American Studies in Pre-War Japan: A Brief Sketch

Abstract

In November, 1999, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Institute for American Studies at Rikkyo University, a special lecture meeting was held. It seems to be generally believed that American studies did not exist in pre-war Japan. But, as the establishment of that Institute at Rikkyo University itself suggests, the term“American studies”and some achievements in that field had existed well before the war. As a matter of fact, it started in the closing days of the Tokugawa regime. What was the reason for this early and strong interests in American studies in pre-war Japan?