Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm81052803
Collection material in English and Japanese
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett, author, poet, and wife of Charles Burnett, United States military attaché in Japan, were given to the Library of Congress by Captain and Mrs. A. S. C. Wadsworth in 1974.
The Burnett Papers were processed in 1982. The finding aid was revised in 2009.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Photographs and prints have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. Maps have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. Books have been transferred to the Rare Book and Special Collections Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett Papers.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The papers of Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Frances Hawks Cameron Burnett, wife of Charles Burnett (1887-1939), United States military attaché in Japan, 1911-1914, 1919-1924, and 1925-1929, span the years 1818-1936, with the bulk from 1911 to 1936. The collection consists of correspondence, speeches, articles, poems, drawings, writings, practice books, newspapers clippings, and memorabilia. Approximately one-third of the material is in the Japanese language with English translations of some speeches, poems, and correspondence. The poems are written in polite-colloquial Japanese. The earliest item in the collection is an 1818 letter of Francis Lister Hawks (1798-1866), orator, author of several state histories, compiler of Matthew C. Perry's
The Correspondence series is divided into two sections, family and general. Letters to and from Mrs. Burnett's husband, Charles, her mother, F. H. Cameron, and her adopted father, Japanese statesman Kentaro Kanekō, make up the family correspondence. The 1925 correspondence from Kanekō includes his resignation as president of the Japan-American Society stating, as his reason, his disapproval of the immigration Act of 1924, which banned the immigration of people from East Asia, and also the anti-Japanese activities on the West Coast of the United States.
General correspondence and the Speeches and Writings File constitute the bulk of the collection and document Burnett's close association with prominent and influential members of Japanese society. Among her correspondents were Nobuake Makino, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal; Viscount Yasumichi Katō, Master of Ceremonies at the Imperial Court of Japan; Viscount Eiichi Shibusawa, prominent business leader of the Meiji and Taisho eras; Miyoko Saitō (wife of Japan's ambassador to the United States, Hiroshi Saitō) from 1934 to 1939; and Takeko Kujō, prominent Japanese poetess.
Burnett's primary interest was in Japanese classical arts and literature. Her efforts to master the language, particularly polite-colloquial and written Japanese, were awarded when, in 1921, she competed with distinguished Japanese poets in the annual New Year's poetry party at the Imperial Palace and was awarded fourth place. The title of her poem was "Before the Shrine of Ise at Dawn." The writings file represents her poetic accomplishments in the Japanese language, including poems dedicated to the Japanese Imperial family that commemorate specific dates and events (e.g., wedding of Prince Regent Hirohito and Princess Nagako Kuni and birthdays of various members of the Imperial family). Original drawings and a manuscript entitled "Kumo No Kaoiji" (My Greatest Treasure) are part of the writings file and demonstrate the quality of Burnett's composition, style, and calligraphy in the Japanese language.
An advocate of humane treatment of animals, Frances Burnett founded the Nippon Jindo Kai (Japan Humane Society). She served for a time as president of the society, traveling throughout the country, making speeches and writings articles on the subject. Coinciding with this activity was her interest in the Boy Scouts of Japan. In April 1927, she was appointed honorary councilor of the Nippon Renmei Shonendan (Boy Scouts of Japan) by the mayor of Tokyo. On her return to the United States in 1929, she continued her affiliation with both organizations and worked on ameliorating strained relations between American and Japan through the Humane Society and Boy Scouts in the two countries. In addition to the speeches and articles relating to these activities in the collection, there are also subject files for the Japan and American Humane Societies and the Boy Scouts of Japan, documenting her activity in this area.
Clippings in the Miscellany series, 1913-1936, contain miscellaneous information on the activities of the Burnetts, particularly Frances Burnett, on the Japanese Imperial family, and on the many events of historical significance to Japan during the years specified. Many of the clippings are from the English supplement of the
The Miscellany series also holds memorabilia collected by Frances Burnett during her years in Japan and includes such items as invitations from the Imperial Palace, honorary certificates, and poems and writings by others (some dedicated to Burnett).
There is a minimal amount of material on Charles Burnett, including two speeches and miscellaneous correspondence.
This collection is arranged in five series:
Family and general correspondence.
Organized in separate groups and arranged alphabetically therein by name of correspondent.
Correspondence, printed matter, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within folders.
Handwritten, typewritten, and printed copies of speeches, articles, and poetry.
Organized by type of material and arranged chronologically therein, with undated and untitled material at the end.
Clippings, greeting cards, invitations, memorabilia, printed matter, and writings by others.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Printed matter and memorabilia.
Arranged and described according to the series, container, and folder from which the items were removed.