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University of Chicago Library

Guide to Joseph M. Kitagawa Papers 1958-1990

© 2021 University of Chicago Library

Descriptive Summary

Title:

Kitagawa, Joseph M.

Dates:

1958-1990

Size:

3.75 linear feet (8 boxes)

Repository:

Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Joseph M. Kitagawa (b. March 8, 1915, d. October 7, 1992) was a prominent Japanese-American scholar of religion, professor, priest, and author of numerous books and articles. Kitagawa taught at the University of Chicago Divinity School for over thirty years and served the same institution as Dean from 1970-1980. He obtained academic degrees in Japan and in the U.S. Upon his arrival in the U.S., which coincided with the Second World War, he was taken to internment camps for three and a half years in New Mexico and Idaho. The collection documents his academic production and administrative activities, especially in the later stages of his career, and includes manuscript and offprint copies of his articles, chapters, book reviews, and books, the documents related to conferences he led or participated in, and other administrative materials.

Information on Use

Access

The collection is open for research, except Series V, Restricted, which contains budgetary, financial, and personnel information. Records in Series V are restricted for fifty years from date of record creation.

Citation

When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Kitagawa, Joseph M. Papers, [Box #, Folder Title], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Biographical Note

Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa was born in Osaka, Japan on March 8, 1915, son of Chiyokichi Kitagawa, an ordained clergyman, and Kumi (Nozaki) Kitagawa. In 1937, he obtained a BA degree from Rikkyo University in Japan. In 1941, he left Japan for the United States with the intention to pursue further studies on the West Coast. He first enrolled in the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. After a while, he was transferred from his residence in Berkeley, CA to the Department of Justice Detention Camp in Santa Fe, NM as an “enemy alien” and later to the Army Internment Camp in Hunt, Idaho, where Japanese immigrants and their American-born children were imprisoned. During this time, he was ordained as an Episcopal Priest. As told by his colleague Martin E. Marty, Kitagawa assisted young Japanese-Americans in the concentration camp to contact colleges to which they could apply after their release. Later, he would also remark that, after the war, he worked for the smooth resettlement of Japanese Americans in Chicago until 1951, supported by the Episcopal Church, opening up housing and securing jobs for the Isseis (immigrants from Japan) and Niseis (American-born children of Japanese immigrants) regardless of their religious background.

After his release from the camp, in 1946, he married Evelyn Mae, sociologist and later professor of sociology at the University of Chicago. In 1947, Kitagawa received a BD degree from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL (federated with Bexley Hall in 2013 and merged into Chicago Theological Seminary in 2016). Afterwards, he enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Chicago Divinity School to specialize in the history of religions under the supervision of Joachim Wach (d. 1955). His doctoral dissertation was completed in 1951 and focused on Kobo-Daishi and Shingon Buddhism. Upon the recommendation of his advisor Wach, Kitagawa began teaching in the Divinity School. He was also affiliated with the Committee of Far Eastern Civilizations. In 1955, he became a U.S. citizen.

During his tenure at the University of Chicago, Kitagawa taught various courses, published articles, and contributed to books and encyclopedias. Most notably, Kitagawa, together with Mircea Eliade and Charles H. Long, established the journal History of Religions in 1960 and served as its co-editor for years. In 1970, he was appointed as the Dean of the Divinity School, a post he held until 1980. During his deanship, Kitagawa spearheaded the establishment of the Shailer Mathews Professorship and the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professorship. After leaving the deanship, he continued to teach, give lectures, organize and attend conferences, and publish academic work. Due to health conditions, he retired from the faculty in 1985. Even after retirement, he continued to be productive, edited his teacher Joachim Wach’s Introduction to the History of Religions and Essays in the History of Religions (1988) and published numerous articles and books. On October 7, 1992 he died of pneumonia due to complications from a stroke he suffered in January 1992.

His books include Religion in Japanese History (1965), On Understanding Japanese Religion (1987), The History of Religions: Understanding Human Experience (1987), Spiritual Liberation and Human Freedom in Contemporary Asia (1990, based on the 1977 Rockwell Lectures), and The Quest for Human Unity (1990, based on the 1985 Hale Lectures), Christian Tradition: Beyond Its European Captivity (1992). He edited or coedited four volumes consisting of articles or conference proceedings. Notable among them is The History of Religions: Retrospect and Prospect (1985), based on the 1983 History of Religions Conference that was organized by Kitagawa and well-documented in this collection. He also contributed to the Conference on Ethical Issues and Moral Principles in United States Refugee Policy in 1983 and edited the conference proceedings as American Refugee Policy: Ethical and Religious Reflections (1984). In 1980, a festschrift honoring Joseph M. Kitagawa was published under the title Transitions and Transformations in the History of Religions.

Kitagawa was one of the founding members of the American Society for the Study of Religion, and served as its President from 1969-1972; he was Vice-President of the International Association for the History of Religions, 1975-1985, and served on other academic councils. He received honorary degrees from Virginia Theological Seminary, Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Meadville Theological Seminary, and Rikkyo University.

Scope Note

The collection is organized into five series. Contents of the series and subseries are organized in chronological order.

Series I, Correspondence, consists of Kitagawa’s personal correspondence and signatures.

Series II, Writings, consists of offprint articles, numerous manuscripts, and documents about the publication processes. It thus represents Kitagawa’s scholarly production, mostly in the later stages of his career. Series II is divided into three subseries: the articles, book chapters, and book reviews he authored are in Subseries I. The speeches, conference presentations, and oral versions of some of his writings are located in Subseries II. Subseries III contains the book drafts and manuscripts Kitagawa either authored or edited, as well as documents related to publication processes of the edited books. Most of the folders with his writings contain one typescript draft copy with handwritten corrections and one corrected copy of the relevant piece.

Series III, Professional, contains documents of Kitagawa’s administrative and faculty activities, including material related to the organization of lectures and conferences, book catalogues sent to him by publishers, award and grant documents, and various reports and statements.

Series IV, Photographs, consists of one conference photograph and a personal photograph of Kitagawa.

Series X, Restricted, contains documents about personnel appointments, financial and budgetary matters. Materials are restricted from fifty years from date of record creation.

Related Resources

Browse finding aids by topic.http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/select.html Divinity School, Records Divinity School, Office of the Dean, Records

Subject Headings

INVENTORY

Series I: Correspondence

Box 1   Folder 1

Correspondence, 1984

Box 1   Folder 2

Correspondence, 1986

Box 1   Folder 3

Signatures, undated

Series II: Writings

Subseries I: Articles and Chapters

Box 1   Folder 4

Offprint articles, 1957-1971

Box 1   Folder 5

Review of “The Book of the Goddess” - Typescript draft, 1983

Box 1   Folder 6

“Paradigm Change in Japanese Buddhism” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1984

Box 1   Folder 7

“Reflections on the Work Ethic in the Religions of East Asia” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 1   Folder 8

“Eliade, Mircea” - Typescript draft, 1985

Box 1   Folder 9

Review of “The Chinese Rites Controversy” - Typescript draft, 1985

Box 1   Folder 10

Foreword to the Encyclopedia of Religion - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1986

Box 1   Folder 11

“The History of Religions and the Divinity School” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1986

Box 1   Folder 12

“Mircea Eliade” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1986

Box 1   Folder 13

“Some Remarks on Buddhism” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1987

Box 1   Folder 14

“Religious Community” - Typescript draft, circa 1987

Box 1   Folder 15

“Joachim Wach” - Typescript draft, circa 1987

Box 1   Folder 16

Introduction to “The Shinto World of the 1880s” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1988

Box 1   Folder 17

“Some Remarks on Shinto” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1988

Box 1   Folder 18

Review of “The Bible and the University” - Typescript draft, circa 1988

Box 1   Folder 19

Review of “Young Man Shinran” - Typescript draft, circa 1988

Box 1   Folder 20

Review of “A Japanese New Religion” - Typescript draft, circa 1988

Box 1   Folder 21

“Buddhist Medical History” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1989

Box 2   Folder 1

“Buddhism,” “Buddhist Medical History” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1989

Box 2   Folder 2

“Kawaguchi Ekai, a Pious Adventurer, and Tibet” - Typescript, corrected, and computer edited drafts, circa 1990

Box 2   Folder 3

“The History of Religions and Worship” - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Box 2   Folder 4

“Archaic and Early Japanese Religion” - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Box 2   Folder 5

“Kukai” - Typescript draft, undated

Box 2   Folder 6

“Religion of the Immigrants” - Typescript draft with corrections, undated

Subseries II: Speeches

Box 2   Folder 7

“On the Relation of Christianity to Other Religions” - Typescript, circa 1972-1980

Box 2   Folder 8

“The Many Faces of Maitreya” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1983

Box 2   Folder 9

Statement, American Academy or Religion, 1983

Box 2   Folder 10

“Religious Visions of the End of the World” - Typescript, corrected, and computer edited drafts, 1983

Box 2   Folder 11

“Religious Visions of the End of the World” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1983

Box 2   Folder 12

Haskell Lecture - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1983

Box 2   Folder 13

“Religious Studies and the History of Religions” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1983

Box 3   Folder 1

“Japan’s Search for Self-Identity” - Typescript, 1983

Box 3   Folder 2

“The Internationalization of Education” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1983

Box 3   Folder 3

“Zelda Hauser,” - Typescript, circa 1983

Box 3   Folder 4

Conference discussion - Typescript, circa 1983-1984

Box 3   Folder 5

“Some Remarks on the History of Religions Program” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1984

Box 3   Folder 6

“Buddhist Philosophy in Japan” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1984

Box 3   Folder 7

“The Japanese Work Ethic Today” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1984

Box 3   Folder 8

Oral version of “Paradigm Change in Japanese Buddhism” - Typescript and corrected drafts, circa 1984

Box 3   Folder 9

“Honji Suijaku,” International Association for the History of Religions Congress - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 3   Folder 10

Rikkyo conference proceeding - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 3   Folder 11

“The International History of Post-War Japan” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 3   Folder 12

Introduction to the Hale Lecture - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 3   Folder 13

Lecture I, Hale Lectures - Typescript draft with corrections, 1985

Box 3   Folder 14

“Some Reflections on Chinese Religion” - Typescript and corrected drafts, 1985

Box 3   Folder 15

“Buddhism” - Typescript draft, circa 1985

Box 3   Folder 16

“The University Divinity School” - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Box 3   Folder 17

Eliade Piece for DC - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Box 3   Folder 18

“Prolegomena to Ethics of World Religions” - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Subseries III: Books

Box 3   Folder 19

The American Refugee Policy - Author and publisher correspondence, 1977-1985

Box 3   Folder 20

The American Refugee Policy - Extra documents, 1981-1983

Box 4   Folder 1

The American Refugee Policy - Typewritten chapters, 1982-1984

Box 4   Folder 2

The American Refugee Policy - Conference proceedings, 1983

Box 4   Folder 3

The American Refugee Policy - Manuscript, 1983-1984 [1/2]

Box 4   Folder 4

The American Refugee Policy - Manuscript, 1983-1984 [2/2]

Box 4   Folder 5

The American Refugee Policy - Manuscript, circa 1984

Box 4   Folder 6

The History of Religions: Retrospect and Prospect - Manuscript 1983

Box 4   Folder 7

Introduction to “The History of Religions” - Typescript, circa 1985

Box 4   Folder 8

The History of Religions - Manuscript and excerpts, 1986

Box 5   Folder 1

The Dimensions of Japanese Religion - Manuscript, circa 1987 [1/2]

Box 5   Folder 2

The Dimensions of Japanese Religion - Manuscript, circa 1987 [2/2]

Box 5   Folder 3

Revolution and Tradition in Asia - Manuscript, circa 1990

Box 5   Folder 4

Untitled book manuscript, Rockwell Lectures, circa 1990

Box 5   Folder 5

“Introduction to the Japanese Edition” - Typescript and corrected drafts, undated

Series III: Professional

Box 6   Folder 1

Offprint articles, 1958

Box 6   Folder 2

Catalogues from “China Books and Periodicals,” 1964

Box 6   Folder 3

Catalogue and letter from Beacon Press, 1965

Box 6   Folder 4

Shailer Mathews Professorship Inaugural Lecture by Nathan A. Scott, Jr., 1972

Box 6   Folder 5

Disciples Divinity House, 1972-1982

Box 6   Folder 6

The Reinhold Niebuhr Award Ceremony program and posters, 1974

Box 6   Folder 7

The Reinhold Niebuhr Award - Illinois Humanities Council, 1974-1976

Box 6   Folder 8

Award and grant documents, 1974-1983

Box 6   Folder 9

Shailer Mathews Professorship Inaugural Lecture by Langdon Gilkey, 1978

Box 6   Folder 10

Fairfax M. Cone Professorship Inaugural Lecture by Martin E. Marty, 1978

Box 6   Folder 11

Association of Theological Schools, 1980

Box 6   Folder 12

Ethical Issues and Moral Principles Conference transcripts, 1983

Box 6   Folder 13

History of Religions Conference - Documents, 1982-1983

Box 6   Folder 14

History of Religions Conference - Documents, 1983

Box 6   Folder 15

History of Religions Conference - General file, 1983

Box 7   Folder 1

History of Religions Conference - Proceedings, 1983

Box 7   Folder 2

History of Religions Conference - Registered participants correspondence, 1983

Box 7   Folder 3

History of Religions Conference - Correspondence regarding publication, 1983

Box 7   Folder 4

History of Religions Conference - Presenters correspondence, 1983

Box 7   Folder 5

History of Religions Conference - Discussant and presenter correspondence, 1983

Box 7   Folder 6

History of Religions Conference - Discussions, 1983

Box 7   Folder 7

History of Religions Conference - Charles Long, 1983

Box 7   Folder 8

History of Religions Conference - Public lecture announcement, 1983

Box 7   Folder 9

History of Religions Conference - Michel Meslin, 1983

Box 7   Folder 10

History of Religions Conference - Paul Ricoeur’s lecture, 1983

Box 7   Folder 11

History of Religions Conference - Ninian Smart’s proceeding, 1983

Box 7   Folder 12

History of Religions Conference - Ugo Bianchi’s proceeding and postscript, 1983

Box 7   Folder 13

“Remarks on the Mircea Eliade Chair,” 1985

Box 7   Folder 14

International Association for the History of Religions Congress report, 1985

Box 7   Folder 15

Syllabus for “Medieval Colloquium,” by Bernard McGinn, 1986

Box 7   Folder 16

Numata Visiting Professorship, 1986

Box 7   Folder 17

Jay Kim Collection, undated

Box 7   Folder 18

Contributor lists, undated

Box 7   Folder 19

List of Chinese religion entries, undated

Series IV: Photographs

Box 7   Folder 20

Conference photograph, featuring President George H.W. Bush, 1983

Box 7   Folder 21

Multiple copies of J. Kitagawa’s photographic portrait, undated

Series V: Restricted

Box 8   Folder 1

Shailer Mathews Professorship, 1972

Box 8   Folder 2

Fairfax M. Cone Professorship, 1976

Box 8   Folder 3

Shailer Mathews Professorship, 1978

Box 8   Folder 4

Personnel information, 1978

Box 8   Folder 5

Committee on Honorary Degrees, 1983

Box 8   Folder 6

Disciples Divinity House 1/3, 1970-1975

Box 8   Folder 7

Disciples Divinity House 2/3, 1974-1977

Box 8   Folder 8

Disciples Divinity House 3/3, 1977-1980