Ernest Mason Satow

The Right Honourable Sir Ernest Mason Satow GCMG, (June 30, 1843 - August 26, 1929) was a British scholar-diplomat born to an ethnically German father (Hans David Christoph Satow, born in Wismar, then under Swedish rule, naturalised British in 1846) and an English mother (Margaret, nee Mason) in Clapton, North London. He was educated at Mill Hill School and University College London (UCL).

Select Bibliography

Books & Articles published by Satow

• A Guide to Diplomatic Practice by Sir E. Satow, (Longmans, Green & Co. London & New York, 1917). A standard reference work used in many embassies across the world (though not British ones!). Now in its fifth edition (1998, ISBN 0582501091).
• A Diplomat in Japan by Sir E. Satow, first published by Seeley, Service & Co., London, 1921, reprinted in paperback by Tuttle, 2002. (Page numbers are slightly different in the two editions.) ISBN 4925080288
• The Voyage of John Saris, ed. by Sir E. M. Satow (Hakluyt Society, 1900) mentioned on the William Adams page.
• The Family Chronicle of the English Satows, by Ernest Satow, privately printed, Oxford 1925.
• Collected Works of Ernest Mason Satow Part One : Major Works 1998 (includes two works not published by Satow)
• Collected Works Of Ernest Mason Satow Part Two: Collected Papers 2001
• 'British Policy', a series of three untitled articles written by Satow (anonymously) in the Japan Times (ed. Charles Rickerby), dated March 16, May 4(? date uncertain) and May 19, 1866 which apparently influenced many Japanese once it was translated and widely distributed under the title 'Eikoku sakuron' (British policy), and probably helped to hasten the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Satow pointed out that the British and other treaties with foreign countries had been made by the Shogun on behalf of Japan, but that the Emperor's existence had not even been mentioned, thus calling into question their validity. Satow accused the Shogun of fraud, and demanded to know who was the 'real head' of Japan and further a revision of the treaties to reflect the political reality. He later admitted in A Diplomat in Japan (p.155 of the Tuttle reprint edition, p.159 of the first edition) that writing the articles had been 'altogether contrary to the rules of the service' (i.e. it is inappropriate for a diplomat or consular agent to interfere in the politics of a country in which he/she is serving).

Books & Articles not published by Satow

• The Diaries and Letters of Sir Ernest Mason Satow (1843-1929), a Scholar-Diplomat in East Asia, edited by Ian C. Ruxton (Edwin Mellen Press, 1998) ISBN 0773482482. (Translated into Japanese ISBN 484190316X )
• The Diaries of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister in Tokyo (1895-1900): A Diplomat Returns to Japan on the website of Edition Synapse ISBN 4901481061 (2003)
• The Correspondence of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister in Japan (1895-1900), Volume One, from the Satow Papers held at The National Archives, Kew, London. published in full for researchers with notes by Ian Ruxton, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Lulu Press Inc., July 2005. ISBN 1411638573
• The Correspondence of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister in Japan (1895-1900), Volume Two
• Sir Ernest Satow?s Correspondence with Frederick Victor Dickins (2005)
• Diplomacy and Statecraft, Volume 13, Number 2 (including a section on Satow) (June, 2002)
• Early Japanese books in Cambridge University Library : a catalogue of the Aston, Satow, and von Siebold collections, Nozomu Hayashi & Peter Kornicki -- Cambridge University Press, 1991. -- (University of Cambridge Oriental publications ; 40) ISBN 0521364965
• Korea and Manchuria between Russia and Japan 1895-1904 : the observations of Sir Ernest Satow, British Minister Plenipotentiary to Japan (1895-1900) and China (1900-1906), Selected and edited with a historical introduction, by George Alexander Lensen. -- Sophia University in cooperation with Diplomatic Press, 1966
• A Diplomat in Siam by Ernest Satow C.M.G., Introduced and edited by Nigel Brailey (Orchid Press, Bangkok, reprinted 2002) ISBN 9748364736
• The Satow Siam Papers: The Private Diaries and Correspondence of Ernest Satow, edited by Nigel Brailey (Volume 1, 1884-85), Bangkok: The Historical Society, 1997
• The Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Mason Satow G.C.M.G.: A Memoir, by Bernard M. Allen (1933)