Ivan Ira Esme Morris (29 November 1925 – 19 July 1976) was an English writer, translator and editor in the field of Japanese studies.

Biography

Ivan Morris was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, of mixed American and Swedish parentage to

Edita Morris Edita Morris (born Edita Dagmar Emilia Toll; 5 March 1902 – 15 March 1988) was a Swedish-American writer and political activist. Biography Edita Morris was born in Örebro in Sweden. Her parents were Reinhold Toll, an agronomist who had pub ...

() and Ira Victor Morris (son of diplomat Ira Nelson Morris and grandson of meat-packer

Nelson Morris Nelson Morris (January 21, 1838 – August 27, 1907) was the founder of Morris & Company, one of the three main meat-packing companies in Chicago along with Armour & Company and Swift & Company. Biography Morris was born Moritz Beisinger on ...

). He studied at

Gordonstoun Gordonstoun School ( ) is an elite co-educational Private school (United Kingdom), private school for boarding and day pupils in Moray, Scotland. Two generations of British royalty were educated at Gordonstoun, including Prince Philip, Duke of Ed ...

, before graduating from

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

. He graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and received a doctorate at the

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

, specializing in Oriental languages. As an intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy, Morris was one of the first interpreters sent into

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

after the dropping of the atomic bomb. Morris wrote widely on modern and ancient Japan and translated numerous classical and modern literary works. He personally knew writer

Yukio Mishima Kimitake Hiraoka ( , ''Hiraoka Kimitake''; 14 January 192525 November 1970), known by his pen name Yukio Mishima ( , ''Mishima Yukio''), was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, Ultranationalism (Japan), ultranationalis ...

and translated some of his writings. Morris' book ''The Nobility of Failure'' is dedicated to Mishima's memory. His translation of ''The Pillow Book Sei Shonagon'' was probably his most significant translation from Classical Japanese, and his ''The World of the Shining Prince'', a description of the Heian court culture at the time of ''The Tale of Genji'', is probably his most important single scholarly work. Morris joined the faculty of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1960 and was chairman of the department of East Asian languages and cultures from 1966 to 1969. In 1966 he was elected a Fellow of

St Antony's College St Antony's College is a colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 intern ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. He helped founding Amnesty International USA and was the first chair of its board of directors from 1973 to 1976. Ivan Morris died of heart failure in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy, on 19 July 1976.

Personal life

Morris was married three times. His second wife was Japanese ballet dancer Ayako Ogawa, his third wife Japanese writer Nobuko Uenishi.

Selected works

As writer

* ''Nationalism and the Right Wing in Japan: A Study of Postwar Trends'', Oxford University Press, 1960 * ''The World of the Shining Prince: Court Life in Ancient Japan'', Alfred A. Knopf, 1964 * ''Dictionary of Selected Forms in Classical Japanese Literature'', Columbia University Press, 1966 * ''The

Tale of Genji Tale may refer to: * Narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fa ...

Scroll'', Kodansha, 1971 * ''The Nobility of Failure: Tragic Heroes in the History of Japan'', Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975

As translator

* ''The Crazy Iris'', by

Masuji Ibuse was a Japanese author. His novel ''Black Rain (novel), Black Rain,'' about the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, bombing of Hiroshima, was awarded the Noma Prize and the Order of Culture, Order of Cultural Merit. Early life and educat ...

, Encounter, Vol. 6 no. 5, 1956 * ''As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams'', by

Sarashina Nikki The is a memoir written by the daughter of Sugawara no Takasue, a lady-in-waiting of Heian-period Japan. Her work stands out for its descriptions of her travels and pilgrimages and is unique in the literature of the period, as well as one of the ...

, The Dial Press, 1971 * ''

The Pillow Book is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Fujiwara no Teishi, Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The wor ...

Sei Shōnagon , or , was a Japanese author, poet, and court lady who served the Empress Teishi (Sadako) around the year 1000, during the middle Heian period. She is the author of . Name Sei Shōnagon's actual given name is not known. It was the custom amon ...

'', Oxford University Press, 1967 * ''The Journey'', by Jirō Osaragi, Charles E. Tuttle, 1967 * '' The Life of an Amorous Woman'', by

Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). His born name may have been Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, and he first studied haikai poetry under a ...

, Unesco/New Directions Books, 1963 * '' The Temple of the Golden Pavilion'', by

, Alfred A. Knopf, 1959 * '' Fires on the Plain'', by Shōhei Ōoka, Martin Secker & Warburg, 1957 * ''The Priest of Shiga Temple and His Love'', by Yukio Mishima, in: '' Death in Midsummer and Other Stories'', New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1966 * ''Swaddling Clothes'', by Yukio Mishima, in: ''Death in Midsummer and Other Stories'', New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1966

As editor

* ''Modern Japanese Stories'', Charles E. Tuttle, 1962 * ''Thought and Behaviour in Modern Japanese Politics'', by Masao Maruyama, Oxford University Press, 1963 * ''Japan, 1931–45: Militarism, Fascism, Japanism?'', Heath, 1963 * ''The Pillow-Book Puzzles'', Bodley Head, 1969 * ''Madly Singing in the Mountains: an Appreciation and Anthology of

Arthur Waley Arthur David Waley (born Arthur David Schloss, 19 August 188927 June 1966) was an English orientalist and sinologist who achieved both popular and scholarly acclaim for his translations of Chinese and Japanese poetry. Among his honours were ...

'', Walker, 1970

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Ivan 1925 births 1976 deaths Columbia University faculty English people of German-Jewish descent English people of Swedish descent Harvard University alumni Japanese–English translators British Japanologists Scholars of Japanese literature People educated at Gordonstoun 20th-century English translators Morris family (meatpacking) English expatriates in the United States