E. Herbert Norman
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Egerton Herbert Norman (September 1, 1909 – April 4, 1957) was a Canadian diplomat and historian.
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[edit] Early life and education
Born and raised in Karuizawa, Japan to Canadian Methodist missionaries, studied at Victoria College at the University of Toronto, and Trinity College at Cambridge University, he entered the graduate program in Japanese history at Harvard University in 1936, where he studied under Edwin O. Reischauer. He joined the Canadian foreign service in 1939 and earned his doctorate in 1940.
[edit] Foreign service
His first post was with the Canadian Legation in Tokyo. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Norman was interned by the Japanese authorities and he was not repatriated to Canada until mid-1942, where he continued to work in the Department of External Affairs. During the Allied occupation of Japan after its defeat in the war, Norman served as a Canadian representative to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) administration and worked under the direction of Douglas MacArthur. He also became the first post-war president of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Alongside his diplomatic activities, Norman remained an active scholar and wrote a number of works on Japanese history, which are still highly regarded by many historians.
[edit] Controversy and suicide
Between 1950 and 1952, during the McCarthy Era, Norman was suspected of being a Communist and possibly a Soviet agent, but was eventually exonerated by the Canadian authorities and allowed to resume his duties in the Canadian foreign service. In 1957, these suspicions were revived in the United States Senate Sub-Committee on Internal Security. In April of the same year he committed suicide in Cairo by leaping from a building, where he had been serving as Canada's ambassador to Egypt. The circumstances surrounding Norman’s death continue to provoke controversy today. Dr. John Howes has suggested during a lecture for the Asiatic Society of Japan that Norman took his life because he was concerned that the Communist allegations could jeopardize the negotiations during the Suez Crisis.[1] Norman is buried in the protestant cemetery in Rome.
[edit] Representative works
Norman, E. Herbert (1940). Japan's Emergence as a Modern State: Political and Economic Problems of the Meiji Period. International Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations.
Norman, E. Herbert (1943). Soldier and Peasant in Japan: The Origins of Conscription. International Secretariat, Institute of Pacific Relations.
Norman, E. Herbert (1949). Ando Shoeki and the Anatomy of Japanese Feudalism. Asiatic Society of Japan.
[edit] Further reading
- Bowen, Roger W. Innocence Is Not Enough: The Life and Death of Herbert Norman. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 1986.
- Maruyama Masao. "An Affection for the Lesser Names: An Appreciation of E. Herbert Norman (in Notes and Comment)." Pacific Affairs, September 1957, 249-53.
[edit] References
- ^ John Howes (1994-12-12), Japan in Canadian Culture, Canadian Embassy, Tokyo, Japan: The Asiatic Society of Japan, <http://www.asjapan.org/Lectures/1994/Lecture/lecture-1994-12.htm>
