Japanese Studies – Resources

↓ ↓ ↓ Skip to Useful Links on this subject ↓ ↓ ↓

Consisting of four large islands and over six thousand small islands, Japan has created one of the richest and powerful cultures in the world. Situated with China and Korea on one side and the open Pacific Ocean on the other, Japan has always been a nation influenced by the sea that can be seen in many aspects of its day to day life. Here is an overview of the magnificent Japanese culture and language.

The Beginning of the Nation of the Rising Sun

Beginning as a people that crossed an ancient land bridge that once connected northern Asia to Japan, prehistoric Asian peoples began to migrate across the landmass. Over the course of thousands of years, the ice melted between the Asian continent and Japan, marking the first isolation of the nation from mainland Asia. Becoming a nation that relied heavily on rice for trading and food, the crop became the reason for the nation to thrive, to begin with.

Being influenced by outside cultures that were followed by long periods of cutting off from the outside world helped shape the coming of the Samurai.

Beginning in the 12th century and ending in the 19th century, this new class of society resulted in the famous Samurai Oda Nobunaga ruling the nation until his assassination in 1582.

Japanese Language

While the origin of the kanji hiragana languages is still unknown, basic Japanese has many similarities to the Altaic language of Mongolian peoples and Pacific Islander languages. The writing systems consist of hiragana, kanji, and katakana. The word order is written going down, rather than sideways as in European languages. With symbols very similar to Chinese characters, Chinese languages have heavily influenced the writing of Japan throughout the course of history.

Social Customs and Behavior

Japanese body language customs are formal and specific with respect being paid to the other person based on their social status compared to the other person.

Introducing yourself and speaking immediately to a person is considered rude, even in a large group of people. Bowing is the universal foundation of Japanese communication and is a protocol when greeting anyone. Eye contact is usually avoided to give the other person privacy. Making signs with index fingers is considered an insult and to be avoided.

Whether you want to learn the Japanese language, study modern Japanese culture, or simply embrace another part of the world, you’ll be sure to find your studies of Japan worthwhile. Filled with a rich culture that is unlike anywhere else in the world and backed by a vivid history, the country has made a huge mark on the world as a whole. With a large presence in the United States, the culture has made a huge impact on American food, entertainment, and diversity of the population

Check our useful sources for Japanese Studies subject:

• • Gateways
    Bridge to Japan

    http://www.jlgweb.org.uk/btj/

    maintained in the U.K. by the Japan Library Group, with the aim of facilitating access to Web-based sources of information about Japan.

    Intute: Arts & Humanities: Japanese Studies

    http://www.intute.ac.uk/cgi-bin/browse.pl?id=200019

    iLoveLanguages

    http://www.ilovelanguages.com/index.php?category=Languages%7CBy+Language%7CJapanese

    your guide to languages on the web – Japanese

    Japanreference

    http://www.jref.com/

    guide to online resources on Japan, traditional and popular Japanese culture, language and travel destinations in Japan.

    Web Japan

    http://web-jpn.org/

    gateway for all Japanese information

    Voice of the Shuttle

    http://vos.ucsb.edu/

    website for humanities research
• • Discussion groups
    JISCmail

    http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/

    national academic mailing list service facilitating discussion, collaboration and communication within the UK academic community and beyond
• • Organisations
    Arts and Humanities Research Council

    http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/Pages/default.aspx

    supporting research into the arts and humanities

    British Academy

    http://www.britac.ac.uk/

    the national academy for the humanities and the social sciences

    British Association for Japanese Studies

    http://www.bajs.org.uk/

    formed in 1974, with the aim to encourage Japanese studies in the UK, in particular by stimulating teaching and research.

    CILT (Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research)

    http://www.cilt.org.uk/

    collects and disseminates information on all aspects of modern languages and the teaching of modern languages, open to everyone.

    Embassy of Japan in the UK

    http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/

    Your guide to everything about relations between Japan and the UK – travel and visa information, Japan-related events, free film shows, resources for teachers and students, doing business with Japan, and useful links.

    Institute of Translation and Interpreting

    http://www.iti.org.uk/indexMain.html

    independent professional association of practising translators and interpreters in the United Kingdom

    Japan Foundation

    http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/index.html

    specialist organization for international cultural exchange in Japan

    Subject Centre for Languages, linguistics and area studies

    http://www.llas.ac.uk/

    from the Higher Education Academy
• • Other sites of interest
    Godzilla conquers the globe

    http://www.keenecenter.org/content/view/19/38/

    Japanese movie monsters in international film art from the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University

    Grant and Cutler

    http://www.grantandcutler.com/

    London based foreign language bookshop for German, French, Spanish and many more languages, spoken word cassettes, videos etc.

    Japan and Korea

    http://www.soas.ac.uk/library/subjects/japkor/

    subject guide from SOAS Library

    Japan Centre Bookshop

    http://www.japancentre.com/categories/magazines-books

    indexed by subject

    Japanese Book News

    http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/publish/jbn/index.html

    from the Japan Foundation

    Japanese Lifestyle

    http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/

    culture, travel and more

    Japanese literature

    http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/worldlit/works/japan.htm

    resources page from Creighton University

    Jguide

    http://jguide.stanford.edu/

    Stanford guide to Japan information resources

    Midnight Eye

    http://www.midnighteye.com/

    the latest and best in Japanese cinema

    Online Literary Criticism Collection

    http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/

    From the Internet Public Library (IPL), can be browsed by author, by title, or by nationality and literary period.

    Statistical materials for learning about Japan

    http://www.ndl.go.jp/en/data/statistical_ma.html

    an English-language guide to statistical information about Japan from the national Diet Library.

    Traditional crafts of Japan

    http://kougeihin.jp/en/top

    from the Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries.