 |
William Elliot GriffisAmerican orientalist, Congregational Church minister, professor, author of many works.
Date of Birth: 17.09.1843
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Military Service
- Education and Journey to Japan
- Academic and Journalistic Activities in Japan
- Return to the United States
- Literary Career and Travels
- Later Years and Legacy
- Family and Awards
- Awards:
Early Life and Military Service
William Elliot Griffis was an American Orientalist, Congregationalist minister, professor, and prolific author. Born in Philadelphia to a navy officer and later coal merchant, Griffis served in the 44th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry for three months during the Civil War following Robert E. Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863.
Education and Journey to Japan
After the war, Griffis enrolled at Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey, graduating in 1869. There, he taught English and Latin to Kusakabe Taro, a young samurai from Japan's Echizen Province. Following a year of travel in Europe, Griffis entered the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Dutch Church (now New Brunswick Theological Seminary) in New Brunswick.
In 1870, Matsudaira Shungaku invited Griffis to Japan to establish modern schools. In 1871, Griffis became Education Inspector for Echizen Province, earning $2400 per year and receiving a house and a horse from the Japanese government.
Academic and Journalistic Activities in Japan
From 1872 to 1874, Griffis taught chemistry and physics at Kaisei Gakko (the forerunner school of Tokyo University). In 1872, he prepared the five-volume "New Japan Series of Reading and Spelling Books" for publication. He also published English primers for Japanese students and disseminated numerous documents through Japanese and American publications, highlighting the importance of Japan's international engagement. Griffis was accompanied by his sister, Margaret Clarke Griffis, who became a teacher at the Tokyo Government Female Normal School. By the time they left Japan in 1874, Griffis had established strong connections with future Japanese leaders.
Return to the United States
Back in the United States, Griffis attended Union Theological Seminary and, after graduating in 1877, pastored in the First Reformed Church in Schenectady, New York (1877-1886); the Shawmut Congregational Church in Boston, Massachusetts (1886-1893); and the First Congregational Church in Ithaca, New York (1893-1903). Concurrently, he received his D.D. degree from Union College. Rutgers awarded him an honorary Litt.D. degree in 1899. In 1903, he retired to focus exclusively on writing and lecturing.
Literary Career and Travels
Griffis's books on Japan and Japanese culture were supplemented by his travels. In addition to his own books and articles, during this period he met Nitobe Inazō, whose influence is evident in Griffis's famous work, "Bushido: The Soul of Japan."
An avid traveler, Griffis made eleven journeys to Europe, particularly to the Netherlands. He attended the coronation of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898 and joined the International Congress of the History of Diplomacy. He was part of a group of Boston scholars who traced the genealogy of the Dutch Pilgrims, a work later commemorated with the Delfshaven Memorial and the placement of five bronze tablets (1909). Griffis was one of only four Americans elected to the Dutch Society for Literature in Leiden.
Later Years and Legacy
In 1926, Griffis was invited to Japan again. During his visit, the Japanese government bestowed upon him its second-highest award, the Order of the Rising Sun with Grand Cordon. He toured the country in a special government car, visiting several cities.
Griffis was a founding member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (later the American Academy of Arts and Letters), the American Historical Association, and the United States Naval Institute. He passed away in Florida during the winter of 1928.
Family and Awards
Griffis's son, Stanton Griffis, served as United States Ambassador to Poland, Egypt, Spain, and Argentina during the Truman Presidency. Stanton Griffis was an ambassador to Perón's government and authored the memoir "Lying in State."
Awards:
Order of the Rising Sun with Grand Cordon, 1926Order of the Rising Sun with Rosette, 1907
