George Bailey Sansom
| Sir George Sansom | |
|---|---|
| Born |
28 November 1883 London, England |
| Died | 8 March 1965 (aged 81) Tucson, Arizona, United States |
| Occupation | diplomat, Japanologist, educator |
Sir George Bailey Sansom GBE KCMG (28 November 1883 – 8 March 1965) was a British diplomat and historian of pre-modern Japan, particularly noted for his historical surveys and his attention to Japanese society and culture.
Sansom was born in London, where his father was a naval architect, but was educated in France and Germany, including the University of Giessen and the University of Marburg. He passed an examination for the Diplomatic Service in September 1903.
Sansom first arrived in Japan in 1904 and was attached to the British legation in Tokyo to learn the Japanese language. While he was working as private secretary to Sir Claude Maxwell MacDonald the legation gained higher status by becoming an embassy, and Sansom was present during the negotiations for the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance in 1905. He remained in Japan for most of his diplomatic career, serving in consulates around Japan, where he also acquired proficiency in Japanese dialects.
Sansom began his literary career in 1911 with a translation of the Tsurezuregusa by Yoshida Kenkō, a major text of the Kamakura period.
Sansom was on leave in London in 1915, but was declared unfit for military service in the First World War. He was assigned by the Foreign Office to the War Office to undertake political espionage, and was sent to Archangel in Russia. He was married the following year.
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