Donald Shively

Donald Shively
Donald Shively
Born	(1921-05-11)May 11, 1921 Kyoto, Japan
Died	August 13, 2005(2005-08-13) (aged 84)
Nationality	United States
Occupation	Japanologist

Donald Howard Shively (May 11, 1921 – August 13, 2005) was an American academic, historian, Japanologist, author and professor emeritus of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Berkeley.^[1] He was a leader of Japan studies in the United States.

Early life[]

Shively was the son of American missionaries in Japan. He was born in Kyoto and educated at the Canadian Academy in Japan.^[2]

Years of study in the United States began when he entered Harvard in 1940, but his college years were interrupted by war. In World War II, Shively was a Japanese language officer. He was promoted to the rank of major in the United States Marine Corps, and his service was marked by the Bronze Star Medal.^[2]

Shively received his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1946 (Class of '44). He continued his studies in Cambridge, and he earned a master's degree in 1947. He was awarded a Ph.D. in 1951.^[1]

Career[]

Shively began his teaching career at the University of California, Berkeley. He was at Berkeley from 1950 to 1962. During this period, he edited the Journal of Asian Studies (1955–1959).^[2]

From 1962 through 1964, he joined the faculty of Stanford. He then moved east to return to Harvard as a member of the faculty from 1964 to 1983.^[1] He was director of the Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies from 1981 through 1983,^[3] and also editor of the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies from 1975 to 1983.^[2]

In 1983, Shively returned to teach at Berkeley. He was also the head of the university's East Asian library until he retired in 1992.^[1] Dr. Shively died of Shy–Drager syndrome at the age of 84 in Oakland, California.

Selected works[]

Most notable among his works covering popular culture in the Edo period of Japan is the translation of The Love Suicides at Amijima, a famous kabuki play written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon.

In a statistical overview derived from writings by and about Donald Shively, OCLC/WorldCat encompasses roughly 40+ works in 90+ publications in 3 languages and 3,000+ library holdings.^[4]

• The Love Suicide at Amijima: a study of a Japanese Domestic Tragedy by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1953)
• Personality in Japanese History (1970) with Albert Craig
• Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture (1971)
• The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 2, Heian Japan (1999)

Honors[]

• Order of the Rising Sun, 1982.^[2]

Notes[]

Further reading[]

• May, Meredith. "Donald H. Shively -- scholar on Japan," San Francisco Chronicle. August 15, 2005.
• H. Mack Horton In Memoriam, Donald Howard Shively, Professor of East Asian Languages, Emeritus, UC Berkeley, University of California (viewed April 10, 2009)