Joyce Lebra (December 21, 1925 – October 10, 2021), also known as Joyce Chapman Lebra, was an American historian of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and India.

Biography

Lebra spent her childhood in Honolulu and received her B.A. and M.A. in Asian studies from the University of Minnesota. She received a Ph.D. in Japanese history from Harvard/Radcliffe, and was the first woman Ph.D. in Japanese history in the U.S. She lived in Japan a total of ten years and three and a half in India doing research on the history of Japan and India. She was professor of Japanese history and Indian history at the University of Colorado until her retirement. She led three research teams to Asia to research women’s roles in the work force, each of which resulted in a book (1977, 1980 and 1984). She has written several other books including works on the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...

and Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi, and has written chapters in three books and some fifty articles in scholarly journals. She has received many awards, including an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Minnesota in 1996, two years on a Fulbright fellowship in Japan and one and a half years on Fulbright fellowships in India. Other fellowships include a

Japan Foundation The was established in 1972 by an Act of the National Diet as a special legal entity to undertake international dissemination of Japanese culture, and became an Independent Administrative Institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry o ...

fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, one from the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

, one from Australian National University, and others. She is noted in ''

Who’s Who in America Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

'', ''Who’s Who of American Women'', and ''Who’s Who in American Education''. She has lectured widely at University of Oxford, the London School of Economics, University of Tokyo, Waseda University,

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was the seventh Imperial University in Japan, one of the first five Designated National University and selected as a Top Type university of T ...

, University of Hong Kong, the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, the Netaji Research Bureau in Calcutta, Melbourne and Monash Universities,

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of S ...

, University of Sydney, University of Queensland, and Australian National University in Canberra. She delivered the Harmon Memorial Lecture at the United States Air Force Academy in 1991.

Selected works

;Historical novels *''Durga’s Sword'' (1995) *''Sugar And Smoke'' (2005, writing as Napua Chapman) *''Scent of Sake'' (2009) ;Non-fiction *''Jungle Alliance; Japan And The Indian National Army'' (1971) *''Okuma Shigenobu; Statesman Of Meiji Japan'' (1973) *''Japanese-trained Armies In Southeast Asia'' (1977) *''Women In Changing Japan'' (1977) *''Chinese Women In Southeast Asia'' (1980) *''Women And Work In India'' (1984) *''The Rani Of Jhansi; A Study In Female Heroism In India'' (1986) *''Shaping Hawai’i; The Voices Of Women'' (1999) *''Japan’s Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere'' (1975, editor)

Honours

Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon: 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebra, Joyce 1925 births 2021 deaths People from Honolulu University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts alumni Indian National Army Radcliffe College alumni University of Colorado faculty Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class