Handwritten Poem By Shinto Scholar Genchi Kato 1950 [ Legal Case ]

Description

Handwritten Poem By Shinto Scholar Genchi Kato Connected To Post-WWII Shinto Shrine Case, Kotohira Jinsha v. McGrath

“A friend visits from afar
In quest of Truth;
Though a wide ocean separates us,
There’s no barrier that sets us apart

Kato, Genchi. “Japanese Poem to Leon R Gross”. Gotemba. April 22, 1950.

Original handwritten poem by Shinto scholar Professor Genchi Kato (1873 – 1965), executive director of the Meiji Japan Society, and author of numerous books on Shinto, most famously his comparative work A Study of Shinto (1926), translated into multiple languages. Having taught at the Military Academy during the war, Kato ran afoul of American authorities during the Occupation, and was purged from office in 1946 and denied his pension (it was restored in 1951). He was awarded the Purple Ribbon, Japan’s highest honor in academics and the arts, in 1960.

This poem was written on the occasion of a visit to Kato’s home by American attorney Leon R Gross, seeking advice for his work on behalf of the District Attorney’s office in the case of Kotohira Jinsha v. McGrath, Attorney General, which ruled on the legality of Shinto shrines in the United States in the aftermath of WWII.

1pp. Hand painted poem with typewritten translation. Paper, folded, with loss to edges and partial separation to lowest section, pasted to board with soiling. Board warped with wear to edges. Fairly good.

 

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