Karl F. Friday (born 1957) is an American Japanologist. Friday earned a bachelor's degree in Japanese at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1979, followed by a master's degree in East Asian languages and culture from the same institution in 1983. He then attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

to pursue graduate study in history, earning a master of arts degree in 1986, followed by a doctorate in 1989. Friday began his teaching career as an assistant professor at the

University of San Diego The University of San Diego (USD) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in San Diego, California, United States. Chartered in 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University ...

. In 1990, he joined the faculty of the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

, where he was successively promoted to associate professor in 1993, and full professor in 1999. Upon retiring in 2012, Friday was granted emeritus status. He later served as Director of the IES Abroad Tokyo Center, and as professor, and currently professor emeritus, at Saitama University, in Japan. Friday specialized in the study of samurai history and culture, including

Japanese martial arts Japanese martial arts refers to the variety of martial arts native to the country of Japan. At least three Japanese terms (''budō'', ''bujutsu'', and ''bugei'') are used interchangeably with the English phrase Japanese martial arts. The usage ...

. Friday also holds '' menkyo kaiden'' license in Kashima Shinryū.

Selected publications

* ''The Routledge Handbook of Premodern Japanese History''. Routledge, 2017. * ''Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850''. Routledge, 2012. * * * *Reviews of ''Hired Swords'' include: * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friday, Karl 1957 births Living people American Japanologists Martial arts writers Historians of Japan University of Georgia faculty Stanford University alumni University of Kansas alumni University of San Diego faculty 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American historians 21st-century American historians 21st-century American male writers American martial artists