(George) Richard Storry (20 October 1913 – 19 February 1982) was a British

Japanologist , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, History of Japan, history, ...

.'Professor Richard Storry', ''The Times'' (25 February 1982), p. 12. Storry was born in

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

, son of Frank Spencer Storry, manager of the London Joint Stock Bank on Doncaster High Street, and Kate, née Roberts. He was educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 co-educational, private, boarding and day school in the public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, England. Sir John Port of Etwall, on his death in 1557, left funds to create a grammar school which was th ...

and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

. In 1937, upon the advice of one of his tutors at Oxford,

Edmund Blunden Edmund Charles Blunden (1 November 1896 – 20 January 1974) was an English poet, author, and critic. Like his friend Siegfried Sassoon, he wrote of his experiences in World War I in both verse and prose. For most of his career, Blunden was als ...

, Storry was appointed lecturer in English at Otaru Higher Commercial School in

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, a post he held until 1940. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the Intelligence Corps in the Middle East, Singapore, India and Burma. He commanded a mobile section of the South East Asia Translation and Interrogation Centre during the 1944

Battle of Imphal The Battle of Imphal () took place in the region around the city of Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur in Northeast India from March until July 1944. Empire of Japan, Japanese armies attempted to destroy the Allied forces at Imphal and ...

. During 1947–1955 he studied at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

as Research Scholar and later as a Fellow. He was then elected to a Roger Heyworth Memorial Research Fellowship at

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economics, politic ...

. In 1970 he was appointed Director of St Anthony's College's Far East Centre, where his work on Japanese studies laid the ground for a benefaction from

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

of a Nissan Institute to the college, which opened in 1981. In 1981 the college awarded him an ''ad hominem'' Professorship in Japanese Studies and he was also a recipient of the

Japan Foundation Award The Japan Foundation Awards honor individuals and organizations for significant contributions to "the enhancement of mutual understanding between Japan and other countries." History Activities in an academic or cultural field have been presented ...

. He died in Woodeaton near Oxford aged 68 as the result of a heart attack.The Japan Foundation Newsletter, collected vols 9- 14, Japan Foundation, 1982, p. 15 He was best known for his ''A History of Modern Japan'', which was first published in 1960.

Works

*''The Double Patriots: A Study of Japanese Nationalism'' (London: Chatto & Windus, 1957). *''A History of Modern Japan'' (London: Pelican Books, 1960). Reprinted with revisions in 1961, 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1982. *''The Case of Richard Sorge'', co-authored with Sir

William Deakin Sir Frederick William Dampier Deakin DSO (3 July 1913 – 22 January 2005) also known as F. W. Deakin, was a British historian, World War II veteran, literary assistant to Winston Churchill and the first warden of St Antony's College, Oxfor ...

(London: Chatto & Windus, 1966). *''The Way of the Samurai'' (Orbis, 1978). *''Japan and the Decline of the West in Asia, 1894–1943'' (London: Macmillan, 1979).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Storry, Richard 1913 births 1982 deaths People from Doncaster People educated at Repton School Alumni of Merton College, Oxford British Japanologists 20th-century English historians