A research guide for advanced Japanese studies researchers detailing Japan studies resources in English and Japanese.
Digital Books
- EBSCO eBook CollectionSelected e-book titles from publishers. Some titles may be restricted to 1 or 3 simultaneous users.
- HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new windowHathiTrust provides access to millions of books and other materials. Full text searching of most books is available and books in the public domain (generally older books) can be freely viewed and/or downloaded. Books still in copyright have more limited access. Users with print-reading disabilities can apply for special access to digitized works by emailing wilsref@umn.edu.
- JSTORFind full text articles in academic journals or books on the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. JSTOR provides articles from the journal's first issue. In some cases the most recent 2-5 years may not be available. View this tutorial to learn how to go from a general idea to a very precise set of results of journal articles and scholarly materials.
- ProQuest Ebook CentralAn ebook platform that hosts a wide variety of titles. Limited to 1, 3, or unlimited simultaneous users depending on title.
- Aozora Bunko 青空文庫Aozora Bunko (青空文庫) is a digital archive of Japanese literature in the public domain. In addition to its web presence, the corpus is also available on GitHub where it can be downloaded in its entirety.
- The Arthur Tress Collection of Japanese Illustrated BooksAcclaimed photographer Arthur Tress (b. 1940) began collecting Japanese illustrated books in 1965 when he was visiting Kyoto. Tress built the collection “on an artist’s shoestring budget,” as he says, and “pour l’amour de l’art.” Over more than fifty years he amassed an extensive and important collection of over 1200 titles dating from the late 17th century through the 1930s.
- Bavarian State Library East Asia CollectionsOn this page, you will find digitized versions of Chinese, Japanese and Korean printings and manuscripts (dating back to the 7th – 19th century) which are held by the Bavarian State Library (BSB). You can access about 2 million single images.
- Bibliographic and Image Database of Japanese Modern Times 近代書誌・近代画像データベースPublic results of research and collection of literature materials centering on Japanese literature in and since the Meiji period.
- BYU Japanese Rare BooksA digital collection of Japanese rare books scanned by Brigham Young University, available on Internet Archive.
- Collectors' Seals Database 蔵書印データベースA database of ownership stamp information derived from original copies with a focus on classic books held by NIJL.
- Database of Early Modern Illustrated Encyclopedia 近世期絵入百科事典The digitized data includes the Kinmōzui (A Collection of Images to Enlighten the Young), compiled by Nakamura Tekisai with preface dated “Kanbun 6” (1666), and other “Kinmōzui”-type encyclopedias as well as books with pictorial and diagramed information. Despite the “Early Modern” in the title, this database covers the period up to and including the early Meiji era. The database is compiled primarily from open data made accessible to the public by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies and other research institutes and libraries in Japan.
- Database of Pre-Modern Japanese Works 新日本古典籍総合データベースA large digital bibliographic records and full-text image database on pre-modern Japanese works provides by National Institute of Japanese Literature.
- Digital BodleianThe collection from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries include some images of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures from East Asia.
- Digital Nara Ehon Library デジタル奈良絵本A list of links of Nara ehon (picture books) and emaki (picture scrolls) that are available online.
- Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)A searchable online catalog with millions of digitized items to browse, including photos, maps and books, from libraries, archives, museums, and cultural institutions around the United States.
- Early Japanese Books Portal Database ARC古典籍ポータルデータベースA database by ARC Ritsumeikan University. You can search ARC collections and other collections published on the web. Many of the books can be viewed directly through the website.
- East Asia Digital LibraryArchival materials from the National Library of Korea and the National Diet Library of Japan, including materials on religion, gender, religion, politics and international relations, artistic works, literature, and novels. In Japanese and Korean. Open Access.
- Forgmentary Manuscripts Database of Japan 古筆切所収情報データベースA database of printing information and full-text images for ancient writing fragments since Kohitsu-gire Teiyo.
- Full-text Database of Selection from Early Japanese Books 古典選集本文データベースEnables full-text searching and images browsing of NIJL's collection of the following works: Nijuichi-dai Shu (二十一代集), E-iri Genji Monogatari (絵入源氏物語), Azuma Kagami (吾妻鏡/東鑑), and Rekeshi Monogatari (歴史物語).
- Gordon W. Prange CollectionGordon W. Prange Collection at University of Maryland is the most comprehensive archive in the world of Japanese print publications issued during the early years of the Occupation of Japan, 1945-1949. These books, magazines, newspapers, posters, maps and more were subjected to censorship by the Allied Forces. They bear censorship markings ranging from check-in and examination dates to deletions, suppression and other changes. Some of the digitized materials are available on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/prangecollection/sets/. Or search "Gordon W. Prange Collection" at UMN Library and check out the microfiche at the UMN Library.
- Harvard-Yenching Library Japanese Digital CollectionHarvard Digital Collection provides free, public access to the Japanese collections.
- ICPBS Digital Collections 国際仏教学大学院大学学術成果コレクションThe digital collection of books and articles International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies.
- Japanese Classical Literature Text 日本古典文学テキストProvides the full-text of Japanese classical literature works.
- Japanese Historical Text ArchiveJapanese historical texts dating from the ancient chronicles to Meiji period documents; includes English translations. For password-protected text, please email jhti@berkeley.edu for user ids and passwords.
- Japanese Literature Text file 日本文学等テキストファイルThis website provides the full text of some Japanese literature works in public domain.
- Japan PEN Club Digital Library 日本ペンクラブ電子文藝館A digital library contains modern Japanese literature works. It have an international version of website which translates the Japanese literature works into English.
- Kobe University Library Rare Books 神戸大学附属図書館 稀覯書・貴重書A collection of rare books and documents held by Kobe University Library.
- Kojiruien Database 古事類苑データベースA database that offers full-text and browsing of Kojiruien (Dictionary of Historical Terms) that covers institutions, cultural assets and society in Japan from ancient to early modern times.
- Kojiruien Full-Text Database 古事類苑全文データベースA database that offers full-text and browsing of Kojiruien (Dictionary of Historical Terms) that covers institutions, cultural assets and society in Japan from ancient to early modern times.
- Kokugakuin University Library Nara Ehon and Emakimono 国学院大学図書館デジタルライブラリー：奈良絵本・絵巻物A collection of Nara Ehon and Emakimono.
- Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive 京都大学貴重資料デジタルアーカイブThe Kyoto University Library has one of the largest digital collection in Japan: as of June 1, 2022, the number of digitized items reached more than 1.8 million images of over 20,000 titles, including Konjaku monogatari-shu (Suzuka Ed.), designated as a national treasure, and 83 important cultural properties.
- Les Nara ehon de la BnFNara ehon at the French National Library.
- Marega Collection マレガ文庫The Marega Collection, preserved on the fourth floor of the Don Bosco Library, at Università Pontificia Salesiana (Rome), assembles the printed and manuscript materials collected by the Italian Salesian missionary Mario Marega (1902-1978), during his stay in Japan (from the 1930s to the 1970s). The collection includes about 2000 ukiyo-e prints, about 1000 wahon volumes, as well as several maps, dated from the Edo and Meiji periods.
- Modern Japanese Books Portal Database ARC近代書籍 ポータルデータベースA database by Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University.
- Nagoya University Digitized Books 名古屋大学電子化資料一覧A list of Japanese and Chinese old books from the Nagoya University collection that are digitized and available online.
- Nara Ehon and Emaki Collection 慶應義塾大学奈良絵本・絵巻コレクションA digital collection by Keio University. Nara ehon are illustrated manuscripts produced from the late Muromachi to early Edo period. The illustrations typically used bright colors, such as a vermillion and green, with gold and silver leaf and distemper. The content consists mainly of short stories written from the Muromachi to early Edo period which belong to the genre of Otogi zoshi, including Urashima Taro.
- Nara Women's University Digital Collection 奈良女子大学所蔵資料電子画像集A digital collection by Nara Women's University, including books, maps, diaries, etc.
- National Diet Library Digital Collections 国立国会図書館デジタルコレクションThis is a page that has a collection of digitized documents published since the Meiji era.
- New Naraehon Database 新奈良絵本データベースA database of original text images of Naraehon (19 picture books) held by NIJL.
- Next Digital Library"Next Digital Library" is an experimental digital library system based on several research results of the R&D Office at the NDL. You can search about 336,000 materials (as of March 2022) in public domain available in the National Diet Library Digital Collections.
- OER CommonsCatalog of tens of thousands of OERs to freely use, share, and adapt for the classroom.
Over 42,000 vetted and fully-indexed OER, ensuring a high level of resource relevancy and discovery.
Provides a single point of access to over 500 major content partners.
OERs are evaluated using the Common Core State Standards rubric (CCSS) –www.corestandards.org
Resources can be uploaded to OER Commons or created using their web based "Open Author" tool - Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance (PRDLA)The Pacific Rim Research Libraries Alliance, also known as PRRLA, focuses on cooperative ventures among academic libraries located around the Pacific Rim to improve access to scholarly research materials. The collections include books, archives, photos, videos, etc. Each collection can be viewed through individual institution website.
- Rare Books and Maps On Japan in European LanguageA database of books and maps by International Research Center for Japanese Studies, featuring Japan related entries written in European Languages mostly published in or before 1854.
- Sumida Maritime Materials Collection 住田文庫"Sumida Maritime Materials Collection" is a library of 6500 old Chinese books translated into Japanese about marine transport and topography, which Mr.Shoichi Sumida(1892-1968), known as researcher into "Kaisenshikimoku" or editor of "Kaijishiryosousho", collected by about Taisho 14, and presented at Taisho 15 to Government Kobe High Commercial School, the predecessor of Kobe University, and it includes block printing books, manuscripts, old documents, old records, and old maps etc. of the Edo era.
- Tale of Heike 平家物語・百二十句本（国会本）HTML text
- Waseda University Library’s Kotenseki Sogo Database 早稲田大学図書館 古典籍総合データベースThe purpose of this database is to provide the widest possible public access to the Waseda University Library’s collection of Japanese and Chinese classics, in the form of bibliographical information, related scholarly materials, as well as full-text images.
The collection of some 300,000 items, including two National Treasures and five Important Cultural Properties, comprises materials of every conceivable genre. You can access detailed bibliographical information and clear, full-color images. - The World of the Japanese Illustrated BookThe Pulverer Collection, acquired in its entirety by the Freer Gallery of Art in 2007, includes numerous rare and pristine examples of Japanese illustrated books produced in the Edo period and beyond. The holdings of more than 900 titles encompass almost 2,200 volumes that range in date from the early seventeenth century to the 1970s. Today the Pulverer Collection is regarded as one of the most outstanding and comprehensive collections of Japanese illustrated books outside Japan.
- 『南總里見八犬傳』本文テキストデータ"Nanso Satomi Hakken-den" transliterated by Gen Takagi.
- 国語学論文集A collection of public domain articles and books on Japanese studies. Full-text available.
- 日本古典籍画像データベースA digital collection of Japanese ancient books by Kyushu University Library.
- 東京大学総合図書館所蔵 霞亭文庫「霞亭文庫（かていぶんこ）」は総合図書館が所蔵する貴重図書であり、明治期の小説家・新聞記者である渡辺霞亭（1865－1924, 本名は渡辺勝）の旧蔵書で、江戸時代を中心とした小説・演劇関係の和書1,159点から成るコレクションです。内容は御伽草紙、仮名草子、浮世草子などのほか、江戸時代の通俗的な絵入り読み物である草双紙や、浄瑠璃、歌舞伎など多岐にわたります。
- 東洋学文献類目Provide full-text images of Annual Bibliography of Oriental Studies.
- 東洋文庫所蔵岩崎文庫善本画像データベースThis rare book database includes the old manuscripts of Chinese books copied during the Nara-Heian period in Japan from the Iwasaki Bunko collection. The manuscripts are from the Tang dynasty in China, and are valuable resources of ancient literature.
- 東洋文庫 画像The Toyo Bunko collection has many digitized rare materials on East Asian studies, including book, images and maps. Most of them are free to access.
- 熊野古道関係の古書等の資料熊野古道（紀伊道、中辺路、大辺路）をより楽しんで頂くために参考資料として使って頂ければ幸いです。縦書きは、割り書や傍書がうまく入れられないので「 」や（ ）で表しています。
The Tale of Genji 源氏物語
- Online resources for Genji MonogatariOnline teaching and research resources created and maintained by PMJS.
- 源氏物語の世界 再編集版このページは高千穂大学の渋谷栄一教授が公開しているホームページ「源氏物語の世界」を再編集したページです。注釈が読みやすくなった、本文と現代語訳を対照表示できる、目次が使いやすくなったなどの特徴があります。
- The Tale of Genji Collection at Waseda University 源氏物語～語り継がれる王朝絵巻～九曜文庫はもともと源氏物語研究で大きな成果をあげている中野幸一先生（早稲田大学名誉教授）が個人で蒐集された膨大なコレクションですが、そのうち源氏物語を中心とした資料が、先生のご厚意により早稲田大学図書館の所蔵となりました。
- 紙本墨書源氏物語「浮舟」の巻を欠く計53帖。墨流しの装飾をほどこした表紙に、通し番号と巻名を仮名で記した楮紙の帯が付けられている。桑名藩主松平定信の遺愛品と伝え、昭和10年(1935)に保坂潤治氏の所蔵となったことから、「保坂本源氏物語」とも呼ばれる。保坂氏の所蔵時にはすでに一巻欠いていたようで、箱蓋裏に保坂氏自身が「五十三帖」と記している。昭和11年(1936)には、旧国宝に指定されていた。
- 古活字版『源氏物語』古活字版。『源氏物語』の最初の刊本とされ、平仮名活字を使用した本としてももっとも初期のものといわれる。他に知られる伝本は、阪本龍門文庫および実践女子大学図書館の所蔵本のみ。両者とも欠本があるのに対し、本書は全冊揃いで、保存の良い美本である。ただし、「夕顔」全冊と「蛍」「野分」「柏木」に補写がある。料紙や筆跡はもとの刊本とよく似ていて、刊年に近い時期の補写と考えられる。
- 角川文庫 全訳源氏物語（与謝野晶子訳）Text only
- 承応版源氏物語「承応版源氏物語」データベースは、米国議会図書館(Library of Congress)が所蔵する完本「承応版源氏物語」（本文54冊、注釈書６冊）の全ページの画像ファイルをデータベースとして構築したものである。
- 河海抄源氏物語河海抄. 第1-20 / 源惟良 撰
早稲田大学図書館 - 河内本『源氏物語』花宴Kokugakuin University
- 源氏物語の本文資料の 再検討と新提言のための共同研究この研究の目的は、『源氏物語』諸伝本における相対的な本文関係を解明することにより、『源氏物語』本文の位相と、写本群の関わりを分別することにあります。そのために、共有資源とするべき本文データベースを構築して、対象となる本文のデータの蓄積を推進する必要があります。
- Costume Museum 風俗博物館The Customs Museum opened in 1974 as a museum exhibiting actual Japanese customs and costumes from ancient times to modern times.
- 源氏物語 あさきゆめみし大事典このサイトは大和和紀先生の『源氏物語 あさきゆめみし』を応援し、その魅力を楽しんでいただく個人サイトです。
- 文迷 源氏物語の音読源氏物語全54帖の音読データが「音読」メニューから無償でダウンロード出来ます。
- Genji en españolThe story of Genji in Spanish.
Helpful Tools and Resources
- JapanKnowledge LibThe database connects you to multiple resources including Japanese and English language dictionaries for modern and classical terms, historic chronology, general encyclopedias, news, Japanese names and biographies, business quarterly reports, law dictionaries, and multimedia. Searches can be done in English or Japanese with results in either language depending on what resources were searched.
- ARC年譜・年表記事データベース研究用記事年表をプロジェクトごとに作成できるデータベースです。
- Comprehensive Digitization and Discoverability Program: CDDP Video SeriesThe CDDP Video Series offers instructional videos on freely available resources and cutting-edge projects related to Japanese Studies, highlighting useful tools and best practices.
- Folktales of Strange Phenomena and Yōkai (Spirits, Ghosts, Monsters) 怪異・妖怪伝承Bibliographic information on Yōkai and mysterious phenomena reported in folklore studies and other fields research.
- JAANUS: Japanese architectural and art net users systemThis dictionary contains approximately 8000 terms related to traditional Japanese architecture and gardens, painting, sculpture and art-historical iconography from approximately the 1st century A.D. to the end of the Edo period (1868). Terms from related fields such as lacquer, ceramics, textiles and metalwork have been included where they are considered to be of general interest and/or impact on the principal fields of architecture, painting and sculpture. These definitions are not translations from any one Japanese monolingual dictionary, but have been collated from a range of specialist sources and scholarly publications, and from direct observation and study. Many have never before been defined in English.
- Japanese Literature in Translation SearchThis database contains mainly Japanese literary works translated into foreign languages since the end of World War II. The Japan Foundation, an incorporated administrative agency, cooperated with The Japan Pen Club and started publishing in 2005 based on data from the club and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- 人名・作品名出現典拠資料データベースこちらは立命館大学アート・リサーチセンター(立命館ARC)人名・作品の典拠データベースです。さまざまな資料に現れる人名や作品の情報を集め、どこにその名称が載っているかを確認するためのデータベースです。
- 文化人・芸能人 人物名データベースName of Person Database by Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University.
- 熊野の説話熊野に関連する神話、伝説、民話など
- 近世中後期上方文壇人的交流データベースThis database allows you to search for items related to scholar's interactions and communications in the texts of Ozawa Roan's autograph "Rokucho Algae" and Myohoin's "Myohoin Nikki" from Yasunaga 5 to Kansei 8.
- 音訳の部屋 読み方辞典「音訳の部屋ー読み方辞典」は音訳者・点訳者、読みを必要としている方のために制作した多くの読み方辞典です。漢字の読み方調査、記号・単位・略語の読み方調べ等にお使い下さい。
Last Updated: Apr 22, 2025 11:28 AM
URL: https://libguides.umn.edu/japan_advanced