Ian Nish facts for kids

Ian Nish

Ian Hill Nish (born June 3, 1926 – died July 31, 2022) was a famous British expert in Japanese history. He was a professor at the London School of Economics (LSE). He was known around the world for his studies on the friendship between Britain and Japan, Japan's foreign policy, and how these two countries got along in the 1900s.

Early Life and War Years

Ian Nish was born in Burghmuirhead, Edinburgh, Scotland, on June 3, 1926.

During World War II, many young people who weren't Japanese had the chance to learn about Japan. Ian Nish was one of them. He first became interested in Japan when he was still a schoolboy in Edinburgh. His school announced a government program to learn difficult Asian languages, but he was too young to join then.

Three years later, when he was almost 18, he joined the army and was sent to India. There, he applied for a special course to learn Japanese quickly, and he was accepted! The School of Japanese Studies was first in Simla and later moved to Karachi. They taught a lot of Japanese language, but not much about Japanese history or culture.

When the war ended and the course finished, Ian Nish and others were sent to Malaya. They worked as translators and interpreters, helping to understand Japanese documents and speak with Japanese prisoners.

A few months later, Ian Nish was sent to Kure, Japan. He worked at a special center where he translated local newspapers. This helped him learn about everyday life in Japan after the war.

Academic Career

After his time in Japan, Ian Nish had a big decision to make. He could go to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London to study Japanese, or he could go back to Edinburgh University to finish his history degree. He chose Edinburgh and earned his degree three years later.

While in Japan, Ian Nish had collected information about the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, a special agreement between Britain and Japan made in 1902. With this information, he went to SOAS to work on his advanced degree (doctorate). At SOAS, he joined groups like the Japan Society of London and the China Society.

Ian Nish's first teaching job was in the history department at the University of Sydney in Australia. On his way there in 1957, he spent six months in Japan. He remembered that students in Sydney were becoming more interested in Japan, and Asian history classes were very popular. He stayed in Australia until 1962.

When he returned to England, he started teaching at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He taught there for 30 years, focusing on Japan. His special courses led to two books: "Origins of the Russo-Japanese War" and "Japan's Struggle with Internationalism." He also wrote more books about the history of relations between Britain and Japan. He was an active member of the Japan Society and helped lead the British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS). From 1985 to 1988, he was the president of the European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS).

Ian Nish retired in 1991. After retiring, he became an honorary researcher at the Suntory Toyota International Centre for Economics and Related Disciplines (STICERD). This allowed him to finish research projects he didn't have time for while teaching. In 2001-2002, two collections of his writings were published in both Britain and Japan. He also helped lead the Anglo-Japanese History Project and put together an eight-volume collection of historical works about the Russo-Japanese War in 2004.

Personal Life and Death

Ian Nish passed away on July 31, 2022, when he was 96 years old.

Honors

Ian Nish believed that foreign scholars of Japan often help share the ideas of Japanese scholars with the rest of the world.

• Japan Academy (Honorary member), 2007.
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
• Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, 1991.
• Japan Foundation: Japan Foundation Award, 1991.

Selected Works

Ian Nish wrote and contributed to many books and papers. Here are a few examples:

2003

• Nish, Ian, ed. The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5: A Collection of Eight Volumes. This was a large collection of important historical works about the war.

2002

• Nish, Ian. Collected Writings, Part 2: Japan, Russian and East Asia. This book was part of a series of his collected academic papers.

2001

• Nish, Ian. Collected Writings, Part 1. Another part of his collected academic papers.

2000

• Nish, Ian. "Echoes of Alliance, 1920-1930" in The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations, Vol. I (edited by Ian Nish and Yoichi Kibata).
• Nish, Ian and Yoichi Kibata. The History of Anglo-Japanese Relations: The Political-diplomatic Dimension. This two-volume set covered the political and diplomatic history between Britain and Japan from 1600 to 2000.

1999

• Nish, Ian. "Aoki Shūzō 1844-1914" in Britain and Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. 3.
• Nish, Ian. "George Bailey Sansom and his Tokyo Friends, 1903-47," Bulletin of the Asiatic Society of Japan, No. 8.

1994

• Nish, Ian and James E. Hoare, eds. Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. II.
• Nish, Ian, ed. Britain & Japan: Biographical Portraits, Vol. I. These books featured biographies of important people in British and Japanese history.

1972

• Nish, Ian. (1972). Alliance in Decline: A Study in Anglo-Japanese Relations 1908-23. This book looked at how the Anglo-Japanese Alliance changed over time.

1966

• Nish, Ian. (1966). The Anglo-Japanese Alliance: The diplomacy of two island empires 1894-1907. This was an important book about the early years of the alliance between Britain and Japan.

See also

• Global Oriental