Note on Romanization and Word Division
Catalogs
Licensed Resources
Article and Book Delivery Requests
Journals and Newspapers
Web Sites
Contact/Purchase Requests

Catalogs and databases use different romanization schemes. MadCat and WorldCat follow Modified Hepburn Romanization as in Kenkyusha's romanized Japanese-English dictionaries. When searching North American catalogs, do not use a "u" or double the vowel to indicate long vowel sounds in Japanese (i.e., enter Tokyo instead of Toukyou). These catalogs use a macron, but do not search with macrons. WorldCat supports display but not input of Japanese characters. To search the Japanese equivalent of WorldCat, NACSIS WebCat, use "u" to indicate long vowel sounds (i.e., enter Toukyou instead of Tokyo).

In general, divide words into binary compounds, but make them trinary if the third character cannot stand alone. Try searching two or three ways.

More information about romanization and word division in North American catalogs: ALA/LC Romanization Table for Japanese.

National Catalogs

NACSIS Webcat

NACSIS Webcat is the Japanese equivalent of WorldCat. When materials can not be found in WorldCat, use NACSIS Webcat, a national union catalog of the holdings of university libraries and other libraries made available by the National Institute of Informatics. The database is updated weekly. NACSIS Webcat is useful for verifying readings for names/titles, checking journal holdings information, checking the names of Japanese libraries, and verifying bibliographic and holdings information for ILL requests through the Global ILL Framework.

Search tips: Can search by title word, full title, author, publisher, standard numbers, and free keywords. For title word, author, and keyword searches, can use kanji, hiragana, katakana, or romaji. To search by more than one keyword, separate keywords with a space; search becomes an AND search. Full title: Only kanji can be used to search full title, and do not separate words of full title. Author: Separate last and first names with a space and spell non-Japanese author as in original language. Free keywords: Search for words in any field. Use to search by subject headings. Find a book by doing an author or title search and then look at the subject headings for book. Copy the headings into Free Keywords field to retrieve related books whether words are in title or not. Use an asterix (*) to search for variations of words. Examples: Title word -- romaji: seiji [space] shisou; kanji: 政治思想(for phrase), 政治 [space] 思想(for both words in title); kana: せいじ しそう; Full title -- kanji only: 現代政治の思想と行動; and Author -- romaji: maruyama [space] masao; kanji: 丸山 [space] 眞男; kana: まるやま　まさお; original language: Reischauer [space] Edwin [space] O ( ライシャワー and Raishawaa will produce limited hits.).

Webcat Plus

Webcat Plus includes 2,637,112 Japanese books from NACSIS Webcat. It is a system which uses an associative search ( 連想検索) technology. Books are determined to be related in content based on the number of common words. Some books published from 1986 (797,260) include summaries and table of contents from book covers, etc. from a publishers' database.

Search tips: Match Search (一致検索): A search by multiple keywords becomes an AND search. Use double quotations to search phrases. Title search: Search by full or partial title. Author search: search by full name, surname, or first name. To search Japanese names, use kanji or katakana. To search foreign names, use the original language rather than katakana. Search results: When summary, table of contents, or library holdings data is available, icons appear. Number of library holdings appears in parentheses. Associative Search (連想検索): A search by multiple keywords becomes an OR search. Search results: When summary, table of contents, or library holdings data is available, icons appear. Number of library holdings appears in parentheses. The system displays 30 related keywords. From the search results, can do an "associative search." Check a book of interest from the results or keywords or both a book and keywords and click the [＋検索] button; related books will appear.

National Diet Library OPAC

The National Diet Library launched a new online public access catalog (OPAC) in October 2002. The catalog contains Japanese and Western books (2.78 million), Japanese and Western periodicals (160,000), electronic materials, old books (5000), Japanese dissertations (200,000), maps, and audio-visual materials. Contents increased dramatically when NDL loaded its retrospective records back to Meiji era into the catalog. The NDL OPAC also includes the Japanese Periodical Index (雑誌記事索引) and a search for standard technical reports. The OPAC is unavailable at these Tokyo times: Monday-Saturday, 4:00-7:00a.m. (previous day 1:00-4:00p.m. CST) ; first, second, and fourth Sundays, 1:00-7:00a.m. (Saturdays 10:00a.m.-4:00p.m. CST); and third Saturdays/Sundays, 22:00p.m.-7:00a.m. (Saturdays 7:00a.m.-4:00p.m. CST). There are other times when it may not be available.

Other online catalogs offered by NDL: Asian Language Materials OPAC, Japan National Bibliography Weekly List, National Union Catalog of Newspapers, and Books on Japan.

National Diet Library Japanese Periodical Index (雑誌記事索引)

The Japanese Periodical Index is an index to Japanese language and Western language scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences published in Japan and held in the National Diet Library. Coverage is from 1948-present. Print version ceased in 1995. The database is updated every two weeks. Periodicals included: http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/data/sakuin/sakuin_index.html. The index is also available through the licensed resource, MagazinePlus (See below.).

Search tips: Can search on title, author, journal name, publisher/editor, publication date, volume, issue, ISSN/ISBN. Titles and names are searchable in kanji and kana. You can limit by date or date range. Search terms can be combined with AND, OR, NOT. " Searching "立国" will bring up results like the following: "電子立国," "国立国会図書館;" however searching by "ear" will bring results such as "ear," "ears" but not "years." Using 詳細設, can specify searching by word (s) or full title (default). When searching by reading, enter hiragana or katakana. Searching "／図書館" will bring up results like the following: "図書館," "図書館の歴史," "図書館学概論;" searching "図書館／" will bring up results like the following: "図書館," "日本の図書館," "電子図書館;" searching "／図書館／" will bring up only: "図書館." Searching "library work" will bring up the result," the library work," but not "work in library."

University Catalogs

Waseda University Information Network System

Waseda University Information Network (WINE) System provides search interfaces in both Japanese and English. Can search using kanji, kana, or romaji. WINE is good for checking journal holdings which are not represented as well as book holdings in WorldCat. The University of Wisconsin participates in the Waseda University Document Delivery Project. Returnables or copies requested and delivered through OCLC ILL. Returnables by airmail; copies by Ariel. Holdings information in OCLC (symbol: LWU).

Search tips: Author: Search last name before first name separated by a space. Title: Search by first words of or full title. Include spaces if searching by kana or romaji. Subject: Uses NDL subject headings for Japanese materials and Library of Congress subject headings for foreign materials. Keyword searches titles, series, authors, subjects, and notes.

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Full-Text Databases

Academic Search Elite [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "A" for Academic Search Elite, and then "Academic Search Elite."]

Academic Search Elite is a database of more than 3000 journals, some available in full text. It covers many academic areas including business, social sciences, humanities, general science, education, and multi-cultural. Many of the full-text titles go back to 1990.

Search tips: Combine keywords with AND to find records with both words to narrow results and OR to find records with either words to broaden results. For more search options (e.g., searching by author, publication, etc.), use Advanced Search. Use an asterix (*) to find variations and plural forms of words (for example, Japan* will bring up records with Japan and Japanese). Browse publications by clicking on "Publications" button and enter publication name or click on corresponding first letter of publication name. If an article is not available in full text, click on "Check MadCat for print and electronic copies" to initiate a search of MadCat for journal title.

Japan-related titles: Japan Quarterly, Asahi Shinbunsha (1990-2001), Journal of Asian Studies, Association for Asian Studies (1990-), Look Japan, Look Japan Publishing (1994-), Modern Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press (Academic Search Elite, 1994-).

Ingenta [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "I" for Ingenta, and then "Ingenta."]

Ingenta contains several electronic journals related to Japanese studies.

Search tips: Search online articles by keyword through basic or advanced searches. Use AND, OR, and NOT to combine terms. Use double quotes to search phrases. Use an asterix (*) to find variations and plural forms of words (for example, Japan* will bring up records with Japan and Japanese). Advanced Search is useful for finding full text article of a particular citation as it provides search fields for article title, author, publication title, volume, issue, and publication date. Can also browse publications by title and subject.

Japan-related titles: International Journal of Japanese Sociology, Blackwell (2001-), Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier Science (1995-), Japan Forum, Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group(2000-), Japanese Economic Review, Blackwell on behalf of Japanese Economic Association (1997-), Japanese Studies, Carfax Publishing, part of the Taylor & Francis Group (2000-), Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier Science (1998-), Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Academic Press(1996-), Social Science Japan Journal, Oxford University Press (1998-).

JSTOR [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "J" for JSTOR, and then "JSTOR."]

JSTOR contains full text of back issues of journals in many fields including Asian Studies.

Search tips:From JSTOR home page, click "Search" and then type in keywords to search by abstract, author, title, or full text of articles and select discipline or journals (that is, Asian Studies). Click "Browse" to browse journals by subject and then click "Asian Studies" and journal title.

Japan-related titles: Asian Survey, University of California Press (1961-1999), Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (1940-1998), Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London (1917-1940), Far Eastern Quarterly, Association for Asian Studies (1941-1956), Far Eastern Survey, University of California Press (1935-1961), Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Harvard-Yenching Institute (1936-1998), Journal of Asian Studies, Association for Asian Studies (1936-1998), Journal of Japanese Studies, Society for Japanese Studies (1974-1998), Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Association of Teachers of Japanese (1972-2000), Journal-Newsletter of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Association of Teachers of Japanese (1963-1972), Modern Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press (1967-1998), Monumenta Nipponica, Sophia University (1938-1998).

LexisNexis [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "L" for LexisNexis, and then "LexisNexis Academic Universe."]

LexisNexis is an online service composed of approximately 5,000 legal, news, reference, and business sources, most full text. It includes international and U.S. newspapers, ethnic and regional news sources, magazines, wire services, newsletters, trade journals, company and industry analyst reports, and broadcast transcript.

Search tips: To search Japanese newspapers, use "Guided News Search." Under Step One, select "World News." Under Step Two, select "Asia/Pacific News Sources." Clicking on "News Sources" next to Step Two, can check particular news sources in which to search. After checking news sources, the sources are pasted and appear in Step Five. In Step Three, enter keywords, and in Step Four, limit to date or date range.

Japan-related titles: Asahi Shinbun (1997-1999) Daily Yomiuri (1989-), Japan Corporate News Network (2001-), Japan Economic Newswire (1980-), Japan Times (1998-), Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (1998-), Mainichi Daily News (1993-), Nikkei Weekly (1991-).

ProQuest Research Library [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "P" for Proquest Research Library, and then "ProQuest Research Library."]

ProQuest Research Library indexes more than 2,000 periodicals providing full text for nearly half of them. It has a mix of general interest and academic journals that cover the arts, business, education, health, humanities, psychology, sciences, and the social sciences.

Search tips: Type in keywords. Use "quotation marks" to search for exact phrases. 2 word queries are searched as an exact phrase by default. 3 word queries are searched as words that need to appear in proximity to each other by default. Note: Author names may appear in different forms (i.e., full name, surname and first initial). Use special characters (* for truncation) and operators (AND, OR, NOT, WITHIN, etc.) to focus your query. When looking at results, check the Subject field in record for ideas for other keywords. Click on "Full text" or "Page Image - PDF" links for the article. If article is not available in full text, click on "Find a copy" to initiate a search of MadCat for journal title. Browse by publication by clicking on "Publication Search" and the first letter and title of journal. Click on "Search within Publication" to search within the journal.

Japan-related titles: Japan Echo (1997-), Japan Quarterly, Asahi Shinbunsha (1988-2001), Social Science Japan Journal, Oxford University Press (1999-).

Citation Databases

Bibliography of Asian Studies [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "B" for Bibliography of Asian Studies, and then "Bibliography of Asian Studies."]

Bibliography of Asian Studies indexes journal articles about Asia in Western language journals and books from 1971. Citations to books were discontinued in 1992.There are no abstracts.

Search tips: Simple Search: use if searching by one keyword or continuous phrase. Advanced Search: use if searching by more than one keyword. Type in keywords in separate search boxes. Be sure to put a keyword in the first search box or you will not get any results. To search two or more words as a phrase put in one search box. If you want to search for two words in any order, put words in separate search boxes. Use an asterix (*) to find variations and plural forms of words (for example, Japan* will bring up records with Japan and Japanese). Specify the field in which you want to search: entire record, author, title, journal, and subject. Can combine keywords with OR, AND, NOT to broaden or narrow searches. Can limit by date or range of dates. Can limit search to journal articles only. By default, records are sorted by author, last name first. Can change sort to chronological or reverse chronological sort.

MagazinePlus [Location: UW-Madison Libraries Web Site. Click on "Journals, Magazines and Newspapers," then on "M" for MagazinePlus, and then "MagazinePlus."]

MagazinePlus is a large collection of Japanese databases. It contains citations and not full text. With over 5.2 million items, it consolidates separate databases: 1) Zasshi Kiji Sakuin: an index to 9396 Japanese language and 102 Western language scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences, with coverage from 1975-present, updated twice a month (List of periodicals: http://www.ndl.go.jp/jp/data/sakuin/sakuin_index.html); 2) Jānaru Indekkusu: an index to 165 weekly and monthly magazines, with coverage from 1981-present, updated weekly; 3) Joint: an index to 1300 economic journals, with coverage from 1981-1995; 4) KSK: an index to foreign journals on industries, with coverage from 1986-present, updated every 2-3 months; 5) Gakkai nenpō kenkyū hōkoku ronbun sōran: an index to annual publications of academic societies, with coverage from 1945-1995; and 6) Ronbunshū naiyō saimoku sōran: an index to monographic books and conference papers, with coverage from 1945-1998.

Search tips: Can search on file, publication date, keyword, author name, periodical title, publisher, and ISSN. If using multiple keywords, separate them with a space. Keywords entered without a space will be searched as a compound.Can specify field: keyword, author, periodical title, publisher. Keywords may be combined using AND(必ず含む), OR(いずれかを含む), NOT(含まない) in any field to narrow or broaden search. Keywords separated by a space are used as alternate search terms, when いずれかを含む is selected. Can use kanji, hiragana, katakana, and English letters. Search both kanji and hiragana using いずれかを含むwhen the hiragana is a frequent alternative (e.g.,心 or こころ). Enter readings all in katakana. Exclude symbols (periods, middle dots) from words. Chinese and Korean names have kanji, Japanese reading, and the Chinese/Korean reading. Zasshi Kiji Sakuin current awareness feature: Click on link (a new window opens) and can view tables of contents of various journals arranged by subject. Enter names with last name followed by first name; a space between names is unnecessary (both Japanese and Western names). Use double quotes around words to search for a complete match.

Reference Work

Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Online) [Location: will appear under "Reference: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries and more" on Library Web site.]

Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan (Online) is based on the print reference book, Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, published in 1993. Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia was, in turn, based on the nine-volume Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, published in 1983.

The online version contains almost all of the 11,000 main-text entries of that book, thousands of which have been updated to reflect changes occurring in the 1990s. There are also 150 new entries on notable people, companies, events, trends, etc, of the last decade. The main-text entries cover various aspects of Japanese culture and society from prehistory to contemporary science and technology.

Search tips: Articles and images (photographs, illustrations, and maps) can be accessed by searching full text or topics or browsing topics, an A-Z list of titles, or a map of regions and prefectures.

1. Check MadCat

Use MadCat to search for book or periodical titles. When the database does not provide the article in full text or a link to MadCat, search MadCat. Click on Basic Search. Type in the name of the journal. Select "journal title" to search by periodical title. Check the "Library Has" part of the record to check the library or database that has the date, volume, and issue needed.

2. Check WorldCat

WorldCat is a catalog of more than 49 million books, serials, audiovisual media, maps, archives, manuscripts, scores, and computer files owned by more than 9,000 OCLC member libraries around the world, including UW-Madison and the Library of Congress. More than 400 languages are represented. One of its many uses is the ability to make online interlibrary loan requests for books. Since March 1997, links to Internet sources have been added. Recently, display of foreign scripts including Japanese has been added.

3. Check NACSIS Webcat

Most Japanese academic libraries attach their holdings to records in Webcat. Can see which libraries in Japan own material of interest. Can check a list of libraries (and OCLC symbols) which participate in the Global ILL Framework, a program for document delivery and interlibrary loan between institutions in US and Japan using WorldCat and NACSIS Webcat, in which the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a participating institution. There are 55 libraries in Japan and 24 libraries in US partipating. Holdings information in NACSIS Webcat, not OCLC. List of participating Japanese libraries: http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/easian/askeasl/GIF2003J_2.pdf. NACSIS Webcat is useful for verifying readings for names/titles, checking holdings information, and checking the names of Japanese libraries.

4. Fill Out Library Express Form [Location: Click on "Article and Book Delivery" link on left navigation bar on Library Web site.]

Request books and media not on campus. 3-10 business days. Can use WorldCat or Library Express form. Have articles and book chapters delivered to your desktop. If articles not available on campus, no charge. Allow time for delivery. Do not use WorldCat.

Selected Journals

Asian Survey, University of California Press (JSTOR, 1961-1999)
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London (JSTOR, 1940-1998)
Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London (JSTOR, 1917-1940)
Far Eastern Quarterly, Association for Asian Studies (JSTOR, 1941-1956)
Far Eastern Survey, University of California Press (JSTOR, 1935-1961)
International Journal of Japanese Sociology, Blackwell (Ingenta, 2001-)
Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Harvard-Yenching Institute (JSTOR, 1936-1998)
Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier Science (Ingenta, 1995-)
Japan Echo (ProQuest Research Library, 1997-)
Japan Forum, Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group (Ingenta and MetaPress, 2000-)
Japan Quarterly, Asahi Shinbunsha (Academic Search Elite, 1990-2001; ProQuest Research Library 1988-2001)
Japanese Economic Review, Blackwell on behalf of Japanese Economic Association (Ingenta, 1997-)
Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (ATLAS Online, 1991-)
Japanese Studies, Carfax Publishing, part of the Taylor & Francis Group (Ingenta, 2000-)
Journal of Asian Studies, Association for Asian Studies (Academic Search Elite, 1990-; JSTOR, 1936-1998)
Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies (Free)
Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier Science (Ingenta, 1998-)
Journal of Japanese and International Economies, Academic Press (Ingenta, 1996-)
Journal of Japanese Studies, Society for Japanese Studies (JSTOR, 1974-1998)
Journal of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Association of Teachers of Japanese (JSTOR, 1972-2000)
Journal-Newsletter of the Association of Teachers of Japanese, Association of Teachers of Japanese (JSTOR, 1963-1972)
Look Japan, Look Japan Publishing (Academic Search Elite, 1994-)
Modern Asian Studies, Cambridge University Press (Academic Search Elite, 1994-; JSTOR 1967-1998)
Monumenta Nipponica, Sophia University (JSTOR, 1938-1998)
Social Science Japan Journal, Oxford University Press (Ingenta, 1998-; Oxford Online Journals, 2000-; ProQuest Research Library, 1999 -, delayed 6 months)

English-Language Newspapers

Asahi Shinbun (LexisNexis, 1997-1999)
Daily Yomiuri (LexisNexis, 1989-)
Japan Corporate News Network (LexisNexis, 2001-)
Japan Economic Newswire (LexisNexis, 1980-)
Japan Times (LexisNexis, 1998-)
Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (LexisNexis, 1998-)
Mainichi Daily News (LexisNexis, 1993-)
Nikkei Weekly (LexisNexis, 1991-)

Web Sites of Major Newspapers

Asahi Shinbun
J: http://www.asahi.com/
E: http://www.asahi.com/english/

Japan Times
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/

Mainichi Shinbun
J: http://www.mainichi.co.jp/
E: http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/

Nihon Keizai Shinbun
J: http://www.nikkei.co.jp/
E: http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/

Sankei Shinbun
http://www.sankei.co.jp/

Yomiuri Shinbun
J: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/
E: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/index-e.htm

Web Sites

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General Sites

International Research Center for Japanese Studies - aka Nichibunken

Japan Information Network - portal to information about Japan

Digital Collections

International Research Center for Japanese Studies - databases require registration
Early Photographs - end of Edo-early Meiji
Foreign Images of Japan
Old Maps of Nagasaki
Writings on Japan in Western Languages - pre-1900

National Diet Library:
Birth of the Constitution - online exhibition
Digital Library from the Meiji Era - initial 30,000 of 169,000 volumes digitized
Modern Japanese Political History Materials - online exhibition
Proceedings of Meetings of the National Diet - Diet minutes since May 1947
Rare Books Image Database - 29,000 items included

Photo Collections
Japanese Old Photographs in Bakumatsu-Meiji Period
Mainichi Photo Bank - photos from prewar to present

Texts
Japanese Text Initiative - searchable texts of literature

Government Information and Statistics

e-Gov - portal to Government information
Statistics, Japan Information Network - statistical data by category
Statistics Bureau and Statistics Center - more statistics

Rebecca Payne, Japanese Studies Librarian
Phone: 608-262-2387
E-mail: rpayne@library.wisc.edu

To place purchase requests, fill out purchase recommendation form.
To see more electronic resources, go to: UW-Madison Libraries' Home Page and UW-Madison East Asian Collection Home Page.