Ronald Toby


Ronald P. Toby is an American historian, academic, writer and Japanologist.

Early life

Toby earned a doctorate in Japanese history from Columbia University in 1977.

Career

As a university professor, Toby's teaching experience has included the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of California at Berkeley, Keio University, and the University of Tokyo.
Toby's academic specialization focuses on issues having to do with pre- and early-modern Japan. His book State and Diplomacy in Early Modern Japan demonstrates that during the so-called "closed country" period in the Edo era, Japan was never truly closed to the outside world.

Select works

Tony's published writings encompass 52 works in 158 publications in 3 languages and 2,117 library holdings.