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James Murdoch (Scottish journalist)
Encyclopedia
James Murdoch was a Scottish
scholar and journalist
, who worked as a teacher in the Empire of Japan
and Australia
. From 1903–1917, he wrote the three-volume A History of Japan, the first comprehensive history of Japan in the English language
. The third volume was published posthumously in 1926.
, near Aberdeen
, in Scotland
. He exhibited signs of intellectual brilliance as a child, and although his family was of moderate means, he won a scholarship to Aberdeen University where he completed a bachelor's and master's degree. He subsequently studied at Worcester College, Oxford University, the University of Göttingen, and the University of Paris
. Murdoch studied Sanskrit
under Theodor Benfey
while at the University of Göttingen.
Regarded as a genius in foreign languages, at the age of 24, he suddenly resigned from his post as a professor and decided to emigrate to Australia
.
Australia from July 1881–1889 as headmaster of the new Maryborough
Grammar School. He became unpopular with the trustees (possibly because of his atheism
) and he was dismissed in March 1885. He worked for the next two years as assistant master at Brisbane
Grammar School. In 1886 he also sat for the Bar examination
s, but failed in two of the eight papers because he had mistakenly attempted to answer every question. He left the school at his own wish and became a journalist at the radical nationalist journal, the Boomerang. In a series of articles he predicted that within a generation the Australian colonies would form an independent republic
, which would turn socialist through a violent revolution unless the harsh living conditions of the working classes were alleviated.
, from September 1889–1893 as a professor of European history at the First Higher School, an elite institution for young men entering the Tokyo Imperial University.
In addition to teaching, he vigorously pursued literary activities. In June 1890 he published a long piece of satirical verse, Don Juan's Grandson in Japan. In November he launched a weekly magazine, the Japan Echo, which lasted for six issues. In 1892 he published From Australia and Japan (a volume of short stories which went through three editions) and a novel, Ayame-san. His stories were romances in which the heroes tended to be academic and sporting paragons with socialist political leanings, whereas the women were both mercenary and cruel, or paragons of erudition, beauty and good breeding. He also wrote several texts for pictorial guidebooks aimed at historically-minded tourists, and edited the memoirs of Hikozo Hamada
, the castaway who became the first Japanese to acquire American citizenship.
experimental commune
in Paraguay
. By the time of his arrival, however, about one-third of the colonists had seceded, and far from the socialist paradise
he had imagined, he found only poverty, dissention and disease. He remained only a few days and, leaving his 12-year-old son in South America
, proceeded on to London
in ill health.
He spent the next five months recuperating at the British Museum
translating the letters of sixteenth-century European religieux in Japan; he then returned to Japan, where he would live until 1917.
at the Fourth Higher School at Kanazawa
Ishikawa prefecture
. On 23 November 1899, while teaching economic history at the Higher Commercial College (today's Hitotsubashi University
) in Tokyo
, he married Takeko Okada. His most famous student during his second period in Japan was Natsume Sōseki
.
In 1901 Murdoch moved to the Seventh Higher School at Kagoshima, Kyūshū
. He had never fully recovered from the illness he had contracted in South America and he hoped to benefit from the milder Kyūshū winters. A History of Japan During the Century of Early Foreign Intercourse (1542-1651) appeared in 1903. The European language sources in Latin, Spanish
, French
and Dutch
were all translated by himself. Lafcadio Hearn
praised the book in the "Bibliographical Notes" section of his book Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation" (1904).
In 1908, Murdoch's teaching contract was not renewed. Murdoch, nevertheless, decided to remain at Kagoshima. He contributed regularly to the Kobe Chronicle newspaper and, to supplement this income, planted a citron
orchard. Although he was never to achieve fluency in speech, he had now become so proficient in classical written Japanese
that he no longer had to rely on assistants. A History of Japan From the Origins to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1542 A.D. appeared in 1910. In 1915, following the completion of the manuscript of the third volume, The Tokugawa Epoch 1652–1868, poverty forced Murdoch back into teaching, this time at the junior high-school level.
, Duntroon
, and at the University of Sydney
(where he founded the Japanese studies program), concurrent appointments instituted on the initiative of the Australian Defense Department. The following year, in response to an effort made by Waseda University
to bring him back to Japan, the University of Sydney raised his status to that of a fully tenured professor. In return for £600 a year from the Defense Department, the university also permitted Murdoch to visit Japan annually to obtain first-hand information on shifts in Japanese public opinion and foreign policy. The first such visit resulted in a memorandum highly critical of Australia's intransigence on the racial equality
issue raised by Japan at the Paris Peace Conference
. Similarly, two years later Murdoch was called to Melbourne to give the Prime Minister of Australia
his views on the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
.
Murdoch died of cancer
at his home at Baulkham Hills on 30 October 1921. He had just completed the research for the fourth volume of the A History of Japan but had not begun writing. He was survived by his son (in South America) and by his wife (who returned to Japan).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
scholar and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, who worked as a teacher in the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. From 1903–1917, he wrote the three-volume A History of Japan, the first comprehensive history of Japan in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The third volume was published posthumously in 1926.
Early life
Murdoch was born in StonehavenStonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
, near Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. He exhibited signs of intellectual brilliance as a child, and although his family was of moderate means, he won a scholarship to Aberdeen University where he completed a bachelor's and master's degree. He subsequently studied at Worcester College, Oxford University, the University of Göttingen, and the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
. Murdoch studied Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
under Theodor Benfey
Theodor Benfey
This is about the philologist. For the Theodor Benfey who developed a spiral periodic table of the elements in 1964 -- Otto Theodor Benfey -- see Alternative periodic tables....
while at the University of Göttingen.
Regarded as a genius in foreign languages, at the age of 24, he suddenly resigned from his post as a professor and decided to emigrate to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Life in Australia
Murdoch taught in QueenslandQueensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
Australia from July 1881–1889 as headmaster of the new Maryborough
Maryborough
Maryborough may refer to:* Maryborough, Queensland, a town in Australia** Electoral district of Maryborough, Queensland* Maryborough, Victoria, another town in Australia* The pre-1922 name of Port Laoise in the Republic of Ireland...
Grammar School. He became unpopular with the trustees (possibly because of his atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
) and he was dismissed in March 1885. He worked for the next two years as assistant master at Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
Grammar School. In 1886 he also sat for the Bar examination
Bar examination
A bar examination is an examination conducted at regular intervals to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice law in a given jurisdiction.-Brazil:...
s, but failed in two of the eight papers because he had mistakenly attempted to answer every question. He left the school at his own wish and became a journalist at the radical nationalist journal, the Boomerang. In a series of articles he predicted that within a generation the Australian colonies would form an independent republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, which would turn socialist through a violent revolution unless the harsh living conditions of the working classes were alleviated.
Life in Japan
Murdoch came to Japan as a foreign advisorO-yatoi gaikokujin
The Foreign government advisors in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as oyatoi gaikokujin , were those foreign advisors hired by the Japanese government for their specialized knowledge to assist in the modernization of Japan at the end of the Bakufu and during the Meiji era. The term is sometimes...
, from September 1889–1893 as a professor of European history at the First Higher School, an elite institution for young men entering the Tokyo Imperial University.
In addition to teaching, he vigorously pursued literary activities. In June 1890 he published a long piece of satirical verse, Don Juan's Grandson in Japan. In November he launched a weekly magazine, the Japan Echo, which lasted for six issues. In 1892 he published From Australia and Japan (a volume of short stories which went through three editions) and a novel, Ayame-san. His stories were romances in which the heroes tended to be academic and sporting paragons with socialist political leanings, whereas the women were both mercenary and cruel, or paragons of erudition, beauty and good breeding. He also wrote several texts for pictorial guidebooks aimed at historically-minded tourists, and edited the memoirs of Hikozo Hamada
Joseph Heco
Joseph Heco was the first Japanese person to be naturalized as a United States citizen and the first to publish a Japanese language newspaper.-Early years:...
, the castaway who became the first Japanese to acquire American citizenship.
Life in Paraguay and London
In September 1893 Murdoch left Japan to join a 'New Australia' communistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
experimental commune
Commune (intentional community)
A commune is an intentional community of people living together, sharing common interests, property, possessions, resources, and, in some communes, work and income. In addition to the communal economy, consensus decision-making, non-hierarchical structures and ecological living have become...
in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
. By the time of his arrival, however, about one-third of the colonists had seceded, and far from the socialist paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
he had imagined, he found only poverty, dissention and disease. He remained only a few days and, leaving his 12-year-old son in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, proceeded on to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in ill health.
He spent the next five months recuperating at the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
translating the letters of sixteenth-century European religieux in Japan; he then returned to Japan, where he would live until 1917.
Return to Japan
From 1894 to 1897 Murdoch taught EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at the Fourth Higher School at Kanazawa
Kanazawa, Ishikawa
is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.-Geography, climate, and population:Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japan Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km².Kanazawa's...
Ishikawa prefecture
Ishikawa Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is Kanazawa.- History :Ishikawa was formed from the merger of Kaga Province and the smaller Noto Province.- Geography :Ishikawa is on the Sea of Japan coast...
. On 23 November 1899, while teaching economic history at the Higher Commercial College (today's Hitotsubashi University
Hitotsubashi University
is a national university specialised in the social sciences in Tokyo, Japan. The University has campuses in Kunitachi, Kodaira, and Kanda.Hitotsubashi is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. It is ranked 25th in the world in 2011 by École des Mines de Paris.Hitotsubashi...
) in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, he married Takeko Okada. His most famous student during his second period in Japan was Natsume Sōseki
Natsume Soseki
, born ', is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period . He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales...
.
In 1901 Murdoch moved to the Seventh Higher School at Kagoshima, Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
. He had never fully recovered from the illness he had contracted in South America and he hoped to benefit from the milder Kyūshū winters. A History of Japan During the Century of Early Foreign Intercourse (1542-1651) appeared in 1903. The European language sources in Latin, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
were all translated by himself. Lafcadio Hearn
Lafcadio Hearn
Patrick Lafcadio Hearn , known also by the Japanese name , was an international writer, known best for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things...
praised the book in the "Bibliographical Notes" section of his book Japan: An Attempt at Interpretation" (1904).
In 1908, Murdoch's teaching contract was not renewed. Murdoch, nevertheless, decided to remain at Kagoshima. He contributed regularly to the Kobe Chronicle newspaper and, to supplement this income, planted a citron
Citron
Not to be confused with Cintron.The citron is a fragrant citrus fruit, botanically classified as Citrus medica by both the Swingle and Tanaka systems...
orchard. Although he was never to achieve fluency in speech, he had now become so proficient in classical written Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
that he no longer had to rely on assistants. A History of Japan From the Origins to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1542 A.D. appeared in 1910. In 1915, following the completion of the manuscript of the third volume, The Tokugawa Epoch 1652–1868, poverty forced Murdoch back into teaching, this time at the junior high-school level.
Return to Australia
In February 1917, however, Murdoch was able to return to Australia to teach Japanese at the Royal Military CollegeRoyal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
, Duntroon
Duntroon
Duntroon may refer to:* Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra, Australia* Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Robert Campbell's property in the suburb of Campbell, Canberra* Duntroon, Ontario, Canada* Duntroon, New Zealand* Duntroon, Scotland...
, and at the University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
(where he founded the Japanese studies program), concurrent appointments instituted on the initiative of the Australian Defense Department. The following year, in response to an effort made by Waseda University
Waseda University
, abbreviated as , is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan and Asia. Its main campuses are located in the northern part of Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as Tokyo Senmon Gakko, the institution was renamed "Waseda University" in 1902. It is known for its liberal climate...
to bring him back to Japan, the University of Sydney raised his status to that of a fully tenured professor. In return for £600 a year from the Defense Department, the university also permitted Murdoch to visit Japan annually to obtain first-hand information on shifts in Japanese public opinion and foreign policy. The first such visit resulted in a memorandum highly critical of Australia's intransigence on the racial equality
Racial equality
Racial equality means different things in different contexts. It mostly deals with an equal regard to all races.It can refer to a belief in biological equality of all human races....
issue raised by Japan at the Paris Peace Conference
Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors following the end of World War I to set the peace terms for the defeated Central Powers following the armistices of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than 32 countries and nationalities...
. Similarly, two years later Murdoch was called to Melbourne to give the Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
his views on the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance
Anglo-Japanese Alliance
The first was signed in London at what is now the Lansdowne Club, on January 30, 1902, by Lord Lansdowne and Hayashi Tadasu . A diplomatic milestone for its ending of Britain's splendid isolation, the alliance was renewed and extended in scope twice, in 1905 and 1911, before its demise in 1921...
.
Murdoch died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at his home at Baulkham Hills on 30 October 1921. He had just completed the research for the fourth volume of the A History of Japan but had not begun writing. He was survived by his son (in South America) and by his wife (who returned to Japan).
A History of Japan
References to volume numbers can be confusing, as the books were later issued in sets where volume number does not correspond to order of original publication.- During the Century of Early Foreign Intercourse (1542-1651), in collaboration with Isoh Yamagata, published by the Kobe Chronicle, KobeKobe, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Japan, 1903. This was Vol. II in the RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
set. - From the Origins to the Arrival of the Portuguese in 1542 A.D., published 1910 by Trench, Trubner, & Co. Note that this was labelled Vol. 1, and was Vol. I in the RoutledgeRoutledgeRoutledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
set. - The Tokugawa Epoch 1652-1868, published 1926.