Manuscript Division Harold Gould Henderson Papers

Harold Gould Henderson Papers

Collection

Identifier: MSS83960

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Harold Gould Henderson (1889-1974) span the years 1918-1955, with the bulk of the material dating from 1937 to 1946. The papers consists of correspondence memoranda, military papers, reports, notes, translations, drafts of writings, and printed matter. They document Henderson’s service during World War II as chief of the Japanese Language Section of the Allied Forces South West Pacific Area Psychological Warfare Branch, and later as head of the Education Division of the Civil Information and Education Section, Supreme Command for the Allied Powers, in occupied Japan. Included are reports and notes on wartime propaganda leaflets and on postwar education reform. The papers also contain Henderson’s account of having drafted a clause in the imperial rescript delivered on 1 January 1946 in which the emperor renounced his divinity. The collection further consists of Henderson’s writings on Japanese art and literature, some of which he wrote while teaching Japanese art and culture at Columbia University between 1935 and 1944. Included are his English translations of Japanese haiku poems, principally those of Matsuo Bashō and Yosu Buson. Henderson’s several books on haiku, beginning with The Bamboo Broom: An Introduction to Japanese Haiku (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1934) popularized the poetic genre in America.

Dates

Creation: 1918-1955
Creation: Majority of material found within ( 1937-1946)

Language of Materials

Collection material in English and Japanese

Access and Restrictions

The papers of Harold Gould Henderson are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Copyright Status

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Harold Gould Henderson is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

Extent

500 items
1 container
4 linear feet

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Additional Description

Abstract

Author and professor of Japanese art and culture. Born 1889; died 1974. Correspondence, memoranda, reports, notes, military papers, and printed material pertaining to Henderson's service during World War II as chief of the Japanese Language Section of the Allied Forces South West Pacific Area Psychological Warfare Branch and following the war as head of the Education Division of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Civil Information and Education Section in occupied Japan.

Arrangement of the Papers

The collection is organized by type of material.

Catalog Record

https://lccn.loc.gov/mm85083960

Provenance

The papers of Harold Gould Henderson, author and professor of Japanese art and culture, were given to the Library of Congress by his wife, Mary Benjamin Henderson, in 1985 and 1991.