Degrees

Ph.D., Indiana University; M.A., Indiana University; S.T.L., Sophia University; M.A., Sophia University Tokyo; B.A., Loyola University New Orleans

Short Bio

Fr. William Farge, S.J, was born in Houston, Texas and graduated in the first class of Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. He went to Japan in 1971 after completing his undergraduate degree at Loyolo University New Orleans. He took an intensive Japanese language course in Kamakura Japan and completed his theological studies for the priesthood at Sophia University in Tokyo, where he received an M.A and S.T.L degree in dogmatic theology. He subsequently taught English and religion at Jesuit high schools in Hiroshima and Kobe, Japan from 1978 to 1990.

On his return to the U.S. he attended Indiana University where he received an M.A. and Ph.D. degree in Japanese language and culture. He served on the staff of the Ateneo de Manila University in 2002 and taught at Georgetown University in 2006 to 2008.

His publications include The Japanese Translations of the Jesuit Mission Press, 1590-1614, an in-depth study of the Buddhist terminology used to translate Imitatio Christi (1441), Guía de Pecadores (1567), and other European Catholic texts into Japanese. Fr. Farge is also interested in Japanese political satire and government censorship. He has taught classical, early modern, and modern Japanese culture as well as Japanese language.