George Cameron Hurst III

G. Cameron “Cappy” Hurst III, 75, distinguished historian of Japan and Korea, passed away on June 30, 2016 at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Born May 7, 1941, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of George Cameron Hurst II and Mary¬Jane French Hurst in Minneapolis, MN. Cappy spent the majority of his youth in San Mateo CA.
Cappy was a Professor of Japanese and Korean Studies in the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2010. From 1969-¬1995 Cappy was on the faculty at the University of Kansas, becoming director of KU’s Center for East Asian Studies as well as chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. He held shorter term teaching positions at the University of Washington, in Seoul, South Korea, and as the Japan Foundation Visiting Professor at the University of Hong Kong. Cappy held directorships at the Associated Kyoto Program at D shisha University, and at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, and was Dean at CUNY Lehman Hiroshima College from 1990 to 1992. He was also a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He took a B.A. in History and Japanese at Stanford University in 1963, an M.A. in East Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii in 1966, and a Ph.D. in East Asian Language and Cultures at Columbia University in 1972 after three years of study in Japan.
Cappy was a prolific scholar in the institutional history of medieval Japan, the martial arts, and Korean history, as well as a frequent commentator for the Korea Times, the Japan Times, the Asian Wall Street Journal, and other media. Among the books he published were Armed Martial Arts of Japan (Yale University Press) and Insei: Abdicated Sovereigns in the Politics of Late Heian Japan, 1086¬1185 (Columbia University Press). He organized and delivered scores of symposia, conference panels, and guest lectures, touching the lives and work of most students and scholars of Japan. A passionate and dedicated teacher himself, in 1997 he founded the Phila¬Nipponica program, which led middle and high school teachers to Japan. Over eighteen years this program introduced 160 teachers from the greater Philadelphia area to Japan. In addition he led the Japan Seminar, which enabled college and university professors from around the nation to add courses about Japan to their institutions’ curricula.
Cappy loved learning and teaching but In his free time he was an avid golfer, a fan of KU basketball and a Martial Artist. He achieved a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and was a good enough golfer in his youth to consider tournament play. He also loved the time he spent attending and supporting his church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, near his home in Philadelphia. Cappy was an energetic and charismatic personality, not your average history professor. He made friends all over the world, his boundless energy and vast knowledge gained him the respect of students, colleagues and politicians across the globe. Once you met him, you never forgot him.
Cappy is survived by his wife Nayop “Chini” Hurst of Philadelphia and their Children Mark Hurst of Brooklyn, NY, Dylan Mira of Los Angeles, CA., his first wife Carol Hurst of Lawrence, KS and their son Ian Hurst, Ian’s wife Hannah Hurst and Cappy’s three grandchildren, Henry, Annabelle and Theodore. Other survivors include Cappy’s brother Stuart Hurst of Denver, Colorado.
Services will be held at St. Peter’s Church in Philadelphia on Friday, July 15th at 2pm. St Peter’s is located at 313 Pine St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
A local remembrance gathering will be held at the home of his son Ian Hurst , 615 Louisiana St., Lawrence KS on Sunday July 24th, from 2¬4pm.
Please sign this guestbook at Obituaries. LJWorld.com.