Japanese Studies Visual Resources: Guide for Non-Japanese Readers

Propaganda periodical from World War II.
Variant title is “Front illustrated magazine;” this reprint of selected issues is housed 3 boxed groups.
Indexed and edited by Seiichi Tagawa.
Boxes 1 and 3 include issues on the Japanese Navy, Manchukuo , Japanese Army and Navy Air Units, Japanese occupation of China , Manchuria , the Philippines , and special numbers on India and wartime Tokyo.
Years: Western calendar years.

Journal chronicling the visual history of the ancient period; focus is on Japan, but also has images from Korea, China, Europe, Greece, the Middle East, Latin America.
Useful resource for images and historiographical insight into how the "ancient " was viewed at time of publication and on the contrast and comparison with ancient periods of other countries and regions.
Reprint of Gahō sennenshi, a magazine published by Kokusai Bunka Jōhōsha, from 1955-1960.
This 4-volume Gahō kodaishi includes only parts 1 through 9 and 19-20 of Gahō sennenshi
Contents:

Vol. 1. birth of man to 500 C.E.
Vol. 2. 300-750 C.E.
Vol. 3. 750-930 C.E.
Vol. 4. 930-1150

Includes postscript and an index in volume 4.
Each issue includes chronology at end of each issue, Table of Contents, fold-out images in color.
Years: Japanese era years

Journal chronicling the visual history of the middle ages; focus is on Japan, but also has images from Korea, China, Europe.
Useful resource for images and historiographical insight into how the "medieval " was viewed at time of publication and on the contrast and comparison with medieval ages of other countries and regions.
Reprint of Gahō sennenshi, a magazine published by Kokusai Bunka Jōhōsha, from 1955-1960.
This 3- volume Gahō chūseishi includes only parts 10 through 18 of Gahō sennenshi
Contents:

Vol. 1. 1150-1232 C.E.
Vol. 2. 1232-1360 C.E.
Vol. 3. 1360-1550 C.E.

Includes postscript and an index in volume 3.
Each issue includes chronology at end of each issue, Table of Contents, fold-out images in color.
Years: Japanese era years

This is a 5-volume reprint of a monthly magazine on the history of Japan from 1550-1850; magazine was originally published in 1950s.
Covers from the Warring States period through the Tokugawa era, up to the black ships of Commodore Perry.
Aim is to situate Japanese history in currents of world history.
Includes an editors' postscript, assessing the original publication. The editors note in foreword that for Europe and America, the same time period is known for religious and industrial revolutions, with successive people's revolutions in England, France, and America, leading up to the emergence of the modern nation state: "With that global perspective on history as our starting point," they continue, "this collection seeks to illustrate the 300 years of Japan's early modern history, with the emergence of the common people."
Contents

Vol. 1. 1550-1639
Vol. 2. 1640-1708
Vol. 3. 1709-1786
Vol. 4. 1787-1827
Vol. 5. 1828-1850.

Includes some modern (1950s) photos of historical sites, such as gardens, castles, homes, and theatrical representations from kabuki/noh.
Each volume has chronology.
Last volume includes a comprehensive index (sōmokuji) of all the Tables of Contents.
No subject indexing; no furigana. Good for skimming.
Years: Japanese era years, although Western calendar years are indicated on issue covers.

Five-volume, illustrated reprint of monthly magazine on the history of modern (post WWII) Japan originally published in 1950s.
The cover of the first issue, published in 1954, features a painting of what is now known as the Peace Dome in Hiroshima. The first photograph within the first issue is of the atomic cloud over Nagasaki; over the image is written: "1945: The Opening of the Atomic Age... For the world and for Japan, 'the modern age' began in 1945."
Contents (refers to the years chronicled in each volume, not the dates of original publication):

Vol. 1. 1945-nen 8-gatsu-1947-nen 7-gatsu (Aug. 1945-July 1947)
Vol. 2. 1947-nen 7-gatsu-1949-nen 6-gatsu (July 1947-June 1949)
Vol. 3. 1949-nen 7-gatsu-1950-nen 12-gatsu (July 1949-Dec. 1950)
Vol. 4. 1951-nen 1-gatsu-1952-nen 7-gatsu (January 1951-July 1952)
Vol. 5. 1952-nen 7-gatsu-1956-nen 12-gatsu (July 1952-Dec. 1956) .

Mostly B/W, some color; includes cartoons.
Includes materials not only from Japanese sources, but from other languages such as Russian.
Includes subject index, cross-referencing all volumes.
Useful not only for Japanese readers, but also for non-Japanese readers interested in images of the period.
Years: Western calendar years.

Text in English, French, German, and Spanish.

As the Japanese subtitle suggests, the focus is on Japan's intersections in the world at large.
Organization of the 10-volume set:

Vol. 1 1901-1916; Vol. 2 1917-1929; Vol. 3 1930-1940; Vol. 4 1941-1950; Vol. 5 1951-1960; Vol. 6 1961-1970; Vol. 7 1971-1980; Vol. 8 1981-1990; Vol. 9 1991-2000; Vol. 10 1901-2000.

Additional features include interesting essays on more specific topics.
Years: Western calendar years.

Sweeping overview of Shōwa era from 1926-1989, with an emphasis on sports, awards, social change. This volume opens with a chapter on the death and funeral of Emperor Hirohito in 1989 & includes "Emperor's Album" of photographs.
Additional features: 1. list of prime ministers; 2. Shōwa-era statistics, including population, subjects studied in college, and media habits; 3. lists of bestsellers, awards, etc.; 4. chronology.
Table of contents arranged by decade;
Years: both Western calendar years and Japanese era years.

Retrospective of entire 20th century; features both text and pictures. Appropriate for understanding major events in 20th century.
Additional features: "20th-century graffiti;" "a moment in history;""unique, little known themes;" "keywords;" "goods/products;" "people;" "arts and culture;" "exhibitions;" "Era fads."
Name and event indexes.
Years: Western calendar years.

English translation of title: "Collection of photographs and illustrations about women in Japan."
Collection focuses on women, with each volume organized by a special theme, such as “An era is born” and “Beyond the nation’s borders.”
Examples of chapters from Vol. 1: “The Light and Dark of the War Years (15 years war),” “Protecting Peace and Human rights (postwar).”
Years: both Western calendar years and Japanese era years.

English translation of title: "Photographic record of Southeast Asia: History, War, Japan."
Intriguing set of volumes chronicling the difficult history of Japan (and of other imperial powers such as the US) in southeast Asia.
Each volume deals with a different area:

Vol. 1: The Philippines and the islands of the South Pacific.
Vol. 2: Indonesia
Vol. 3: Malaysia and Singapore
Vol. 4: Burma and Thailand
Vol. 5: Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia
Vol. 6: Today’s Southeast Asia

To give an example of content and organization, Vol. 1 on the Philippines and the South Pacific begins with an introduction entitled “The road to the Asian and Pacific War,” gives background on the history of the Philippines, the establishment of colonial society in the Philippines, and the effects of World War II on the Philippines, and provides similar information on the South Pacific. Concludes with an essay entitled, “Japan, the Pacific, the World: When will there be true peace?” (日本,太平洋,世界： 真の平和はいつ).
Includes cartoons, documents photographs, maps, etc.
Years: both Western calendar years and Japanese era years.

This relatively widely available set presents a voluminous history of the Shōwa era in images. The 19 volumes offer sweeping overviews of years, as found in other resources, as well as a detailed breakdown by months and days.
Special features for Japanese readers:

The table of contents includes includes a world chronology that accompanies the Japan chronology. Using 1928 as an example, you get to learn of Trotsky's arrest in early January, the Fascists' rise to power in Italy in May, Hoover's election in November, and the war that broke out between Bolivia and Paraguay in December.
Each volume of this set includes an "Era words" graph, showing popular words, events, and fads for each year, which are cross-referenced with data on population change, GNP, volume of rice production, spread of the telephone, and industrial sector growth and citizen work. For example, in 1928, the key event was the first universal election (except for women), the word was "Mannequin Girl," and the fad was "Rappa Pants."

Index.
Years: both Western calendar years and Japanese era years. Note that Western years are not in the body of the text, but can be found in the table of contents.

Hikifuda are advertising handbills originated in the Edo era and which became common in the 1880s with the spread of color lithography.
Full color illustrations; sparse captions; includes reflective essay on hikifuda by Takada.
For more information on and examples of hikifuda, see the Eisner Museum of Advertising and Design.
Years: Japanese era years, although years are not always indicated; all from Meiji era.

English translation of title: "Japan's war history."
Focuses primarily on images from the battlefield, not effects of war felt on domestic front.
Covers Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, the Manchurian incident (1931), the war in China, and the Second World War.
Years: Western calendar years.

English translation of title: "War and the common people."
5-volume set represents both day-to-day life and scenes from battlefields.
Covers battle scenes from Pearl Harbor and the South Pacific to Shanghai, Hong Kong, India, and Thailand.
Vol. 1 has an interesting opening section in color, featuring a variety of images such as pictures from children's books of the early 1940s.
Less text heavy than Shōwa Day by Day.
Volume titles:

1. Taisei yokusan kara Nichi-Bei kaisen (大政翼賛から日米開戦)
2. Kyūbō seikatsu to gakuto shutsujin ( 窮乏生活と学徒出陣)
3. Kūshū, Hiroshima, haisen (空襲．ヒロシマ．敗戦)
4. Shinchūgun to furōji (進駐軍と浮浪児)
5. Senryōka no minshu shugi (占領下の民主主義)

Years: Western calendar years.