A Tribute to Professor James R. Brandon It was through Professor Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak that I was first introduced to Jim Brandon. That was almost fifty years ago. I was immediately impressed and inspired by his enormous love of learning and tremendously generous and humane personality. He was a great man who contributed enormously to our field, a real pioneer, who set a wonderful path for the rest of us to follow. His scholarly output was prodigious and path-breaking, a truly great scholar. His understanding of theatre was brilliant, somebody who combined insight into theatre with contribution to scholarship and cultural awareness in a way that is very rare indeed, almost unprecedented. Although I did not see him very often, I treasure all my memories of time spent with him. One I recall in particular was a wonderful day I had when he took me for a drive around Oahu in Hawai’i. We discussed his life and extraordinary career and I recall his telling me of a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado in which he had been involved. He took the view, which I thoroughly endorse, that one should adapt good material to become more relevant to present needs and more culturally sensitive than the original, provided one doesn’t distort the original creators’ basic intentions. I would like to send my condolences to his colleagues and family, especially Reiko. Jim’s love for scholarship and theatre, especially Japanese theatre, was so contagious and driven by a powerful and kind personality. He was a truly wonderful person, as well as a great scholar. Colin Mackerras