Peter Francis Kornicki (born 1 May 1950) FBA is an English

Japanologist 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 ...

. He is Emeritus Professor of Japanese at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and Emeritus Fellow of

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

. Kornicki was born at Maidenhead on 1 May 1950, the eldest son of Sq/Ldr Franciszek Kornicki and Patience Ceredwin Kornicka (née Williams). He went to schools in Malta, Aden and Cyprus and was then educated at St George's College, Weybridge. He matriculated at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...

, initially to read Classics. He graduated with First Class Honours in Japanese with Korean in 1972. He spent the academic year 1972-3 as a Japanese Ministry of Education foreign student at Tokyo University of Education (now

Tsukuba University is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 college cl ...

) and then returned to Oxford and in 1975 received an MSc in Applied Social Studies. He then moved to

St Antony's College, Oxford St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...

to begin work on a DPhil on Japanese literature of the Meiji period. In 1976 he was awarded a Japan Foundation fellowship for study in Japan and spent 18 months at the Research Institute for the Humanities at Kyoto University, studying under Professors Asukai Masamichi and Yoshida Mitsukuni. He taught Japanese at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

from 1978 to 1982, and was subsequently an associate professor at the Research Institute for the Humanities at

Kyoto University , mottoeng = Freedom of academic culture , established = , type = National university, Public (National) , endowment = ¥ 316 billion (2.4 1000000000 (number), billion USD) , faculty = 3,480 (Teaching Staff) , administrative_staff ...

. In 1985 he came to Cambridge, where he has been a fellow of Robinson College since 1986, and was Deputy Warden from 2008 to 2018. He was President of the

European Association for Japanese Studies The European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS or ヨーロッパ日本研究協会　ヨーロッパにほんけんきゅうきょうかい) was established in 1973 by European scholars in order to facilitate academic exchange in the field of ...

(EAJS) in 1997-2000. His main research interest is in the history of the book in Japan, but he is also interested in the lives and work of the British pioneer japanologists

Frederick Victor Dickins Frederick Victor Dickins (24 May 1838 – 16 August 1915) was a British naval surgeon, barrister, orientalist and university administrator. He is now remembered as a translator of Japanese literature. Life Dickins was born at 44 Connaught Terrac ...

William George Aston William George Aston (9 April 1841 – 22 November 1911) was an Anglo-Irish diplomat, author and scholar-expert in the language and history of Japan and Korea. Early life Aston was born near Derry, Ireland.Ricorso Aston, bio notes/ref> He dis ...

Ernest Mason Satow Sir Ernest Mason Satow, (30 June 1843 – 26 August 1929), was a British scholar, diplomat and Japanologist. Satow is better known in Japan than in Britain or the other countries in which he served, where he was known as . He was a key fig ...

and

Basil Hall Chamberlain Basil Hall Chamberlain (18 October 1850 – 15 February 1935) was a British academic and Japanologist. He was a professor of the Japanese language at Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during th ...

Personal life

In 1975, Kornicki married Catharine Olga Mikolaski. Together they had two children: one daughter and one son. His first wife died in 1995. In 1998, he married

Francesca Orsini Francesca Orsini, FBA is an Italian scholar of South Asian literature. She is currently Professor of Hindi and South Asian Literature at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. She previously lectured at the Univ ...

, an Italian scholar of South Asian literature.'KORNICKI, Prof. Peter Francis', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 9 Sept 2017
/ref>

Honours

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 ...

, 1992.Japan Foundation
/ref> *

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

, Fellow ( FBA), 2000. *

, Honorary Fellow, 2004. *

Yamagata Bantō Prize Yamagata may refer to: Places Japan *Yamagata Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region on Honshu island **Yamagata, Yamagata, the capital city of Yamagata Prefecture **Yamagata Airport (IATA code GAJ), an airport located in Yamagat ...

, Osaka Prefecture, 2013.

Works

*''The Book in Japan: A Cultural History from the Beginnings to the Nineteenth Century'', Leiden: Brill, 1998. Paperback, University of Hawaii Press, 2000. *''Early Japanese Books in Cambridge University Library: A Catalogue of the

Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...

, Satow and von Siebold Collections'', with N. Hayashi (Cambridge University Press), pp. xx + 520, 1991 *''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan'', coedited with Richard Bowring (Cambridge University Press), pp. 400, 1993

References

External links

Webpage at the Department of East Asian Studies
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kornicki, Peter 1950 births Living people Fellows of Robinson College, Cambridge British Japanologists English male writers English people of Polish descent Fellows of the British Academy