Leading Authority on Prehistory of Pacific Northeast Asia
Born, Kobe, an important city port in pre-war Japan, Dr. Fumiko Ikawa-Smith remembers growing up in a cosmopolitan community, attending kindergarten and elementary school with Indian and Chinese children whose parents were merchants and diplomats. Her father was an historian. Her mother’s mission was making sure her children got the very best of the very best in education. After graduating, Tsuda College, B.A., 1953, Fumiko chose to study Anthropology at the graduate school level. She attended Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduating, M.A., 1958. Marrying, 1959, Canadian-born Philip Smith, they moved to Canada, eventually settling, Montreal, where Fumiko’s teaching career at McGill University began, 1967. Upon completing her Ph.D., Harvard University, Dr. Ikawa-Smith was made Associate Professor, McGill University, 1974, and Full Professor, 1979. Recently serving as Associate Vice Principal, Academic Affairs, McGill University, 1991-96, Professor Ikawa-Smith has served, over the years, as Director, Centre for Asian Studies, Chair, Department of East Asian Languages and Literature, and Chair, Department of Anthropology. As a scholar whose works are internationally respected and well known, Dr. Ikawa-Smith, President, Japanese Studies Association of Canada, 1999-2000, is a leading authority in the origins of the Japanese, the prehistory of Pacific Northeast Asia, and studies on the archeology of Japan’s past, having contributed to many acclaimed encyclopedias, dictionaries, and prominent journals specializing in archeology and anthropology. In this view, she is addressing the National Research Institute of Cultural Properties of Korea, Seoul, 1992. [Photo, courtesy Professor FumikoIkawa-Smith]