Photo: Ilvy Njiokiktjien / Attribution (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Ian Buruma fascinates me because he writes across cultures without flattening them. Dutch by birth, Leiden-educated, and long settled in the United States, he's spent decades unpacking Asia, especially China and twentieth-century Japan, with a clarity I find rare. His brief, turbulent stint editing The New York Review of Books in 2018 showed how high the stakes are when a public intellectual takes a real swing, and his 2008 Erasmus Prize confirms the weight of his career. As a teacher at Bard, he's clearly still in the arena. I value thinkers who stay curious about the world rather than just commenting on it.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ian Buruma
- Name (Japanese)
- イアン・ブルマ
- Reading
- いあん・ぶるま
- Born
- December 28, 1951 (age 74)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Rabbit
- Origin
- The Hague, Netherlands
- Occupation
- journalist / writer / historian / university teacher / columnist
2. Background
- University
- Leiden University
Awards & achievements
- 2008 Erasmus Prize
- 2019 De Gouden Ganzenveer
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Ian Buruma born?
Born December 28, 1951 (age 74).
Where is Ian Buruma from?
Ian Buruma is from The Hague, Netherlands.
What does Ian Buruma do?
Ian Buruma works as journalist, writer, historian, university teacher, columnist.
Journalist — see all → · Writer — see all → · More people from Netherlands →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.