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Morse had no formal degrees from any university, but was granted an honorary PhD and hired as a professor by Bowdoin College in Maine in 1871.

Morse had no formal degrees from any university, but was granted an honorary PhD and hired as a professor by Bowdoin College in Maine in 1871.

He set sail in May 1877 for Japan, after having little success in finding live brachiopod specimens to study on the East Coast of the United States. The month after his arrival in Japan in June, he was offered a teaching position at the newly founded [[Tokyo Imperial University]]. While on a two-year contract at the university, he lectured on zoology and related subjects, and is credited with introducing the Darwinian concepts of natural selection and evolution to Japan; he engaged in numerous surveys of shells and mollusks, including an excavation of the [[Omori shellmound|Ômori shellmound]], which he had discovered shortly after his arrival.

He set sail in May 1877 for Japan, after having little success in finding live brachiopod specimens to study on the East Coast of the United States. The month after his arrival in Japan in June, he was offered a teaching position at the newly founded [[Tokyo Imperial University]]. While on a two-year contract at the university, he lectured on zoology and related subjects, and is credited with introducing the Darwinian concepts of natural selection and evolution to Japan; he engaged in numerous surveys of shells and mollusks, including an excavation of the [[Omori shellmound|Ômori shellmound]], which he had discovered shortly after his arrival, noticing it through the window of the train as he rode from [[Sakuragicho Station|Yokohama]] to [[Shinbashi]].

During this time, he developed as well a taste for Japanese ceramics. Though the pieces which initially caught his eye were, his friends told him, not of any particular age or quality, he was then introduced to more esteemed pieces, and quickly developed an eye for potter's marks (i.e. seals or stamps incised into a piece identifying the maker). Though Morse never learned to read Japanese, it is said he had an incredible memory and learned to identify a great many potter's marks; friends and colleagues taught him about the different types of glazes and clays.

During this time, he developed as well a taste for Japanese ceramics. Though the pieces which initially caught his eye were, his friends told him, not of any particular age or quality, he was then introduced to more esteemed pieces, and quickly developed an eye for potter's marks (i.e. seals or stamps incised into a piece identifying the maker). Though Morse never learned to read Japanese, it is said he had an incredible memory and learned to identify a great many potter's marks; friends and colleagues taught him about the different types of glazes and clays.

During his three stays in Japan, Morse took extremely extensive notes and journals, the latter alone numbering as many as 3500 pages, from which selections were chosen and published - in two volumes of roughly 450 pages each - under the title ''Japan Day by Day'' in 1917. Morse also published a book entitled ''Japanese Homes and their Surroundings'' in 1885.

During his three stays in Japan, Morse took extremely extensive notes and journals, the latter alone numbering as many as 3500 pages, from which selections were chosen and published - in two volumes of roughly 450 pages each - under the title ''Japan Day by Day'' in 1917. Morse also published a book entitled ''Japanese Homes and their Surroundings'' in 1885.

For a number of years, the Museum of Fine Arts could not raise the money to purchase Morse's collection, and Morse could not afford to simply donate it. Finally, after fundraising efforts led by [[Denman Waldo Ross]] and others, in 1890-1892, the Museum purchased the collection of roughly 5,000 ceramic objects for $76,000. Morse was named Keeper of Japanese Pottery and was paid a small stipend (a gesture in light of the fact that the Museum did not pay the full $100,000 at which the collection was valued at the time); in 1901, after ten years of work, the Museum published a catalogue of the collection, written/compiled by Morse. Meanwhile, Morse's collection of roughly 30,000 Japanese objects of everyday material culture became the core of the Japanese collections at the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

For a number of years, the Museum of Fine Arts could not raise the money to purchase Morse's collection, and Morse could not afford to simply donate it. Finally, after fundraising efforts led by [[Denman Waldo Ross]] and others, in 1890-1892, the Museum purchased the collection of roughly 5,000 ceramic objects for $76,000. Morse was named Keeper of Japanese Pottery and was paid a small stipend (a gesture in light of the fact that the Museum did not pay the full $100,000 at which the collection was valued at the time); in 1901, after ten years of work, the Museum published a catalogue of the collection, written/compiled by Morse. Meanwhile, Morse's collection of roughly 30,000 Japanese objects of everyday material culture of the [[Meiji period]] became the core of the Japanese collections at the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts.

==References==

==References==