About
NITOBE Inazô
Inazô Nitobe was born in Morioko, Japan in 1862 as the third son in his family. At the age of seven he was adopted by his uncle Tokitoshi Ôta and moved to Tokyo. After graduating from the Sapporo School of Agriculture, he continued his studies in the United States and Germany. Upon returning to Japan, he took on various positions in education, e.g. a professor at universities in Tokyo and Kyoto, where he taught many future leaders of Japanese society. In 1911 he taught at six universities in the US as the first exchange professor from Japan. In Japan he fought to compensate for the late start in education of women and dedicated great energy to establish the Women's University of Tokyo, becoming its first president in 1918.
He was present at the founding of the League of Nations in 1920 and stayed in Geneva as Assistant Secretary General until 1926. Dr. Nitobe Inazô was commissioned to present a report about Esperanto and the issue of language at the League of Nations, and in August of 1921, he participated in the 13th World Congress of Esperanto in Prague. His report to the General Assembly of the League was the first objective report on Esperanto by a high-ranking official representative of the intergovernmental organisation. Although the League did not accept his recommendations, the language policies and practices of intergovernmental organisations, as well as international non-governmental organisations, must still respond to exactly the same questions that were raised by Dr. Nitobe.
The report consisted of three parts:
- The first part of the report to the League of Nations records personal impressions on the 13th World Congress of Esperanto. The 2557 participants from 36 countries are described as "serious, intelligent bourgeois", idealistic and individualistic. Esperanto was shown to work satisfactorily for a large range of aims.
- The second part illustrates the evolution of the Esperanto movement and its state in 1921. The relative success of Esperanto compared to many other language projects is attributed to its ease of learning and its association with the "idea of brotherhood and fairness among all peoples". The relative merits of Esperanto and Ido are difficult to qualify, but the former has clearly won in terms of recruitment of speakers.
- The third part considers the wider dimensions of the language problem in relation to the League of Nations. The use of only French and English in the League "puts a heavy burden on several nations and therefore leads to the question of justice." Furthermore, the national languages are becoming more numerous, while business, science, and labor always more urgently need a common language. Although it seems that there is no perfect solution to the problem, many believe that the best alternative would be a neutral international language, like Esperanto. The League, according to Nitobe, should explore that possibility in more detail, including the question whether it is worth officially supporting such a language.
(The complete report of Nitobe)
Inazô Nitobe worked also as Japanese Head Director of the Institute of Pacific Relations, and dedicated his life to peace. He died in 1933, at the Pacific Conference in Canada. In homage to Nitobe's contributions to his country, Japan put his picture on the 5000-yen bill in 1984.
However, for many, Nitobe is most known as the author of the book Bushidoo - Soul of Japan (written in English).
Sources: Nitobe Memorial Museum, "Towards a linguistic democracy"