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William E. Griffis’ Return To America

In 1874, after living in Japan for almost five years, Griffis and his sister Margaret began their voyage back to the United States. It is during this time that Griffis would round-out his career, becoming a lecturer and prolific writer. Shortly after his return, Griffis marries Katherine Stanton and they have two children together. As he grew his family, Griffis also continued his theological education, earning the title Doctor of Divinity from Union College. In 1899 he also received an honorary degree from Rutgers College, Doctor of Humane Letters. He started work as a minister, hired by various churches for a few years until 1903 when Griffis resigned from his job to focus on his writing and lectures. 

 Griffis used the extensive knowledge he gained from living in Japan to teach the West about it. He toured the country’s universities, and sometimes even other countries, delivering lectures about Japanese history and his time with the people. Griffis published a myriad of books in his lifetime with the topics ranging from Japanese history to Dutch fairy tales. Working alongside Inazo Nitobe, the pair published Bushido: The Soul of Japan, which would become Nitobe’s most well-known book. In 1907, the Emperor awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, fourth class, to Griffis. More than anything, his writings of Japanese culture gained great popularity because of their unique insights. 

In 1926, Griffis, his second wife Sarah, and son Frances, all traveled to Japan after also visiting Manchuria and Korea. He once again toured the country, this time on a private government railcar alongside his family. And in 1926, Griffis received a second honor from the Meiji Government, the Order of the Rising Sun, third class. About a year after his trip, Griffis died peacefully in his home in Florida at the age of 84. To this day, the relationship that Griffis forged between New Brunswick and Fukui can be seen in both cities and their close bond with one another. 

Image Gallery

 

 

Original 1874 Edition of Mikado’s Empire

 

The Mikado’s Empire is considered by most to be the Griffis’ magnum opus because of its comprehensive and fastidious writing of Japanese history. Moreover, The Mikado’s Empire was one of the first Western books to be published about Japan, which made it alluring for people living in America who had never experienced the culture. Despite being published almost 150 years in the past, The Mikado’s Empire value remains unchanged. Its illustrations of Japanese life in the early-Meiji era, as well as Griffis’ frank opinions and criticisms, create a rare narrative that links East and West.

Title Page of The Mikado’s Empire (1874)

Letter From Griffis to Japanese Ambassador Takahira

 

Japan awarded the “Order of the Rising Sun” to Griffis in 1908 for his efforts in educating and modernizing the country diligently for so many years. This letter to Japanese Ambassador Takahira Kogoro was written by Griffis to express his gratitude and happiness from this honor. Interestingly, Griffis acknowledges that his relationship with Japan began in New Brunswick with his tutoring of the Yokoi brothers. He describes himself as the “interpreter of the Orientals to the Occidentals” and expressed his wish to break the barriers between American and Japanese peoples and create understanding.

Picture of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, awarded to Griffis for his service to Japan

Diary Entry of Griffis from August 1908 to January 1909

 

This diary entry was written by Griffis, including time from 1908 to 1909, details his tour around the US hosting lectures and sharing his writings about Japan and its history. He writes about his visit to multiple schools, as well as noting the weather and his daily agendas. For example, on August 7, 1908, Griffis wrote, “Cool rain during the night. Wrote …  for my Japan lectures orated M.F.” From the cramped writing filling every page of the diary, it’s clear to see Griffis was kept busy with presenting his lectures and writing
new books.

Letter to Griffis From the Princeton University Press

 

In 1914, following a reading of his manuscript for Griffis’ work C. Whitney Darrow, the secretary of the committee of Princeton University Press wrote a letter to Griffis. He expresses interest in publishing the book, on the condition that Griffis “condenses” the volume to a more comfortable length. He explains that the editorial committee found the material very interesting, but knows that the committee would ask Griffis for this revision anyway. It is possible that this letter is in regards to The Mikado: Institution and Person, a book published in 1915, but this is purely speculation and can not be confirmed. 

Image of William Griffis and His wife, Sarah, Taken in Fukui

 

During his tour of Japan in 1926, Griffis, of course, spent ample time in the town he called home for almost a year, Fukui. It is here that he revisited old friends and students, and got to appreciate how much the rural town had changed in his absence. In this time of reflection, Griffis and his wife documented a new memory together, posing for a picture. The clothes that the couple is wearing in the picture were actually gifts given to them by the city of Fukui.

by Lavanya Attavane (’22)

Works Cited

“William Elliot Griffis.” About｜Fukui City Griffis Museum, www.fukui-rekimachi.jp/griffis/abouten.html.

 

Books About Japan by William E. Griffis

One of the variant covers for Grifffis’ book, Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder Lore of Japan with Lovely Original Illustrations.
  • The Mikado’s Empire (1876)
  • Japanese Fairy World: Stories from the Wonder-lore of Japan (1880)
  • The Rutgers Graduates in Japan: An Address Delivered in Kirkpatrick Chapel, Rutgers College, June 16, 1885 (1886)
  • Honda the Samurai: A Story of Modern Japan (1890)
  • Japan in History, Folk-Lore and Art (1892)
  • The Religions of Japan (1895)
  • The Japanese Nation in Evolution (1897)
  • Verbeck of Japan, a Citizen of No Country: A Life Story of Foundation Work Inaugurated by Guido Fridolin Verbeck (1900)
  • Fairy Tales of Old Japan (1908)
  • Hepburn of Japan and His Wife and Helpmates: A Life Story of Toil for Christ (1913)
  • The Mikado: Institution and Person (1915)
  • In the Mikado’s Service: A Story of Two Battle Summers in China