was a Japanese historian who specialized in the study of Thailand.

Biography

Ishii was born in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. After excepting a recommendation by his teacher in learning a Thai language, he went to

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. There, he was enrolled into the

Chulalongkorn University Chulalongkorn University (CU, th, จุฬาลงกรณ์มหาวิทยาลัย, ), nicknamed Chula ( th, จุฬาฯ), is a public and autonomous research university in Bangkok, Thailand. The university was originally fo ...

and joined

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The enti ...

shortly after. In 1958, due to his knowledge in history and religion of the region, he spent three months as a Buddhist priest at the

Wat Bowonniwet Wat Pavaranivesh Vihara Ratchawarawihan ( th, วัดบวรนิเวศวิหารราชวรวิหาร; , ) is a major Buddhist temple ('' wat'') in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. Being the residence of Nyanas ...

temple in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...

. Later on, as a professor he joined

Japanese Society of Ethnology Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspo ...

and

Osaka City University , abbreviated to , is a public university in Japan. It is located in Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan regarding Applied Linguistics. The university will merge with Osaka Prefecture University to form ...

. From there, he traveled to such countries as

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, Laos,

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

in each one of which he studied cultures of those nations. He completed his studies there as well, and got hired at the

Japanese embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Japan. Japan sent ambassadors to the Tang Chinese court in Xi'an since 607 AD, as well as to the Koryo and Joseon dynasties of early Korea. For centuries, early modern Japan did not actively seek to ex ...

where he worked for seven years. In 1963 he returned to his native land to continue his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and two years later got hired by the

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

where he pursued his academic career. By 1967 he became a professor there and later on became a director of it in 1985 and retired five years later. During that time, he wrote and published a five-volume book called ''The Computer Concordance to the Law of the Three Seals'', and was relocated to the

Institute of Asian Cultures An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

which was a part of

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

where he taught till 1993. Next year he was awarded

Fukuoka Prize The is an award established by the city of Fukuoka and the Fukuoka City International Foundation (formerly The Yokatopia Foundation) to honor the outstanding work of individuals or organizations in preserving or creating Asian culture. There are ...

and is currently works at the 13th Congress of the

International Association of Historians of Asia International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

. In 1995 he became a President at the Kanda University and received

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

with the

Purple ribbon This is a partial list of awareness ribbons. The meaning behind an awareness ribbon depends on its colors and pattern. Since many advocacy groups have adopted ribbons as symbols of support or awareness, ribbons, particularly those of a single co ...

, and five years later became a fellow at the Sophia University.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishii, Yoneo People from Tokyo 20th-century Japanese historians Yoneo Ishii Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon 2010 deaths 1929 births Historians of Thailand