Age, Biography and Wiki

John Nathan (John Weil Nathan) was born on 19 March, 0040 in New York City, New York, U.S., is an American translator, writer, filmmaker, and Japanologist. Discover John Nathan's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 84 years old?

Popular As John Weil Nathan
Occupation Translator writer scholar filmmaker
Age 84 years old
Zodiac Sign Pisces
Born 19 March, 1940
Birthday 19 March
Birthplace New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality United States

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 19 March. He is a member of famous writer with the age 84 years old group.

John Nathan Height, Weight & Measurements

At 84 years old, John Nathan height not available right now. We will update John Nathan's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
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Who Is John Nathan's Wife?

His wife is Mayumi Oda (m. 1962) Diane Siegelman (m. 1984)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Mayumi Oda (m. 1962) Diane Siegelman (m. 1984)
Sibling Not Available
Children 4

John Nathan Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is John Nathan worth at the age of 84 years old? John Nathan’s income source is mostly from being a successful writer. He is from United States. We have estimated John Nathan's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income writer

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Timeline

1940

John Weil Nathan (born March 1940) is an American translator, writer, scholar, filmmaker, and Japanologist.

His translations from Japanese into English include the works of Yukio Mishima, Kenzaburō Ōe, Kōbō Abe, and Natsume Sōseki.

Nathan is also an Emmy Award-winning producer, writer and director of many films about Japanese culture and society and American business.

He is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Nathan was born in New York City and spent part of his childhood in Tucson, Arizona.

He was born into a non-practicing Jewish family.

His father was a painter, and his grandfather was a reporter at The Jewish Daily Forward.

1961

In 1961, Nathan graduated from Harvard College, where he studied under Edwin O. Reischauer.

The summer after graduation, he worked at Nomura Securities in New York.

He moved to Japan directly after, teaching English as a second language to native Japanese speakers at a newly opened English conversation school in Tokyo that had been funded by the Ford Foundation.

He was also hired to teach English literature at Tsuda College, a school for young women.

Nathan became the first American to pass the entrance exams of the University of Tokyo and be admitted as a traditional student.

1962

Nathan married Japanese artist Mayumi Oda in 1962, in a Shinto wedding ceremony at the Prince Hotel in Akasaka.

They had two sons, but separated after several years of marriage.

1963

Nathan first met Yukio Mishima in 1963.

1964

Nathan ultimately refused to translate Mishima's 1964 novel Kinu to Meisatsu (絹と明察), opting instead to translate Kenzaburō Ōe's 1964 novel Kojinteki na Taiken (個人的な体験).

Mishima, who was considered an "arch-rival" of Ōe, abruptly severed ties with Nathan afterwards.

1965

In 1965, at the age of 25, Nathan translated Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.

Impressed by Nathan's translation, Mishima requested Nathan sign on as his translator and help Mishima in his quest in being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Nathan was more interested in translating the work of Kenzaburō Ōe.

1966

He lived in Tokyo for close to five years and departed Japan in 1966 to start a PhD program at Columbia University in New York.

He dropped out of Columbia and began teaching a class in modern Japanese literature at Princeton University.

1968

In September 1968, Nathan moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he had been appointed a junior fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University.

The status the society conferred allowed Nathan to undergo oral examinations in candidacy for a PhD without having attended graduate school.

Nathan would eventually receive a doctorate in Far Eastern languages from Harvard.

1970

He left Princeton in the late 1970s to pursue filmmaking and created three documentaries about the Japanese.

1972

Nathan accepted a full-time teaching appointment at Princeton University in 1972, resigning from the position in 1979.

Nathan is currently Professor Emeritus of Japanese Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

He previously served as the Koichi Takashima Professor of Japanese Cultural Studies at UCSB.

Nathan's works focus on Japanese culture, Japanese literature, Japanese cinema, the theory and practice of translation, and the sociology of business culture.

In 1972, Nathan provided the script for Hiroshi Teshigahara's film Summer Soldiers about U.S. Army deserters seeking refuge in Japan.

1974

In 1974, Nathan authored Mishima: A Biography (1974), a biography of Yukio Mishima.

1994

In 1994, Kenzaburō Ōe was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature and Nathan accompanied him to Stockholm.

1999

In 1999, Nathan published Sony: The Private Life, a biography of Sony Corporation.

The book was the product of 115 interviews conducted by Nathan with current and past key executives of Sony.

2004

In 2004, he published Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose, a scholarly work which provides a historical context to contemporary Japan.

2008

In 2008, Nathan published his memoir, Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere.

2013

In 2013, Nathan published a translation of Natsume Sōseki's unfinished novel Light and Dark.

2018

In 2018, Nathan published a biography of Sōseki titled Sōseki: Modern Japan's Greatest Novelist.

Nathan was described by Damian Flanagan in The Japan Times as "the one critic of Japanese literature that towers above the rest."