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Guide to the Daniel Clarence Holtom Papers
H1962.3
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Title: Daniel Clarence Holtom papers
Dates: 1910-1962
Bulk Dates: 1910-1950
Collection number: H1962.3
Creator:
Holtom, Daniel Clarence, 1884-1962
Collection Size:
3.5 linear feet (4 boxes)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd
Library.
Claremont, CA 91711
Abstract: The Daniel C. Holtom Papers include letters, published and
unpublished articles, printed items, photographs, clippings, and manuscript writings.
Physical location: Please consult repository.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English
Collection open for research.
All requests for permission to publish must be submitted in writing to Special
Collections.
[Identification of item], Daniel Clarence Holtom papers. Special Collections,
Honnold/Mudd Library, Claremont University Consortium.
Donation, date unknown.
Biography / Administrative History
Daniel Clarence Holtom was among the first American scholars to study Shinto in Japan.
He was born in Michigan in 1884, earned degrees from Kalamazoo College, The University
of Chicago, and Newton Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Baptist ministry in
1910 and went immediately to Japan as a missionary. In Japan he was professor of modern
languages at Tokyo Gakuin, professor of church history in the Tokyo Japanese Theological
Seminary, and professor of the history of religion and church history in the Kanto
Gakuin of Yokohama. Dr. Holtom was dean of theology in the Aoyama Gakuin of Tokyo from
1936-1940. When he returned to the United States he was Haskell Lecturer at The
University of Chicago then lectured at Colgate-Rochester Divinity School and taught
Japanese language at Redlands University. He died in 1962 in San Gabriel, California.
The thesis he submitted to The University of Chicago in 1919 was later published as The
Political Philosophy of Modern Shintō, A Study of the State Religion of Japan,
by the Asiatic Society of Japan in 1922.
Sources: "Dr. Holtom, Missionary and Educator, Dies." Los Angeles Times, Aug. 18, 1962,
pg. B8
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of 3.5 linear feet of personal and scholarly papers of Daniel
Clarence Holtom, a scholar of Shinto religion in Japan in the early 20th century. Series
one contains personal correspondence, family documents including his sons' schoolwork.
Series two contains Holtom's scholarly writing including his notes, drafts, off prints
of reviews by Holtom, and lectures by Holtom. Series three, the largest series, contains
Holtom's research including notes, handwritten and typed drafts, artifacts, and many
clippings and research articles for his publications on Shinto in Japan covering topics
such as enthronement ceremonies, shrines, and religion and politics. Series four
contains research and travel photographs and postcards and printed ephemera relating to
Shinto shrines and temples.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
Japan -- Religion
Japan -- Politics and Government
Books by D. C. Holtom
The Political Philosophy of Modern Shinto, A Study of the State Religion of Japan.
Tokyo, Asiatic Society of Japan, 1922.
The Japanese Enthronement Ceremonies; with an Account of the Imperial Regalia, Tokyo,
Kyo Bun Kwan, 1928.
The Christian Movement in Japan Korea and Formosa: A Year Book of Christian Work. Tokyo,
Japan: Federation of Christian Missions in Japan, 21st annual issue, 1923.
The National Faith of Japan; A Study in Modern Shinto. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1938.
Modern Japan and Shinto Nationalism: A Study of Present-Day Trends in Japanese
Religions. Chicago, Ill.: The University of Chicago Press, 1943.
Selected Articles by D. C. Holtom
"Konko Kyo: A Modern Japanese Monotheism" The Journal of Religion, Vol. 13, No. 3. (July
1933), pp. 279-300.
"Japanese Votive Pictures (The Ikoma Ema)" Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 1, No. 1. (January
1938), pp.154-164.
"The Meaning of Kami. Chapter I. Japanese Derivations" Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 3, No.
1. (January 1940), pp. 1-27.
"The Meaning of Kami. Chapter II. Interpretations by Japanese Writers" Monumenta
Nipponica, Vol. 3, No. 2. (July 1940), pp. 392-413.
"The Meaning of Kami. Chapter III. Kami Considered as Mana" Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 4,
No. 2. (July 1941), pp. 351-394.
"Some Notes on Japanese Tree Worship." Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan,
Jan. 28, 1931