John Forman Howes (June 19, 1924 – February 4, 2017) was a Professor of Asian Studies at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

(UBC) for over three decades.

Biography

Howes 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 Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

. Returning to the United States, he obtained an undergraduate degree at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, and then an MA from

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 ...

with a thesis entitled "Uchimura Kanzō; a biographical sketch", followed by a 1965 Ph.D for "Japan's enigma, the young Uchimura Kanzō". 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. After retirement from UBC, he taught at

Obirin University ''Ōbirin daigaku'' -- note that "Ōbirin" is written in the kanji for "beautiful cherry orchard". is a private university in Machida, Tokyo, Japan. The university was founded by Yasuzo Shimizu. Its name is derived from that of pastor and ph ...

, near Tokyo.

Academic work

Howes was a specialist in modern Japanese intellectual history, concentrating on its Christian and pacifist thinkers, particularly

Uchimura Kanzō was a Japanese author, Christian evangelist, and the founder of the Nonchurch Movement ( Mukyōkai) of Christianity during the Meiji and Taishō periods in Japan. He is often considered to be the most well-known Japanese pre-World War II pac ...

(1861-1930) and

Nitobe Inazō was a Japanese agronomist, diplomat, political scientist, politician, and writer. He studied at Sapporo Agricultural College under the influence of its first president William S. Clark and later went to the United States to study agricultural ...

(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 WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

, the book is held in 600 libraries. * (editor) ''Nitobe Inazô: Japan's Bridge Across the Pacific.'' Boulder: Westview Press, 1995. *(with Nobuya Bamba) ''Pacifism in Japan: The Christian and Socialist Tradition'' (Vancouver: UBC Press and Kyoto: Minerva Press, 1978). According to

, the book is held in 498 libraries *''Tradition in Transition, The Modernization of Japan'' (New York: Macmillan, 1975), *''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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howes, John 1924 births 2017 deaths Academic staff of the University of British Columbia American emigrants to Canada Oberlin College alumni Columbia University alumni American expatriates in Japan Academics from Chicago