KITAGAWA, JOSEPH M. (1915–1992) was a historian of religions, humanist, Asianist, priest, theologian, educator, and administrator. The career of Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa, who served as an editor of the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Religion (1987), spanned a number of continents, traditions, disciplines, and roles.

Early Years

Born to Japanese Christian parents in Osaka, his father an Episcopal priest, from his youth Kitagawa lived within the minority Christian tradition in Japan, but was attuned to the variety and depth of Asian thought and belief. Reflecting on his life, Kitagawa wrote that:

I have always been awed, fascinated and inspired by the lives of two men, Confucius and the Apostle Paul.…[P]ersons like myself, born and raised in the Far East, lived in the shadow of the towering figure of Confucius. We were inspired by his view of common human nature, his insistence on the...