Many of the tools below are restricted to UW users, though other users may have access through their institutions.
Access for UW users on campus should be automatic; if you are off campus, use "Off-campus" links.

Modern Japanese Literature Research Tools

UW Library
Japan Studies Page
Various pieces of useful information about Japanese-language materials in the University of Washington library system, including a list of Japanese films with English subtitles.
Japan Knowledge
(Off-campus link)
Comprehensive reference includes dictionaries (Japanese, English-Japanese and Japanese-English); the Nihon dai hyakka zensho (Nipponica), a full text 30 vol. encyclopedia; two dictionaries of current words: Imidas and Gendai yôgo no kiso chishiki; a biographical dictionary: Nihon jinmei daijiten; the JK Who's Who; the Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan; Edo-Tokyo kasane chizu (overlay map), full-text of books in the Tôyô bunko series; chronologies (world history, Japan by period, Japan by prefecture, science, culture, society, daily life, social movements, economics and for individuals); a database of video (TV, news) recordings from 1908 to 2004; database of dissertations from the humanities departments of six universities in Japan; URL database; books in print database; and more. Restricted.
Yomidasu
(Off-campus link)
Online database of the Yomiuri Shimbun from the Meiji period to present. Restricted.
Cambridge History of Japan All the available volumes are grouped into topics, making it quick and easy to search and browse through an array of historical subject areas. The extensive bibliographic referencing and other leading functionality, enhances usability and makes this resource ideal for any type of historical research. Restricted.

Literary Criticism Database

An extensive database of criticism on Japanese literature written between 1912-2004. A service of the National Institute of Japanese Literature. (Shift-JIS encoding)
Japanese Magazine Plus
(Off-campus link)
Japanese Magazine Plus is the largest database of periodicals and academic articles in Japan.
Genii
A single interface that searches critical articles (CiNii), books and magazines (Webcat Plus), research papers (Kaken), and discipline-specific journals (Nii-DBR). Also provides abstracts of articles.
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism
(Off-campus link)
The Online Guide contains more than 240 alphabetically arranged entries on critics and theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. Restricted.
Modern Digital Library
A collection of roughly 89,000 Meiji-period titles (as of April 2006), the contents of which are available free-of-charge. A service of the National Diet Library. (EUC encoding) For more information, see Henry Smith's FAQ.
Bibliography of Asian Studies
(Off-campus link)
A database of scholarly articles, primarily in English, written since 1971.
JSTOR
(Off-campus link)
Fully searchable database of scholarly articles in English, though omitting the most recent issues. Restricted.
Project Muse
(Off-campus link)
Fully searchable database of scholarly articles in English. Restricted.
JACAR
Japan Center for Asian Historical Records. "A digital database testifying to Japan's historical relations in Asia as well as elsewhere. This site provides access to official documents of the Japanese Cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Army and Navy."
Japanese Literature in Translation
Fully searchable database of translations of Japanese literature into foreign languages, provided by the Japan Foundation and the Japan PEN Club.
Digital Dissertations
(Off-campus link)
A comprehensive index to dissertations and theses from all fields of study. The full text version includes 2.4 million dissertation and theses citations from 1861 to present day with more than 1 million full text dissertations that are available to download in PDF format. Restricted.
Aozora Bunko
Library of copyright-expired modern Japanese literature in various digital formats.
Jcross Used Book Search
Simultaneously searches more than thirty used book sites in Japan, including Kosho And Booktown. Note that it does not search Super Genji.
Hiramatsu Yôko's website
When you absolutely, positively need to find an obscure reading of Japanese characters. Not for the faint of heart. Here is her list of links to other sites about reading characters.

Related Journals

boundary 2
(Off-campus link)
"boundary 2, an international journal of literature and culture, approaches problems in these areas from a number of politically, historically, and theoretically informed perspectives. boundary 2 remains committed to understanding the present and approaching the study of national and international culture and politics through literature and the human sciences." Full text available to UW users. Back issues available through JSTOR.
Critical Inquiry
(Off-campus link)
"Critical Inquiry is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to publishing the best critical thought in the arts and humanities." Full text available online. Back issues available through JSTOR.
Diacritics
(Off-campus link)
"For over thirty years, diacritics has been an exceptional and influential forum for scholars writing on the problems of literary criticism. Each issue features articles in which contributors compare and analyze books on particular theoretical works and develop their own positions on the theses, methods, and theoretical implications of those works." Full text available to UW users. Be sure to see the Spring 2004 issue dedicated in part to the work of Barbara Johnson. Back issues available through JSTOR.
Journal of Japanese Studies
(Off-campus link)
"The Journal of Japanese Studies is the most influential journal dealing with research on Japan available in the English language. " Full text available to UW users. Back issues available through JSTOR.
Modern Language Quarterly
(Off-campus link)
"MLQ focuses on change, both in literary practice and within the profession of literature itself."
Monumenta Nipponica
(Off-campus link)
"MN carries original scholarship and translations in the fields of history, literature, art history, religion, thought, and anthropology." Recent issues available through Project MUSE and back issues available through JSTOR.
New Left Review
New Left Review "covers world politics and the global economy; state powers and protest movements; contemporary social theory; history and philosophy; cinema and literature; heterodox art and aesthetics." In recent years the review has hosted a number of fascinating debates on literary history and world literature. Full text available to subscribers.
Public Culture
(Off-campus link)
"Providing a forum for the internationalization of cultural studies, Public Culture essays have mapped the capital, human, and media flows drawing cities, peoples, and states into transnational relationships and political economies."
positions
(Off-campus link)
"Offering an altogether different approach to East Asia studies, positions: east asia cultures critique employs theoretical and multidisciplinary methods in creating a provocative forum for vigorous debate." Full text available to UW users.
South Atlantic Quarterly
(Off-campus link)
"This vanguard centenarian journal is tackling embattled states, evaluating postmodernity's influential writers and intellectuals, and examining a wide range of cultural phenomena." Full text available to UW users.

Suggestions for additional resources are welcome.

Last updated July 29, 2013

Ted Mack, Assistant Professor of Modern Japanese Literature, University of Washington

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