The major Japanese language collections are broad in scope, with special areas of depth, and the mid-sized collections have materials not held elsewhere, often collected around faculty interests and connections.
Collection |
Notes |
| Berkeley | Literature, history, labor economics. Special collections: Mitsui [2,500 early Japanese woodblock printed maps; 7,000 Japanese manuscripts; the Doi Gakken collection (Chinese poetry and prose by Japanese authors published since 1868) the Soshin and Motoori collections (xylographic editions of Tokugawa and early Meiji) and the kihon section (pre-WWII publications)], Murakami (Meiji books) and Ho-Chiang (Buddhist scriptures). Japanese Government document depository. |
| British Columbia | History, literature, Japanese statistics and economy, Buddhist studies. Special collections: Japanese government publications, George H. Beans Collection of Japanese Maps, history of Japanese immigrants in Canada |
| Chicago | Literature, history, art, religion, sinology, Okinawa (Ryūkyū's), social sciences, Japanese-American studies, gender studies, serials, statistics, company histories. |
| Columbia | Literature, history, philosophy and religion, especially Buddhism, fine and performing arts, business and economics. 600 woodblock printed books; 300 scrolls, letters and manuscripts by twentieth-century authors; separate Law Library. |
| Cornell | Proletarian literature, society; Griffis collection 18-19 century; Popular culture--especially film, food and manga |
| Harvard-Yenching | History, literature and Japan's modern and postwar political, social, and economic development. Japanese Sinology. Maruzen Meiji microfilm, separate law library. 14,000 rare books, 480 scrolls including 400 Buddhist scrolls collected by Bruno Petzold. |
| Hawaii | Literature, languages, Buddhism, art, history, women, cultural studies. Special Collections: Sakamaki/Hawley (Ryūkyū-Okinawa Resources), Nan'yō, Kajiyama Toshiyuki (Japan-Korea relations, Japanese emigration), Takazawa Koji (postwar socialists' movement), Satsuma, Hokkaido. |
| Library of Congress | Comprehensive; exchange agreement w/ Diet library; S. Manchurian RR, Buddhism, microfilm of Foreign Office, Army and Navy ministries 1868-1945; prewar Japanese-American newspapers. |
| Michigan | Folk drama, local history, literature, Diet, prewar |
| Ohio State | Company histories, history of agriculture, science & technology; linguistics, language teaching, literature (esp. Meiji), poetry, Okinawa culture, Saitama, psychology journals, manga |
| Pittsburgh | Japanese theater, medical history, modern Japanese art history |
| Princeton | History (especially premodern and Meiji) & literature, sinology. |
| Stanford | Social sciences, left-wing, right-wing; Korea 1894 1901; 18-19th century ehon (travel guides) |
| Toronto | Humanities, social and political sciences, modern Japanese literature |
| UCLA | Buddhism, art, history, literature (esp. pre-modern literary criticism), modern intellectual history, women, cultural studies. Special collections: Toganoo --Esoteric Buddhism (books and manuscripts), Julian Wright- illustrated books, Jansen - Edo/Meiji history, old maps, history of medicine, and Japanese in the U.S. (archives). |
| Washington | Art, political economy, literature@atomic bomb, women, left-wing, Butow papers, separate law library. |
| Yale | Literature, language and linguistics, Buddhism, history of art, history (institutional development and local); contemporary society, economics. |
Collection |
Notes |
| Arizona | Linguistics |
| Arizona State | Art History, Buddhism, history, language and literature, political science |
| Colorado | Literature, language, history |
| Duke | Labor history, popular culture (manga, advertising, women's magazines), women's studies, minorities in Japan, Taiwan and Korea under colonial rule, modern Japanese art history, Meiji Buddhism |
| Georgetown | Language/linguistics and literature; Special Collections: correspondence and reports from Jesuit missions in the Far East 1675-1682. |
| Illinois | Modern drama, minzoku shūgi, nationalism, ethnicity |
| Indiana | Edo and early Meiji culture, history and literature; educational history |
| Iowa | Film |
| Kansas | Modern literature; history, pre-WW2 left-wing politics, women, women writers, minority groups, Edo painting; traditional performing arts (noh and kabuki), Japanese food culture, Buddhist art (statues), comics, popular culture. |
| Maryland | WWII and occupation. Special Collections: Prange |
| Minnesota | Environmental policy, Manyōshu; strongest in history and literature |
| Oregon | Art history, Buddhism, religion, Taisho-Showa history, classical and modern literature, social sciences, language teaching |
| Pennsylvania | Premodern (esp. Medieval) Buddhism & Literature; contemporary women writers, 20th century literature |
| Texas | Modern history and literature, business, economics and politics |
| UCSD IRPS & EA |
Postwar economics, contemporary fiction, international relations; company histories |
| UCSB | Political science, economic and social conditions, religion |
| Virginia | Buddhism, contemporary political science |
| Washington - St. Louis | Art history, history, literature, philosophy, religion |
| Wisconsin | Buddhism |
Guides to Using North American and European Collections
Provides a basic description of the Institution, its programs in East Asian Studies and its collections, as well as contact information and information on using the collection.
Center for Research Libraries (CRL)
Located in Chicago, it has functioned as a library's library, and has long runs of some core materials: Diet proceedings, committee reports 1912-26, Annual reports of Japanese companies (Eigyō hōkokusho shūsei, 1899-1945), Diet records (1912-26, 1947-72), Meiji educational statistics, Meiji-Taishō-Shōwa prefectural statistics, labor movements (1920-34), periodicals in science & technology. Has complete runs of the Japan Times and the Asahi shinbun. Not all collections are accessible through their online catalog, but there is a special guide to East Asian Materials. Materials may be borrowed for as long as needed; Duke is a member. Non-members can borrow a limited number of items per year.
Council on East Asian Libraries (CEAL)
The organization for East Asian librarians in North America affiliated with the Association for Asian Studies. The website includes information on CEAL membership, the annual meeting, CEAL publications, eastlib (the East Asian librarians' listserv) and CEAL committees. Provides directory of members, a statistical database for holdings and expenditures for East Asian libraries.
North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC)
Founded in 1992, the NCC coordinates, develops and locates funding for projects in cooperative Japanese collection development; its goals are to improve access to Japanese information, further training and education in Japanese librarianship, articulate the needs of librarians, scholars, and others in relation to information sources; and to expand the work of advising and collaborating with funding agencies in developing relevant and valuable programs. It's membership includes faculty and librarians interested in Japanese information.
National Institute of Informatics (NII)
Formerly known as NACSIS, the National Institute of Informatics is an inter-university research institute established in April 2000. NII conducts research of informatics as well as the development of infrastructures and services of advanced academic information distribution. Provides 44 databases for overseas users in a variety of disciplines, mostly in Japanese with some English.
Interlibrary Loan: GIF (Global ILL Framework)
International interlibrary loan with Japan is now routine for many libraries; please contact your Japanese Studies librarian, if you need materials from Japan. If you are not at a major collection, please contact the North American Coordinating Council for Japanese Library Resources (NCC) for information on how your library can participate.
Many large libraries provide funding to use their collections, often as part of outreach associated with their Title VI center. Knowledge of a collection's strengths is useful in selecting a library to visit; some libraries have divided collection responsibilities with sister institutions and an understanding of these cooperative agreements will minimize your chances of a wasted trip. Contacting the Japanese Studies librarian before you go is the best way to ensure a productive trip.
Chicago, Center for East Asian Studies
Harvard, Harvard-Yenching Library
Kansas, East Asian Library
Library of Congress: Mellon Fellowships
In addition to the requirements of U.S. citizenship or permanent residency and possession of a doctoral degree, the awards are for scholars who are proposing or working on a second major research project with a focus on foreign-language material.
Maryland, Prange Collection Research Awards
Michigan, Center for Japanese Studies
Pittsburgh, East Asian Library
Princeton, Friends of the Princeton University Library Visiting Fellowships
Stanford, The East Asian Library
Washington, East Asia Library
Division of responsibility for local histories was initiated by funding received from the Japan United States Friendship Commission. After that funding ceased in the early 1990s, some libraries have expanded their collecting of these core materials. Nonetheless, the division remains reflected in the historical collections.
East Coast: Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, Yale
Harvard: Hokkaido to Kanagawa;including Tokyo (14 prefectures)
Columbia: Central Honshū: Niigata to Aichi plus Kyoto (10 prefectures)
Yale: Southwestern Honshū: Mie to Yamaguchi (11 prefectures)
Princeton: Shikoku, Kyūshū, Okinawa (12 prefectures)
The prefectures are arranged in the East-West order used in Japanese atlases and dictionaries.
Mid-West Universities: Chicago and University of Michigan
Chicago collected on Western Japan, especially Osaka and the Kinki/Kansai region, while Michigan collected on Eastern Japan. Both libraries have expanded their collecting focus, although Chicago has a special fund to support materials relating to Osaka. Ohio State has a strong collection on Okinawa and on its sister prefecture, Saitama.
West Coast: Berkeley and Stanford
Traditionally, Stanford covered the northeastern half of Japan and Berkeley the southern half. The agreement covered histories of prefectures, sub-prefectures, cities and other sub-units.
Hawaii
The University of Hawaii has a strong collections on Satsuma and the Ryūkyūs
Japanese postwar international financial and political relations
Japan's role in international trade and monetary relations, Japan's return to the international arena, its relations with the United States, and its continuing desire for a significant global role. The accent is on not only external relations but also on the domestic sources of its policies. (Columbia)
Contemporary Japanese politics
Focusing on those that are directly related to Japan's economic policy and development. Emphasis is placed on publications of the various political parties. (Harvard)
Japanese interest groups
These include groups promoting the interests of business, telecommunications, labor, foreign trade, international friendship, industry and agriculture. These groups exert a strong influence in Japanese politics, security and economics. Princeton will continue to acquire materials on and by these interest groups and their relations with government ministries such as MITI and the private sector. (Princeton)
Sociological publications
Publications that describe, analyze, and offer insights into the complexities of changing Japanese society. Subjects of special interest are: changing life patterns, life styles and aspirations, internationalization of social life, marriage and family, expanding women's role in the work place and society; non-economic aspects of work such as work habits, work ethics, and motivation on the job; changing attitudes toward leisure and retirement, and the role of government and the private sector in people's lives.
CRL has complete runs of the Japan Times and the Asahi shinbun.
The Union List of Japanese Serials and Newspapers has newspapers holdings for many libraries (and indicates years with missing issues), but the online version does not distinguish between formats.
