J. Edward Kidder Jr. was born and grew up in China. He was educated at Maryville College, Tennessee and New York University, where he took his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. He taught at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1950 to 1956 and was then appointed to the International Christian University in Tokyo, he became Professor of Art and Archaeology. As a result of extensive travel and excavation work, Professor Kidder has formed an expert knowledge of Japanese archaeology and early history.