William Elliot Griffis

William Elliot Griffis
Born (1843-09-17)September 17, 1843
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Died February 5, 1928(1928-02-05) (aged 84)
Florida, USA
Nationality American
Occupation educator, missionary, author

William Elliot Griffis (September 17, 1843 – February 5, 1928) was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author.[1]

Griffis was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of a sea captain and later a coal trader. During the American Civil War, he served two months as a corporal in Company H of the 44th Pennsylvania Militia after Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania in 1863.[2] After the war, he attended Rutgers University at New Brunswick, New Jersey, graduating in 1869.[1] At Rutgers, Griffis was an English and Latin language tutor for Tarō Kusakabe, a young samurai from the province of Echizen (part of modern Fukui).

After a year of travel in Europe, he studied at the seminary of the Reformed Church in America in New Brunswick (known today as the New Brunswick Theological Seminary).[1]

Modernizer in Japan

In September 1870 Griffis was invited to Japan by Matsudaira Shungaku, for the purpose of organizing schools along modern lines. In 1871, he was Superintendent of Education in the province of Echizen.[3] In recompense, he was provided with a salary of $2,400, a house in Fukui and a horse.

Griffis with a group of his students.

In 1872-74, Griffis taught chemistry[1] and physics at Kaisei Gakkō (the forerunner of Tokyo Imperial University).[3] He prepared the New Japan Series of Reading and Spelling Books, 5 vols. (1872).[1] He also published primers for Japanese students of the English language; and he and contributed to the Japanese press and to newspapers and magazines in the United States numerous papers of importance on Japanese affairs.

Griffis was joined by his sister, Margaret Clark Griffis, who became a teacher at the Tokyo Government Girls' School (later to become the Peeresses' School). By the time they left Japan in 1874, Griffis had befriended many of Japan's future leaders.

Griffis was a member of the Asiatic Society of Japan, the Asiatic Society of Korea, the Historical Society of the Imperial University of Tokyo, and the Meirokusha.[3]

Education and ministry

Returning to the United States, Griffis attended Union Theological Seminary; and after finishing his studies in 1877, he was called to the ministry in a series of churches—at the First Reformed Church, Schenectady, New York (1877–1886); at the Shawmut Congregational Church, Boston, Massachusetts (1886–1893); and at the First Congregational Church, Ithaca, New York (1893–1903). Concurrently, at Union College in 1884, he earned a higher degree, Doctor of Divinity (D.D.). Rutgers awarded him an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) in 1899.[3]

Writing and lectures

In 1903 he resigned from the active ministry to devote himself exclusively to writing and lecturing. His books on Japan and Japanese culture were complemented with extensive college and university lecture circuit itineraries. In addition to his own books and articles during this period, he also joined Inazo Nitobe in crafting what became his most well-known book, Bushido: The Soul of Japan.

In 1907, the Japanese government conferred the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, which represents the fourth highest of eight classes associated with the award.[4]

The prolific writer was also a prolific traveller, making eleven trips to Europe—primarily to visit the Netherlands. In 1898, he was present at the enthronement of Queen Wilhelmina;[1] and he attended the Congress of Diplomatic History. He was among the group of Bostonians who wanted to commemorate the Pilgrims' roots in Holland; and the work was rewarded with the dedication of a memorial at Delfshaven and the placement of five other bronze historical tablets in 1909.[3] He was one of four Americans elected to the Netherlands Society of Letters in Leiden.[1]

In 1923 Griffis published "The Story of the Walloons: At Home in Lands of Exile and in America". In this work he reveals the long history and contributions of these Belgians. The last half of the book relates the story of New Belgium (Nova Belgica) in America, the first settlers of Manhattan being a group of Protestant Walloons who petitioned the Dutch West India Company to be sent to establish a colony in the New World. These Walloons were sent to Manhattan as well as to other smaller locations on the Delaware, Hudson and Connecticut Rivers. They sailed out of Leiden, Netherlands in 1624. Griffis draws parallels to the thoughts of government and freedom of the Walloons and the US Constitution of 1787, and how their ideas made a lasting contribution to this country, though at the time (1923) the Walloons were generally unknown and overshadowed by the Dutch and later, English. This remains true to a great degree even today.

In 1926, Griffis was invited to return to Japan; and on this trip, the Japanese government conferred a second decoration. He was presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, which represents the third highest of eight classes.[4] A private rail car was provided by the Japanese government, and he visited several cities in the course of this return trip.[3]

Griffis was a founding member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters (later to become the American Academy of Arts and Letters), the American Historical Association, and the U.S. Naval Institute. He died at his winter home in Florida in 1928.[3]

Family

One of Griffis' two sons, Stanton Griffis, would become U.S. Ambassador to Poland, Egypt, Spain and Argentina under President Truman. Stanton Griffis was ambassador to Argentina while Juan and Eva Peron were in power and wrote of his experiences in a book titled Lying In State. The other son, John, became a composer.

Honors

Time-line chronology

Griffis' life and publications are here organized chronologically.[4]

Published works

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brown, John Howard. (1904). "Griffis, William Elliot," The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Boston: The Biographical Society.
  2. ↑ "Rutgers in the Civil War," Journal of the Rutgers University Libraries Vol. 66 (2014), page 120 http://jrul.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jrul/article/viewFile/1865/3298
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Dr. Griffis, Friend of Japan, Dies; Educator Who Helped Japanese Adapt Themselves to Western Civilization," The New York Times. February 6, 1928.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Adam Mathew web.
  5. ↑ "Art Notes," The New York Times. December 24, 1890.
  6. ↑ http://jrul.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jrul/article/viewFile/1865/3298

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