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.
Overview
Ian Buruma (born 28 December 1951) is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of The New York Review of Books, but left the position in September 2018. Much of his writing has focused on the culture of Asia, particularly that of China and 20th-century Japan. He is the Paul W. Williams Professor of Human Rights and Journalism at Bard College.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- journalist / writer / historian / university teacher / columnist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Leiden University
Awards & achievements
- 2008 Erasmus Prize
- 2019 De Gouden Ganzenveer
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
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 items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.