Journal of Japanese Studies

Journal of Japanese Studies
JJS ME · CC0 · source
Title	Journal of Japanese Studies
Discipline	Japanese studies
Language	English
Publisher	Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan
Country	United States
History	1974–present
Frequency	Biannual
Issn	0095-6848

Journal of Japanese Studies is a peer-reviewed academic periodical devoted to scholarly research on Japan, covering history, literature, politics, religion, law, and arts. Founded in the 1970s, it has published monographic articles, archival discoveries, translations, and interdisciplinary studies by scholars affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Tokyo, Columbia University, and Stanford University. The journal is produced under the auspices of the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan and has been associated with contributors from University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University, Yale University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, and Keio University.

History

The journal was established in 1974 during a period of institutional expansion in Japanese studies associated with centers like the Japan Foundation, Harvard-Yenching Institute, and the reorganization of area studies after the Fulbright Program. Early issues reflected postwar scholarly engagement shaped by figures connected to Princeton University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. Over ensuing decades the editorial direction responded to debates surrounding modernity, imperialism, and postwar reconstruction, engaging archives in Tokyo, Kyoto, and regional repositories such as the National Diet Library and the National Archives of Japan. Contributors included scholars affiliated with Doshisha University, Waseda University, Hokkaido University, Rutgers University, and Indiana University, and the journal hosted forums tied to conferences at institutions like SOAS, University of British Columbia, and the Australian National University.

Scope and Content

The journal publishes interdisciplinary research spanning Japanese premodern periods linked to courts in Heian period capitals and samurai regimes such as the Tokugawa shogunate, through modern transformations tied to the Meiji Restoration, industrialization, and wartime mobilization under the Empire of Japan. Articles address literary works by authors associated with Murasaki Shikibu, Matsuo Bashō, Natsume Sōseki, Yasunari Kawabata, and Haruki Murakami, and legal-historical studies involving texts like the Taihō Code and constitutional reforms of 1889 and 1947. Political and diplomatic studies examine relations with United States, China, Korea, and regional organizations including discussions referencing the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the Treaty of San Francisco (1951), and postwar diplomacy involving the United Nations. Cultural analyses engage institutions such as the Kabuki-za, the Imperial Household Agency, and museums like the Tokyo National Museum, while economic and social histories consider industrial conglomerates like Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, and labor movements linked to sites such as Yasukuni Shrine protests and urban change in Osaka and Kobe.

Editorial Board and Publication Details

The editorial apparatus has included editors and advisory members from leading centers including University of Michigan, Princeton University, Harvard University, Stanford University, Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, Keio University, Nagoya University, and Sophia University. Publication is biannual, with volumes often appearing in spring and autumn; production relies on peer review drawn from scholars affiliated with Brown University, Duke University, McGill University, Seoul National University, Peking University, Tōyō Bunko, and research institutes like the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies. The journal accepts submissions in English and commissions reviews of books published by presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press, University of California Press, and Columbia University Press.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major humanities and social science services used by scholars at JSTOR, Project MUSE, and bibliographic databases associated with the Modern Language Association and citation services connected to the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Its contents are discoverable through university library catalogs at institutions including Yale University Library, National Diet Library, British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, and research portals maintained by Google Scholar and academic consortia such as OCLC.

Reception and Impact

The journal is widely cited in monographs and articles on topics from samurai culture to postwar political economy, influencing studies produced at University of Chicago, Princeton University, Columbia University, and international centers such as Leiden University and University of Toronto. Its contributions have intersected with debates about historiography linked to scholars who work on the Meiji Restoration, the Pacific War, and Cold War-era archives, shaping curricula at graduate programs like those at SOAS, University of California, Berkeley, Duke University, and Cornell University. Awards and recognitions for authors published in the journal include prizes administered by organizations such as the Japan Foundation and the American Historical Association.

Notable Articles and Special Issues

The journal has published influential articles on topics including Tokugawa social structures, Meiji legal reform, wartime censorship, postwar reconstruction, and literary modernism. Special issues have assembled essays on subjects like the Edo period, the Meiji Restoration, the Taishō period, wartime memory and reconciliation after the Pacific War, urbanization of Tokyo, and transnational migrations involving Korea, China, and the United States. Noteworthy contributions have come from scholars associated with Harvard University, Princeton University, Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Tokyo, Waseda University, and Kyoto University, and have been cited in works published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and Stanford University Press.

Category:Academic journals Category:Japanese studies