#  In Memoriam 

 



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##  In Memoriam 

 



  [### Edwin Cranston (1932-2021)

 ](/people/edwin-cranston)Professor of Japanese Literature, Emeritus

 

 

 Edwin Cranston began graduate study at the University of California at Berkeley, then transferred to Stanford University, where he earned a Ph.D. in Japanese literature in 1966. His Harvard career began in 1965 as a Japanese language instructor. The... 

 

 

      ![cranston.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ealc/files/cranston_1.jpg?itok=h_sLUVlv) 

 

 

 

   [### Carter Eckert (1945-2024)

 ](/people/carter-eckert)Yoon Se Young Professor of Korean History, Emeritus

 

 

 Carter J. Eckert was born in Chicago and trained in European ancient and medieval history at Lawrence College in Wisconsin, and also at Harvard. He subsequently developed a strong interest in Korea and East Asia as a result of his experience as a Peace... 

 

 

      ![unspecified.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ealc/files/unspecified.jpg?itok=dX04v6s6) 

 

 

 

   [### Patrick Hanan (1927-2014)

 ](/people/patrick-hanan-1927-2014)Victor S. Thomas Professor of Chinese Literature, Emeritus

 

 

 Patrick Hanan of Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Chinese Literature, Emeritus, at Harvard University, passed away peacefully on April 26, 2014. He is the author of The Chinese Short Story, The Chinese Vernacular Story (a... 

 

 

      ![pat_hanan605.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-05/pat_hanan605.jpg?h=c3115883&itok=tmdhKd8f) 

 

 

 

   [### Howard Hibbett (1920-2019)

 ](/people/howard-hibbett-1920-2019)Victor S. Thomas Professor of Japanese Literature, Emeritus

 

 

 With great sadness, we note the passing of Howard Hibbett on March 13, 2019. Prof. Hibbett was a central part of our Japanese Studies community on campus, and a beloved colleague and dear friend to many faculty, students, and staff during his many years... 

 

 

      ![Professor Howard Hibbett](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ealc/files/howard_hibbett.png?itok=r02QQxhs) 

 

 

 

   [### Yori Oda (1932-2018)

 ](/people/yori-oda-1932-2018)Teacher of Japanese Language, Emerita

 

 

 On Monday, February 5, 2018, Ms. Yori Oda of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tokyo, Japan, passed away after a recent illness. Born in Tokyo before the Second World War, as a young child Yori Oda lived with her family in the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai... 

 

 

      ![Yori Oda](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/ealc/files/thumbnail_yori_cropped_photo_from_alice_img_0368.jpg?itok=BerahOAs) 

 

 

 

   [### Stephen Owen (1946-2026)

 ](/people/stephen-owen)James Bryant Conant University Professor, Emeritus

 

 

 Stephen Owen was a sinologist specializing in premodern literature, lyric poetry, and comparative poetics. Much of his work focused on the middle period of Chinese literature (200-1200), though he also wrote on literature of the early period and the Qing... 

 

 

      ![A white-haired man with a beard wearing a collared shirt smiles at the camera](/sites/g/files/omnuum3106/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2026-05/Stephen%20Owen_Photo.jpg?h=6e472887&itok=khcz5maH)