Abstract
Not long ago I reread some of the works of Elizabeth Vining, that remarkable lady who burst into prominence in the postwar years as tutor to Akihito, Crown Prince of Japan. I have appreciated all the books of Mrs. Vining to come my way, for she brings to her writing not only skill but also a rare and enriching humaneness. My favorites among her writings, however, are those in which she describes her years in Japan: Windows for the Crown Prince, Return to Japan, and those parts of her autobiography Quiet pilgrimage in which she records her Japan experiences. Here was a cultured American Quaker invited by the Japanese Emperor and his advisors to come to their land to help mold the mind and character of the Crown Prince, the future emperor. Mrs. Vining met this storybook challenge with such poise and sensitivity that she soon won the admiration and trust of the Japanese people. Moreover, though she would never claim to be a scholar of things Japanese, she shows through her writings an insight into Japanese life and dynamics that I find helpful and stimulating. While reading Mrs. Vining's autobiography, I came to a section in which she discusses differences between Japanese and Western attitudes toward the natural environment. She speaks of the Japanese appreciation for all that is natural, then follows with this sentence:
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