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.

Here is a short list of sources for finding materials available on the market for Japanese studies:

• Books.or.jp: Books currently available on the market, from the Japan Book Publishers Association
• Chihōshi Kenkyū Zasshi Dētabēsu 地方史研究雑誌データベース: Lists journals on Japanese local history research and their contact information, provided by Iwata Shoten
• e-Dokusho.jp e読書.jp: Covers both print and digital books
• Jimbou Book Town: Information about Kanda Book Town, the largest center of secondhand books in Japan
• Nihon no Furuhonya 日本の古本屋: Largest database of secondhand books in Japan; many participants from Zenkoku Koshosekisho Kumiai Rengokai
• Seifu Kankōbutsu, Kanpō Kōdoku, Kanpō Kōkoku 政府刊行物・官報購読・官報公告: Covers government publications; provided by 全国官報販売共同組合

Here is a short list of sources of reviews and criticims from scholarly journals, magazines, and newspapers. Search Tips: For searching book reviews in Japanese, you might want to include the word 書評 in the query; critical reviews are often found in core journals of specific fields (see "Articles" tab for selected lists of journals).

• Introductory Bibliography for Japanese Studies (by Japan Foundation): Each vol. issued in 2 parts: pt. 1, Social sciences; pt. 2, Humanities
• Literature Criticism Online: A small percentage of full-text from this Gale publication is accessible within ''Literature Resource Center''
• Literature Resource Center: Includes ''Gale Literary Index'', ''Dictionary of Literary Biography'', and other reference sources published by Gale
• Shohyō Nyūsu 書評ニュース: An index to reviews published on major newspapers including Asahi, Mainichi, Yomiuri, Nikkei, and Tokyo. In addition, some newspaper companries offer their own review sites, such as Book Asahi.com (Asahi Shinbunsha).
• Shūkan dokushojin 週刊読書人: Table of contents available online
• Tosho shinbun 図書新聞: Available at the library's newspaper section; selected articles also available online