JAPAN 100S: Japanese for Sinologists

Before you begin your research, you might want to check the following points for basics:

• JapanKnowledge: What is the general understanding of the topic of your research? JapanKnowledge provides access to basic Japanese reference sources including encyclopedias and dictionaries (e.g., 日本大百科全書, 日本国語大辞典, 國史大辭典, Encyclopedia of Japan, etc.) as well as 東洋文庫 and 新編日本古典文学全集 series.
• Risāchi nabi リサーチ・ナビ: Are there useful research guides for specific topics or specific types of materials? The National Diet Library of Japan provides many research guides covering a wide range of subjects and special materials.
• Kaken: What research has been done in Japan? Kaken database provides information on research projects funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science since 1965 and their research results.
• Directory of Japanese Studies in the United States and Canada: This website displays the information collected from the Survey of Japan Specialists and Japanese Studies Institutions in North America in 2011-2012 sponsored by the Japan Foundation.The survey was conducted through the University of Hawaii under the direction of Professor Patricia Steinhoff of the University of Hawaii and Professor Julian Dierkes of the University of British Columbia.
• J-Global: Who does the research in the academia and what research resources are available in Japan? J-Global maintained by the Japan Science and Technology Agency provides information on research institutes, researchers, research projects, etc.
• Academic Society Home Village: What academic societies exist in a specific field? The National Institute of Informatics compiles links to homepages of academic societies in Japan.

Japanese language materials at UC Berkeley Library can be searched either using original Japanese scripts (ひらがな, カタカナ, 漢字) or the modified Hepburn Romanization (transliteration) system. The modified Hepburn Romanization system is slightly different from the official Romanzation system (訓令式) currently used by Japanese goverments. The following links offer information about the modified Hepburn Romanization system:

Japanese Romanization Table: A table of Japanese alphabets (ひらがな) and equivalent Romanized letters.

LC (Library of Congress) and ALA (American Library Association) Romanization Table for Japanese:
Detailed explanation of the guidelines that many American libraries follow when romanizing Japanese materials

Note that when searching OskiCat, if you use Japanese scripts, you might miss some records, because some records do not have information in Japanse.

When searching using Romanization, space after each word, including prepositional word. Example: "Nihon kokka no keisei."

Edo Kangaku shomoku 江戶漢学書目. Call No. East Asian Ref. PL3046 .E36 2006 

Gendai Chūgoku kenkyū annai 現代中国研究案内 / hensha Nomura Kōichi ... [et al.]. Call No.: East Asian Ref. Z7165.C6 G45 1990 

Honpō ni okeru Shinagaku no hattatsu 本邦における支那學の發達 : Kuraishi Takeshirō kōgi 倉石武四郎講義. Call No. East Asian DS734.97.J3 K87 2007 

Intabyū sengo Nihon no Chūgoku kenkyū インタビュー戦後日本の中国研究 / hen Hirano Kenʼichirō ... [et al.]. Call No.: East Asian DS734.97.J3 I58 2011 

Kinsei kangakusha denki chosaku daijiten 近世漢学者伝記著作大事典 : tsuketari keifu nenpyō / Seki Giichirō, Seki Yoshinao kyōhen. Call No.: NRLF PL1060.J3 S4 1966 

Nihon Kangaku nenpyō 日本漢学年表 / Shibunkai hen. Call No. East Asian 1442.4208 1977 

Bibliography of Asian studies (BAS): Indexes to scholarly sources written in English in all subject areas on countries in Asia

CiNii: Indexes to academic journal articles from Japan and provides full-text for some journals. Also available as a part of GeNii.CiNii provides mobile phone interface.

JAIRO: Full text journal articles and other various digital resources produced by Japanese universities; provided by the National Institute of Informatics. Also available as a part of GeNii.

MagazinPlus:Indexes to journal articles from Japan published since 1948, articles in popular Japanese magazines since 1980, and essays in festschriften, conference papers, books, annuals, and research reports since 1945.

Tōyōgaku Bunken Ruimoku Kensaku 東洋学文献類目検索 [第7.3 α版]: Provided by the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University. The database covers books and articles in Chinese studies published in East Asian countries and the West between 1934 and 1980, and since 2001. For publications between 1981 and 2000, please check: Tōyōgaku Bunken Ruimoku Kensaku 東洋学文献類目検索 [第6.10版].

Zasshi kiji sakuin shūsei dētabēsu 雑誌記事索引集成データベース = The Complete Database for Japanese Magazine and Periodicals from the Meiji Era to the Present: Indexes to journal and magazine articles from Japan published since the Meiji period (1868-1912), with links to NACSIS Webcat, WebcatPlus, and the National Diet Library's OPAC.

Chūgoku kankei ronsetsu shiryō 中国関係論説資料. Call No.: East Asian 9215.5672 Note: This is a an annual compilation of research articles published in Japan on Chinese subjects

You can also locate Japanese journals on Chinese subjects in OskiCat by limiting language (select "Japanese") and format (select "journals/magazines/newspaper") in the Advanced keyword search screen.  

Here is a short list of newspaper article databases and print reproductions of Japanese newspapers: 

Asahi Kikuzo II Visual: Full text access to 朝日新聞 (1879-present) and Historical Photo Archive, containing ca. 10,000 pieces of historical photographs taken in Asia and Europe from the 1930s to 1945 

Factiva: Provides access, mostly to full text, to nearly nine thousand business and general news sources, including U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and wire services; includes major Japanese newspapers such as 読売新聞, 毎日新聞, and 産経新聞 (warning: covers only recent years)

Nikkei Telecom 21: Full text access to 日本経済新聞 (1876/12/2-1961/12/31, and 1981/10-present), 日経産業新聞 (1981/10-present), 日経流通新聞 (1985/10-present), and 日経金融新聞 (1987/10-2008/1) is provided; it also offers English sources such as Nikkei English News, Nikkei Weekly and translations of major articles from the above-mentioned Japanese newspapers, as well as Nikkei Company Profile (30,000 company profiles) and Nikkei Who's Who (20,000 corporate executive profiles).

Shinbun shūsei Meiji hennenshi 新聞集成明治編年史 / [編纂代表 中山泰昌]: Selected articles from numeous Japanese newspapers in the Meiji period in chronological order.

Shinbun shūsei Shōwa hennenshi 新聞集成昭和編年史: Selected articles from numeous Japanese newspapers in the Showa period in chronological order.

Shinbun shūsei Taishō hennenshi 新聞集成大正編年史 / 明治大正昭和新聞研究会編: Selected articles from numeous Japanese newspapers in the Taisho period in chronological order.

Yomidasu Rekishikan ヨミダス歴史館: Full text access to Yomiuri shibun 読売新聞 (1874-present) and Daily Yomiuri (1989-present). The database also provides dictionaries (Japanese/English,  English/Japanese, or new words dictionaries) to look up definitions and biographies, just by highlighting any words in the article and clicking dictionary buttons

Here is a short list of basic dictionaries for Japanese language:

Chiezō 知恵蔵: A handy source to look up contemporary terminology. The latest issue is offered in Asahi Kikuzo II Visual.

Dai Kan-Wa jiten 大漢和辞典 / 諸橋轍次著: The most comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters from Japan (ca. 50,000 characters with ca. 500,000 word entries). 語彙索引 in Japanese alphabetical order is also available.

Denshi kuzushiji jiten 電子くずし字字典: One of the databases offered by 東京大学史料編纂所.『電子くずし字字典データベース』『木簡画像データベース・木簡字典』連携検索 is also available.

Gendai yōgo no kiso chisiki 現代用語の基礎知識: A handy source to look up contemporary terminology. The latest issue is offered in JapanKnowledge.

Itaiji kaidoku jiten 異体字解読字典 / [監修山田勝美 ; 編者「難字大鑑」編集委員会]: A dictionary for variant characters.

Kadokawa kogo daijiten 角川古語大辞典 / 中村幸彥, 岡見正雄, 阪倉篤義編: Lists a variety of words used in pre-modern periods including Buddhist terms, place names, personal names, etc.

Kokuji no jiten 国字の字典 / 飛田良文監修 ; 菅原義三編: Includes over 1,500 Chinese characters created in Japan--the characters not used in China.

Kuzushiji yōrei jiten くずし字用例辞典 / 児玉幸多編: Offers many examples of cursive writings.

New Nelson Japanese-English character dictionary / by John H. Haig: A completely revised, new Nelson dictionary (The modern reader's Japanese-English character dictionary / Andrew Nathaniel Nelson).

Nihon hōgen daijiten 日本方言大辞典 / 編集 尚学図書: Lists words in dialects in Japanese alphabetical order. For finding dialects from standard words, use 標準語引き日本方言辞典.

Nihon kokugo daijiten (dai 2-han) 日本国語大辞典 (第2版): The most comprehensive dictionary of Japanese language (ca. 500,000 entries). Provides meanings, usages in old literary or historical works, variations of words in dialects, etc. A more updated online version of the dictionary is available via JapanKnowledge.

Onkunbiki komonjo daijisō 音訓引古文書大字叢 / 監修 林英夫: Lists ca. 14,000 words frequently used in historical documents from the Edo period, in Japanese alphabetical order.

Reading Tutor リーディング チュウ太: A collection of links for learning Japanese language.

Rikai: Program for learning Japanese, which also provides readings and definitions of Chinese characters in English; created by Todd David Rudick utilizing the resources made available by Jim Breen and his EDICT Project.

Weblio: Supports translation from Japanese to other languages. 

Here is a list of selected useful websites for research on Chinese subjects:

Ajia jōhō kikan dairekutorī: Chūgoku アジア情報機関ダイレクトリー: 中国: A directory of Japanese academic institutions and libraries that have resources related to China, provided by National Diet Library, including:

• 京都大学人文科学研究所東アジア人文情報学研究センター
• 東京大学東洋文化研究所
• 東洋文庫

Japan Center for Asian Historical Records, National Archives of Japan = 国立公文書館アジア歴史資料センター: Digital archive of modern records held by the National Archives of Japan, Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Library of the National Institute for Defense Studies at the National Defense Agency

Risāchi Nabi: Ajia shokoku no jōhō o sagasu リサーチ・ナビ : アジア諸国の情報を探す: Provided by National Diet Library  

Zenkoku Kanseki dētabēsu 全國漢籍データベース: A union catalog of Chinese rare books held by Japanese libraries, provided by the Center for Informatics in East Asian Studies, Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

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