in Japan were called BIJ (Born In Japan), and it is said that the children were proud of that name and felt a sense of superiority. Reverend Reischauer lived on the grounds of Meiji Gakuin and, while teaching English at the school, acquired the Japanese necessary for education and missionary work.

Due to their father and their living environment, both Robert and Edwin naturally followed the path of Japanese studies. After studying at the American School in Japan in Tokyo, Edwin went to Oberlin College in Ohio and then to the graduate school of the prestigious Harvard University in the East to conduct East Asian studies, including Japan. During his time at Harvard, he memorized kanji and, though it was a struggle, completed a translation of the "Gishiwajinden" with the help of a rudimentary dictionary. In the 1930s, Asian studies at American universities were not yet active, so Reischauer moved to France to study intermediate Japanese at the École Nationale des Langues Orientales Vivantes in Paris and classical Chinese readings at the Sorbonne. While America was in the midst of the Great Depression, Reischauer lived in France, Austria, and Germany, experiencing the European situation before World War II, which became a valuable experience.

In 1935, the Tokyo he returned to after eight years had become a city that bore no resemblance to its former self. Taisho Democracy had faded, replaced by militarism and rising fascism. In the midst of this, he married Adrienne, with whom he had fallen in love in Paris.

Eventually, Reischauer devoted all his energy to completing his doctoral dissertation. He worked on the translation of the vast diary of Ennin, who studied in China from 838 to 847, titled "Ennin's Diary: The Record of a Pilgrimage to China in Search of the Law." He proceeded to read the manuscripts, written in orthodox literary style and cursive script with transcription errors, with the help of Tendai sect monks. It was a study that even Japanese researchers had hardly touched. Ennin, who would later receive the title of Jikaku Daishi, entered the Tang capital of Chang'an via Yangzhou, and during this time, while being caught up in the persecution of Buddhists, he recorded the political situation and customs of China at the time in great detail; it was the first literature to convey the old life of the Chinese people from the perspective of a foreigner. The translation and interpretation were published as a book in 1955 after about 20 years of work.

Eventually, the Reischauers moved their residence to Kyoto, where he studied as a special research student at Kyoto University while enjoying a life in the atmosphere of the ancient capital that could not be experienced in Tokyo. It was a dream-like life in Kyoto, but a sudden tragedy struck Reischauer. His older brother Robert, a lecturer at Princeton University, died suddenly in Shanghai. In July 1937, the Sino-Japanese War, triggered by the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, expanded, and the flames of war reached Shanghai. The Chinese Air Force bombed Japanese warships anchored in the Huangpu River. A bomb that missed its target exploded on the road, and fragments of hotel window glass gouged Robert's heel. He was immediately rushed to the hospital but never regained consciousness due to excessive bleeding. A brilliant researcher of modern Japan who had just celebrated his 30th birthday two months earlier had become a victim of the war. While Robert was more interested in modern Japan, Edwin was interested in old Japan and China. Due to his brother's death, Reischauer would end up doing the work that Robert was originally meant to do.

Having lost his beloved brother, Reischauer returned to Harvard University. He taught Japanese as a lecturer at Harvard, but as Japan-U.S. relations deteriorated, requests poured in from both inside and outside the university for him to speak on the situation in East Asia in addition to his teaching duties. Furthermore, a project to train Japanese language personnel for the Navy was launched, and he spent busy days participating in the establishment of the Navy Japanese Language School. Additionally, at the request of the Army Signal Corps, he went to Washington to look after a new school for translators and for deciphering Japanese military codes.

With Japan's surrender, the intelligence work ended, and he joined the State Department to help draft policies for post-war Japan and the Korean Peninsula. He returned to Harvard, but was frequently called upon by the State Department as a consultant on issues regarding policy toward Japan and the peace treaty with Japan. In this way, Reischauer's interest in Japan, which started with ancient history, gradually expanded to modern history and the current situation of Japan, and connections with the State Department were established. This was also reflected in his books. In addition to specialized books, he authored introductory and educational books one after another, such as "Japan: Past and Present" and "The United States and Japan." These experiences as a scholar, researcher, and practitioner in the State Department made Reischauer more than just a university man in an ivory tower.

In addition, a landmark event was his marriage to Haru Matsukata after losing his wife Adrienne following a long illness. Haru was born as the granddaughter of the Meiji statesman Masayoshi Matsukata, graduated from the American School in Japan and an American university, and was a highly talented woman with a rich international sense who worked as an assistant correspondent for an American newspaper in Tokyo.

Japan was the cornerstone of America's Asian policy, and with Japan-U.S. relations facing complex issues such as the bitter experience of the Security Treaty protests over the 1960 revision and economic friction over textile issues, who to appoint as Ambassador to Japan was a key point of diplomacy for the newly inaugurated Kennedy administration.

There were many twists and turns until his appointment, but the reputation of the new ambassador upon arrival was excellent. Beyond the usual duties of an ambassador—collecting and analyzing information, negotiating, and interacting with people from various fields—what Reischauer emphasized was giving lectures in various parts of Japan. He especially welcomed lectures for young people and university students. At Keio University as well, he spoke passionately to classrooms overflowing with Keio students, giving a lecture on "The Democratization of Modern Japan" at Hiyoshi in November 1961, and "Yukichi Fukuzawa and His Era" at the Yukichi Fukuzawa Birthday Commemoration Meeting on January 10, 1964. On those occasions, Sen Nishiyama, who became famous for the simultaneous interpretation of the Apollo moon landing, usually accompanied him as an interpreter. In lectures for students, he always adopted a format of setting aside time for questions and answering them. Even if a student's question was off the mark, he would rephrase it by saying, "That is a very good question," and answer clearly, instantly turning the audience into Reischauer fans. For delicate issues that were difficult to answer from the position of an ambassador, he skillfully used his position as a professor by saying, "From here on, I will speak as a scholar."

In September 1967, an honorary doctorate was conferred by Keio University upon Professor Reischauer, who had returned to Harvard University after completing his five-year mission as Ambassador to Japan. The reasons for the degree conferral included his academic achievements in Oriental studies, particularly his high evaluation of the roles played by Yukichi Fukuzawa and Keio University in the process of modern Japan's progress in the 1960 book "East Asia: The Modern Transformation," co-authored with Professors Fairbank and Craig, and his showing of affection for Keio University by giving lectures to Keio students at Mita and Hiyoshi on several occasions. Attending on behalf of the busy Professor Reischauer and giving a greeting in excellent Japanese was Minister Osborne, who had served as First Secretary during Ambassador Reischauer's tenure and was subsequently promoted.

I also had a personal connection with Professor Reischauer. As a researcher specializing in Japanese diplomatic history, I was interested in the role of the U.S. Ambassador to Japan in post-war American policy toward Japan. When I published "U.S. Ambassadors to Japan" (Bunshun Shinsho), I had the opportunity to ask Professor Reischauer, who was visiting Japan, to look over part of the manuscript, and I also visited his home in Vermont to hear his memories of those days.

Once, we were together for a panel discussion on "Is the world heading toward a relaxation of tensions?" After the meeting ended, Professor Reischauer, standing next to me in the restroom, said while relieving himself, "Ikei-san, this is the true relaxation of tension." I can never forget that beaming smile at that moment.