Roberts’ talk at Anacapa will answer the question: “What was it like to be a samurai in 18th-century Japan?”
“The Japanese samurai culture is so fascinating to many of our students,” said Gordon Sichi, Anacapa School’s headmaster and history teacher. “We are fortunate to have a pre-eminent expert share his work directly with us.”
Roberts received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College, where his professor Ron DiCenzo sparked his interest in Japanese studies. Roberts later studied the history of the Japanese Edo period (1600-1868) at Tokyo University as a research student. It is there that he became interested in the history of the Tosa region of southwest Japan. In 1991, Roberts received his Ph.D. at Princeton University. He has since been teaching at UCSB. He is the author of “Mercantilism in a Japanese Domain” and “Performing the Great Peace” and coauthor with Sharon Takeda of “Japanese Fishermen’s Coats From Awaji Island.”
Anacapa hosts dozens of expert guest presenters each year. Every month, the school opens its doors to the wider community to honor a special guest lecturer as part of its First Thursday Open Breakfast Club series. Prospective parents who are interested in Anacapa School for their students are welcome to attend this free event to see a Breakfast Club in action.
Anacapa School is an independent, co-educational, WASC-accredited, college preparatory day school for students in grades 7-12. Founded in 1981, Anacapa offers rigorous academics, unparalleled civic involvement, arts and humanities at its historic campus located in the heart of the Santa Barbara civic center.