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| Society for Japanese Studies | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society for Japanese Studies |
| Type | Learned society |
| Founded | 1960s |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Region served | North America, Asia, Europe |
| Language | English, Japanese |
Society for Japanese Studies is an academic association focused on the study of Japan and Japanese-related topics. It brings together scholars, librarians, curators, and practitioners connected with Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and University of Chicago as well as institutions like Japan Society, National Diet Library, Tokyo University, and Kyoto University. The society interacts with cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution, British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library of Congress, and research centers including the Asia Society, Japan Foundation, and School of Oriental and African Studies.
The society traces origins to postwar exchanges among scholars affiliated with Princeton University, Cornell University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, and University of Washington and grew alongside programs at Columbia University's East Asian Institute, Harvard Yenching Institute, and Yale Council on East Asian Studies. Influences included comparative projects tied to the aftermath of the Treaty of San Francisco (1951), archival initiatives related to the Pacific War, and intellectual networks connected to figures at Sophia University, Doshisha University, and Keio University. Early conferences featured contributors from museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and publishing houses like Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, University of California Press, and Harvard University Press.
The society promotes interdisciplinary research linking specialists in Nihonjinron debates with colleagues focused on Meiji Restoration, Tokugawa shogunate, Taishō period, Showa period, and contemporary issues connected to institutions like the Bank of Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Japan), and Japan Self-Defense Forces. It facilitates collaborations among scholars working on subjects such as Murasaki Shikibu, Matsuo Bashō, Natsume Sōseki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Yasunari Kawabata, Haruki Murakami, and historians engaging with the Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895), Russo-Japanese War, Battle of Okinawa, and diplomatic episodes like the Treaty of Portsmouth. The society supports librarians connected to collections at the National Diet Library, curators at the Tokyo National Museum, and legal historians examining the Meiji Constitution and the Postwar Constitution of Japan.
The society publishes a peer-reviewed journal that features scholarship on topics ranging from literature linked to The Tale of Genji and Heike Monogatari to political analyses referencing Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), Social Democratic Party (Japan), and figures associated with Shinzo Abe and Yukio Hatoyama. Monograph series and working papers appear alongside bibliographic projects collated with partners such as JSTOR, Project MUSE, WorldCat, and the Union List of Serials. The society's editorial collaborations have included presses like Routledge, Brill Publishers, Stanford University Press, and the University of Michigan Press.
Annual meetings rotate among venues including Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, and occasionally international sites like University of Tokyo, Osaka University, Seoul National University, and National University of Singapore. Panels often examine themes connected to Shinto, Buddhism, Zen (school), Japanese cinema with references to directors such as Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Hayao Miyazaki, and Kenji Mizoguchi, and art-historical sessions involving Hokusai, Hiroshige, Sesshū Tōyō, and contemporary artists represented at the Mori Art Museum. Co-sponsored symposia have partnered with United Nations University, International Association of Asian Studies, Association for Asian Studies, and museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Membership includes faculty from University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Australian National University, National Taiwan University, and librarians from institutions such as the Pierpont Morgan Library and the Guggenheim Museum. The society is governed by an elected council, with officers drawn from chairs and directors associated with centers like the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, Asia-Pacific Council, and endowed positions at universities including the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and the Kikkoman Chair in Japanese Studies. Its bylaws reflect norms compatible with nonprofit registration similar to the American Council of Learned Societies.
The society administers prizes and fellowships named in honor of scholars and benefactors connected to Edward Seidensticker, Donald Keene, R.H.P. Mason, Marius Jansen, Carol Gluck, John Whitney Hall, and Katherine Tsuruta. Grants support archival work at repositories like the National Archives of Japan, fieldwork funding in regions such as Hokkaido, Okinawa Prefecture, and research tied to museums including the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. Collaborative awards have linked to foundations such as the Japan Foundation, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The society has influenced curricula at institutions like Princeton University, Duke University, University of Pennsylvania, and policy discussions engaging the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan) and think tanks such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Brookings Institution. Critics have raised concerns about representation, access for scholars from Southeast Asian studies institutions and scholars from Ryukyu and Ainu communities, and debates over language policy and publication bias reflecting trends seen in journals like Monumenta Nipponica and Journal of Japanese Studies. Discussions about decolonizing methodologies cite comparative dialogues with organizations such as the Society for Latin American Studies and African Studies Association.
Category:Japan studies organizations