JAPAN 159: Contemporary Japanese Literature

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.

Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, organize and store your PDFs, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but all are easier than doing it by hand!

Zotero: A free plug-in for the Firefox browser: keeps copies of what you find on the web, permits tagging, notation, full text searching of your library of resources, works with Word, and has a free web backup service. Zotero is also available as a stand-alone application that syncs with Chrome and Safari, or as a bookmarklet for mobile browsers.
- Zotero help from the UCB Libraries
- Zotero help from zotero.org
RefWorks - web-based and free for UC Berkeley users. It allows you to create your own database by importing references and using them for footnotes and bibliographies, then works with Word to help you format references and a bibliography for your paper. Use theRefWorks New User Form to sign up.
- RefWorks help from the UCB Libraries
- RefWorks help from RefWorks
EndNote: Desktop software for managing your references and formatting bibliographies. You can purchase EndNote from the Cal Student Store.

Tip: After creating a bibliography with a citation management tool, it's always good to double check the formatting; sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.

Here is a list of other useful guides:

Comparative Literature (by Michaelyn Burnette)
English and American Literaturea (by Michaelyn Burnette)
Japanese Studies

For books and e-books offered by the UC Berkeley Library, consult the Library's Find Books and E-Books page first. In the U.S.-based catalogs such as OskiCat, Japanese language materials 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. LC (Library of Congress) and ALA (American Library Association) Romanization Table for Japanese offers detailed explanation of the guidelines that most U.S. libraries follow when romanizing Japanese materials.

In Melvyl, WorldCat, etc., click on the REQUEST or UC-eLinks button for Inter-library loan requests. UC Berkeley faculty, registered graduate students, and staffs can also borrow materials from Stanford University Library through Research Library Cooperative Program (RLCP). For requesting materials from Stanford University Library, please use RLCP Borrowing Request forms.

For books held by libraries in Japan, use the following databases to locate materials:

Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan Sāchi 国立国会図書館サーチ: Covers holdings of the National Diet Library (NDL) and other libraries, museums, and archives in Japan, including digital archives. For searching NDL's digitized holdings only, use Kokuritsu Kokkai Toshokan Dejitaruka Shiryō 国立国会図書館デジタル化資料. Use Kindai Degitaru Raiburarī 近代デジタルライブラリー (Digital Library from the Meiji Era) for those available on Internet only.
WebcatPlus: Covers holdings of university libraries in Japan. Also available as a part of GeNii, an Integrated search system, consisting of CiNii, WebcatPlus, Kaken, Academic Research Database Repository, and JAIRO.

Genbaku wa bungaku ni dō egakarete kita ka 原爆は文学にどう描かれてきたか / Kuroko Kazuo. Call No.: East Asian PL726.82.H52 K87 2005

Gendai bungaku kenkyū : jōhō to shiryō 現代文学研究 : 情報と資料 / henshū Hasegawa Izumi, Call No.: East Asian Ref. Z3308.L5 G28 1986

Kindai sensō bungaku jiten 近代戦争文学事典 / Yano Kan'ichi hen. Call No.: East Asian PL721.W3 Y36 1992

Korekushon Sensō to bungaku コレクション戦争と文学. Call No.: East Asian PL777.82.W65 K67 2011

Nihon bungaku kenkyū bunken yōran : gendai Nihon bungaku 日本文学研究文献要覧: 現代日本文学: Covers books and articles published on contemporay Japanese literature in every five years since 1975

Sensō bungaku zenshū 戦争文学全集 / Hirano Ken ... [ra] hen. Call No.: East Asian 5880.7.6207.5

Here is a short list of useful articles databases for Japanese studies. Note that many of these sources only index journal articles -- they don't actually have the full text. Use the gold "UC-eLinks" button to do an automated search to find the full text.

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.
Kokubungaku Ronbun Mokuroku Dētabēsu 国文学論文目録データベース: Covers articles in Japanese literary studies since 1912.
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.
NDL Japanese Periodicals Index = 雑誌記事索引 (in NDL-OPAC): RSS feed is available from 雑誌記事索引採録誌一覧. Also available in 国立国会図書館サーチ
Senryōki zasshi kiji jōhō dētabēsu 占領期雑誌記事情報データベース: Indexes to magazine and newspaper articles published between 1945 and 1949 held in the Prange Collection at the University of Maryland, which originally belonged to the Civil Censorship Detachment, a unit within GHQ.
Taiyō 太陽 / Bungei kurabu 文芸倶楽部: An online version of the journals Taiyō (1895-1928) and Bungei kurabu (1895-1912).
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.

Selected Print Article Indexes

Ōya Sōichi Bunko zasshi kiji sakuin sōmokuroku 大宅壮一文庫雑誌記事索引総目録: Covers articles published on popular magazines since the Meiji period through 1995. Cataloged in multiple titles.
Senzenki yondai fujin zasshi mokuji shūsei 戦前期四大婦人雑誌目次集成 (ゆまに書房, 2002-2006): Consists of Fujin kōron 婦人公論 (1916-1950, Call no.: HQ1104 .F726 2002), Shufu no tomo 主婦の友 (1927-1950, Call no.: HQ1104 .S58 2003), Fujin kurabu 婦人俱樂部 (Oct. 1920-1950, Call no.: AP95.J2 F842 2006), and Fujin gahō 婦人画報 (July 1905-1950, Call no.: HQ1104 .F724 2004)

Here is a list of major journals in Western languages covering the field of Japanese studies, many of which are availble both online and print:

Here is a list of selected journals in Japanese literary studies:

Here is a short list of newspaper article databases for Japanese newspapers:

Asahi Kikuzo II Visual: Full text access to 朝日新聞 (1879-present), Historical Photo Archive, containing ca. 10,000 pieces of historical photographs taken in Asia and Europe from the 1930s to 1945, and アサヒ・グラフ (1923-1945).
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).
Senryōki zasshi kiji jōhō dētabēsu 占領期雑誌記事情報データベース: Indexes to magazine and newspaper articles published between 1945 and 1949 held in the Prange Collection at the University of Maryland, which originally belonged to the Civil Censorship Detachment, a unit within GHQ.
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

Selected Print Sources

Shinbun shūsei Meiji hennenshi 新聞集成明治編年史 / [編纂代表中山泰昌]: Selected articles from numerous 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 numerous 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.

Here is a list of selected useful websites for research on modern Japanese literature:

Aozora Bunko 青空文庫: Modern Japanese literary works in full-text
Hiroshima Peace Museum
Japan Air Raids
Japanese Literature in Translation Search = 日本文学翻訳書誌検索: A database of translations of literary works into a variety of languages; maintained by the Japan Foundation
Journal of Literature and Trauma Studies
Kindai Dejitaru Raiburarī 近代デジタルライブラリー = Digital Library from the Meiji Era: Full-text works published during the Meiji period and owned by the National Diet Library
Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum

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.

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.

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.

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 reference materials:

Gendai bungaku kenkyū jiten 現代文学研究事典 / Ōkubo Tsuneo, Takahashi Haruo hen. Call No.: East Asian PL726.65 .G4

Gendai josei sakka kenkyū jiten 現代女性作家研究事典 / Kawamura Minato, Hara Zen hen. Call No.: East Asian PL725 .G46 2001

Gendai Nihon bungaku sōran shirīzu 現代日本文学綜覧シリーズ. Call No.: East Asian Ref. Z3308.L5 G46 1982

Guide to Japanese drama / Leonard C. Pronko. Call No.: Main (Gardner) Stacks PL734.A12 P7 1984

Guide to Japanese poetry / J. Thomas Rimer and Robert E. Morrell. Call No.: Main (Gardner) Stacks PL782.E3 A12 R5, 1984

Guide to Japanese prose / Alfred H. Marks and Barry D. Bort. Call No.: Main (Gardner) Stacks PL782.E8 A12 M3, 1984

Nihon gendai bungaku daijiten 日本現代文学大事典 / hensha Miyoshi Yukio ... [et al.]. Call No.: East Asian PL726.6 .N48 1994

Nihon gendai shōsetsu daijiten 日本現代小說大事典 / Asai Kiyoshi, Satō Masaru hen. Call No.: East Asian Ready Ref. PL747.55 .N54 2004

Sakka shōsetsuka jinmei jiten 作家・小說家人名事典. Call No.: East Asian Ref. PL723 .S315 1990

Shinpan Nihon bungaku dainenpyō 新版日本文学大年表 / 市古貞次, 久保田淳編. Call No.: East Asian Ref. PL719.5 .S55 2002