The distinguished scholar-diplomat Sir Ernest Mason Satow is well known for his influential and unique Guide to Diplomatic Practice (first published in 1917 with six subsequent editions and a seventh in press) and above all for his early career in Japan, as described in his 1921 memoir titled A Diplomat in Japan (London: Seeley Service & Co.) recounting his exciting experiences at the end of the Tokugawa period (the Bakumatsu, 1862-7) and the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-9). While it is true that most of his diplomatic career - some 25 years in total - was spent in Japan, it began in China (1861-62) and ended with his most challenging and important posting as H.M. representative in China after the Boxer Uprising (1900-1906), first as British High Commissioner to settle the Boxer claims, and then - after presentation of his credentials to the Emperor at Peking - as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary from February 1902.

This talk will focus on Satow’s two periods in China, based on his diaries and correspondence (both semi-official and personal). The speaker has made Satow his main research since 1994 and will introduce various publications, including his edited Peking diaries and letters and his most recent six-volume edited set of Satow’s China Correspondence, 1900-06 (independently published via Amazon KDP, 2021).

The Speaker

Ian Ruxton was born in Lima, Peru in 1956. He grew up in Cheltenham, Glos. and was educated in England at Cheltenham College and Cambridge University. He graduated in French, German and Law in 1978 and was awarded a B.A. (M.A. 1981). After two years of accountancy training in London he became a teacher of French and German in English independent schools. He came to Japan on 1 April 1988 to teach English. In 1994 he was appointed lecturer at the Tobata campus of Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka prefecture on the island of Kyushu. He became professor emeritus of Kyutech in April 2020.

Ian became interested in Satow in 1993 when researching the Kobe Incident of 1868 (See A Diplomat in Japan, Chapter 26, where it is called ‘The Bizen Affair’). This quickly became the main focus of his research, with his first book The Diaries and Letters of Sir Ernest Mason Satow (1843-1929): A scholar-diplomat in East Asia appearing in 1998, and many subsequent books being edited editions of the extensive Satow Papers held at the National Archives in Kew. He officially retired in March 2020 aged 63 but was re-employed for two years during the pandemic, teaching English online and researching Satow, which allowed him to complete the editing and publishing of Satow’s China correspondence in 2021.

He lives in Kitakyushu with his wife and cat, and continues to enjoy rugby – watching and playing in a veteran team.

Programme

Venue: Online on Zoom, please sign up to receive the link

Admission: No charge, please register your attendance in advance

Booking: Please email membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk in advance to register your attendance.