Ken Harada (原田 健, Harada Ken, born 1893 - September 18, 1973)[4] was a chargé d'affaires to Vichy France[4][5] and a diplomat to the Holy See from Japan.[6] He was appointed as a special envoy to the Vatican, and served in this capacity from 1942 to 1945.[4] He was the first diplomatic representative to the Vatican from Japan.[5]
Your Excellency (閣下, Kakka) Ken Harada | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Special Minister of Japan to the Holy See | |
| In office April 1942 – 1945 | |
| Chargé d'affaires from Japan to Vichy France | |
| In office 1941–1942 | |
| Ambassador of Japan to Italy | |
| In office 1952–1955 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1893 Kyoto[1] |
| Died | September 18, 1973 (aged 80)[2] |
| Nationality |  Japan |
| Alma mater | Tokyo University[3] |
Early diplomatic career
editDuring the 1920s, Harada worked at the Secretariat of the League of Nations.[7]
Diplomat to the Holy See
editIn 1942, the Holy See began de facto diplomatic relations with Japan, though the United States and United Kingdom protested. Ken Harada was made the first Japanese special envoy to the Holy See, and Archbishop Paolo Marella became the Nuncio to Japan.[8] Harada arrived in the Vatican City in April 1942,[9] and was officially received on May 9, 1942.[10] Harada expressed Japan's desire for peace to Pope Pius XII on occasion, a year before Japan agreed to peace.[11] The Japanese government denied that Harada had expressed a willingness for the country to negotiate peace, declaring the report was "so absurd it is not worth the trouble to deny,"[12] though people close to the Vatican confirmed that the meeting had occurred.[13] Following the Allied occupation of Rome in June 1944, Harada was briefly harassed by US troops that entered his residence in Rome outside Vatican walls, but he was allowed to remain in his position.[14]
Upon the end of Harada's appointment, Pope Pius XII knighted Harada in January 1946 into the Order of St. Sylvester.[15]
Later diplomatic career
editHarada served as Japan's ambassador to Italy after World War II from 1952 to 1955.[16]
Grand master of the ceremonies
editHe later obtained a post as the Grand Master of the Ceremonies with the Imperial Household Agency[2][17]
Bibliography
edit- Quigley, Martin (1991). Peace without Hiroshima: secret action at the Vatican in the spring of 1945 (snippet). Madison Books. ISBN 9784022561312.
- Harada, Ken, ed. (1971). 原田助遺集 (Harada Tasuku ishū). University of California. (papers of the father, Tasuku Harada, president of Dōshisha University)
- Harada, Wakako, ed. (1974). 原田健遺集 (Harada Ken ishū). Kawakita Insatsu Kabushiki Kaisha. (item not on sale)
- Les problèmes du Japon d'aujourd'hui. Banco di Roma. 1954.
- Blet, Pierre (2000). Pius XII and the Second World War, according to the Archives of the Vatican.
Notes
edit- ^ 神戸大学経済経営研究所 新聞記事文庫 外交(158-006), 大阪朝日新聞 1942.3.20 (昭和17) http://www.lib.kobe-u.ac.jp/das/jsp/ja/ContentViewM.jsp?METAID=10170825&TYPE=IMAGE_FILE&POS=1, retrieved 17:48, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
- ^ a b Quigley 1991, p. 156: "The former Ambassador and Grand Master of the Ceremonies of the Imperial Household died in Tokyo on September 18, 1973"
- ^ 神戸大学経済経営研究所 新聞記事文庫 外交(158-006), 大阪朝日新聞 1942.3.20 (昭和17) http://www.lib.kobe-u.ac.jp/das/jsp/ja/ContentViewM.jsp?METAID=10170825&TYPE=IMAGE_FILE&POS=1, retrieved 17:48, 4 September 2021 (UTC)
- ^ a b c Ken Harada Dead at 80 (1973), 1.
- ^ a b Associated Press (1942), 2.
- ^ Pope Receives Ken Harada (1946), 1.
- ^ Report by Harada
- ^ Rising Sun at the Vatican (1942), 71.
- ^ Keogh (1995), 167.
- ^ Blet (1999), 131.
- ^ United Press International (1944), 1.
- ^ Associated Press [Ellensburg Daily Record] (1944), 6.
- ^ Associated Press [The Milwaukee Sentinel] (1944), 1.
- ^ Spanish Embassy in the US to the Department of State, July 28, 1944
- ^ Associated Press (1946), 1.
- ^ "New ambassador ROME Thurs". The Straits Times. Singapore. October 10, 1952. p. 3. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013.
Japan's first postwar ambassador to Italy, arrived here today by air from Tokyo.
- ^ Quigley 1991, p. 168: "Following his service at the Vatican Ambassador Ken Harada was appointed by the Emperor Grand Master of the Ceremonies of the Imperial Household"
References
edit- Associated Press (March 27, 1942). "Harada to Vatican". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- Associated Press (January 25, 1946). "Japanese Honored By Pope Pius". Prescott Eveining Courier. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
- Associated Press (July 18, 1944). "Pacific Attack". Ellensburg Daily Record. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
- Associated Press (July 19, 1944). "Tokyo Denies Japs Ready for Peace". The Milwaukee Sentinel. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
- Blet, Pierre (1999). Pius XII and the Second World War: According to the Archives of the Vatican (illustrated ed.). New York City: Paulist Fathers. ISBN 0-8091-0503-9.
- Keogh, Dermot (1995). Ireland and the Vatican: the politics and diplomacy of church-state relations, 1922-1960. Cork: Cork University Press. ISBN 0-902561-96-0.
- "Ken Harada Dead at 80; Japanese Envoy, Minister". The New York Times. December 7, 1973. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- "Pope Receives Ken Harada". The New York Times. January 6, 1946. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- "Rising Sun at the Vatican". TIME. April 6, 1942.
- United Press International (July 18, 1944). "Huge American Task Force Softens Up Base at Guam". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- "Memoranda for the President: Japanese Feelers". Archived from the original on March 12, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2016.