Kenneth B. Pyle (born April 20, 1936 in

Bellefonte, Pennsylvania Bellefonte is a borough in, and the county seat of, Centre County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is approximately twelve miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The bor ...

) is a Japan historian and professor emeritus of

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

International Studies International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

campus. Since earning his Ph. D. in

Japanese History The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to prehistoric times around 30,000 BC. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when new inventi ...

from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

in 1965, he has become a major figure in the area of

Japan 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 ...

, publishing several books on Japan and its

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

, serving as the first editor of the ''

Journal of Japanese Studies ''The Journal of Japanese Studies'' (JJS) is the most influential journal dealing with research on Japan in the United States. It is a multidisciplinary forum for communicating new information, new interpretations, and recent research results con ...

'' from 1974 to 1986 and director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington from 1978 to 1988, and appointed by

President George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

to chair the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission from 1992 to 1995. In 1998, the Japanese government awarded Pyle with the Order of the Rising Sun, and in 2008 he received the Japan Foundation Award for Japanese Studies. Pyle is Founding President of The

National Bureau of Asian Research The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) is an American non-profit, research institution based in Seattle, Washington, with a branch office in Washington, D.C. NBR brings together specialists, policymakers, and business leaders to examine ...

(NBR), a nonpartisan, nonprofit

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

, and serves on the organization's Board of Directors. In 2006, NBR created The Kenneth B. and Anne H.H. Pyle Center For Northeast Asian Studies, a research center to focus on Northeast Asian political and security issues.

Selected works

Books

* ''Japan in the American Century'' (Belknap Press, 2018) * ''International Order and the Rise of Asia: History and Theory'', in ''Strategic Asia 2011-12: Asia Responds to Its Rising Powers - China and India'', Ashley J. Tellis, Travis Tanner, and Jessica Keough editors (

, 2011) * ''Japan Rising: The Resurgence of Japanese Power and Purpose'' (Public Affairs Books, 2007) * ''The Making of Modern Japan'' (D.C. Heath, second edition 1996) * ''The Japanese Question: Power and Purpose in a New Era'' (AEI Press, second edition 1996), Japanese edition (1995), Chinese edition (1997) * ''The New Generation in Meiji Japan: Problems of Cultural Identity'' (Stanford University Press, 1969)

Journals

* Kenneth B. Pyle and Eric Heginbotham
Japan
''Strategic Asia 2001-02: Power and Purpose'' ( NBR, September 2001) * Michael H. Armacost and Kenneth B. Pyle
Japan and the Engagement of China: Challenges for U.S. Policy Coordination
NBR Analysis (December 2001) * Kenneth B. Pyle
Abe Shinzo and Japan's Change of Course
''NBR Analysis'' (October 2006) * Kenneth B. Pyle
Reading the New Era in Asia: The Use of History and Culture in the Making of Foreign Policy
''Asia Policy'' (January 2007) * Kenneth B. Pyle et al.
Emerging Leaders in East Asia: The Next Generation of Political Leadership in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
(NBR, September 2008) * Kenneth B. Pyle et al.
A New Stage for the U.S.-Japan Alliance?
(''Asia Policy'', July 2010]

Honors and awards

* Order of the Rising Sun *

Japan Foundation Award The Japan Foundation Awards honor individuals and organizations for significant contributions to "the enhancement of mutual understanding between Japan and other countries." History Activities in an academic or cultural field have been presented ...

Notes

External links

University of Washington Department of History Homepage

* ttp://www.nbr.org/research/group.aspx?id=fea49944-0fd2-4d0c-86d0-2bc059ac5a4d NBR's Kenneth B. and Anne H.H. Pyle Center For Northeast Asian Studies
NBR Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, Kenneth B. University of Washington faculty Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun Johns Hopkins University alumni Living people 1936 births American Japanologists Historians of American foreign relations National Bureau of Asian Research