This study proposes to examine Hugh Borton's role in American-Japanese relations. Three aspects will be explored: his work as a Quaker missionary, as an American government official, and as a leader in the development of Japanese and Asian studies. In addition to Borton's Memoirs, the study is based on his papers at American Friends Service Committee Archives National Office in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Columbia University Oral History Collection in Butler Library in New York, Haverford College Quaker and Special Collection in Magill Library in Haverford, Pennsylvania, and the United States Department of State Records at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. A good number of secondary sources both in English and Japanese were also used to supplement the archival sources. This study concludes that Borton's missionary experience was decisive in shaping his career, the policies he advocated for postwar Japan, and the influence he had an Asian studies.