Tasuku Harada (December 20, 1863 – February 21, 1940) was a Japanese pastor and the president of

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

from 1907 to 1919. Harada started the University of Hawaii's

Japanese Studies Japanese studies (Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese ...

department in 1922.

Early life

Harada was born in what is now

Kumamoto, Japan is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to the northeast, Miyaza ...

in 1863. As a child he studied under

Leroy Lansing Janes Leroy Lansing Janes (1838–1909) was an American educator, hired by Kumamoto Domain in early Meiji period Japan. A native of Ohio, Janes was a veteran of the Civil War, where he served in the artillery with the rank of captain after graduatio ...

and converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. He entered

Doshisha University , mottoeng = Truth shall make you free , tagline = , established = Founded 1875,Chartered 1920 , vision = , type = Private , affiliation = , calendar = , endowment = €1 ...

in 1880 and studied under

Jo Niijima (born ; 12 February 1843 – 23 January 1890), better known by his English name Joseph Hardy Neesima, was a Japanese people, Japanese Protestantism, Protestant missionary and educator of the Meiji period, Meiji era who founded Doshisha Eng ...

. He was baptized in 1881 and ordained as a pastor in 1885. He then served as the pastor of a church in Kobe until 1888. Harada then studied in America at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, and graduated from the latter in 1890. He then went even further abroad to study in England and Germany. Harada had four children.

Career

In 1896 Harada returned to Japan and headed several churches, edited the Tokyo-based ''Christian World'', and continued travelling abroad. He then served as president of Doshisha University from 1907 to 1919, during which enrollment tripled and the university became officially

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

. However, in 1919 he resigned after enduring criticism about his focus on mission work and travels overseas. After resigning, Harada gave lectures in Europe and the United States. Though there was a lot of anti-Japanese sentiment at the time because of the Oahu sugar strikes, he lectured in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and was offered a professorship at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. After returning to Kyoto to think about it, he accepted the offer and moved to Hawaii with his wife and four of his children. He started the University of Hawaii's

department in 1922, and was the dean of the department until 1932.

Shunzo Sakamaki Shunzo Sakamaki ( ja, 坂巻駿三; July 15, 1906 – July 19, 1973) was a Japanese studies professor at the University of Hawaii. Sakamaki Hall, where the History department at the University of Hawaii is housed, was built after his death and name ...

and Yukuo Uyehara took over after Harada retired. While working in Hawaii, Harada was also affiliated with the Pan-Pacific Union (PPU) and the

Institute of Pacific Relations The Institute of Pacific Relations (IPR) was an international NGO established in 1925 to provide a forum for discussion of problems and relations between nations of the Pacific Rim. The International Secretariat, the center of most IPR activity ov ...

(IPR). Harada died in Kyoto on February 21, 1940 after years of illness. He has received honorary degrees from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, and the University of Hawaii.

References

1863 births 1940 deaths Doshisha University alumni University of Chicago alumni Yale Divinity School alumni University of Hawaiʻi faculty Japanese Christians Japanese theologians {{DEFAULTSORT:Harada, Tasuku