Related Guides
About This Guide
The Japanese Art, Architecture, & Archaeology guide lists resources available in the Boston University Libraries' print and online collections and selected websites.
Background Sources
- "Encyclopedia of Japan," in JapanKnowledge This resource contains the full text of “Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia” (Kodansha, 1993), which was compiled under the general editorship of the late Dr. Edwin O. Reischauer,
- JapanKnowledge This link opens in a new window JapanKnowledge is an extensive database, mostly in Japanese, with information about Japanese language, culture, history, and more. It Includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, ebooks, news articles, and multimedia.
- "Periodization in Japanese Prehistoric Archaeology," in Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology It is possible to apply European periodization to Japanese history: prehistory, protohistory, Ancient, Medieval, Early Modern, and Modern. In this entry, I suggest that Ancient period is from 593 to 1192, Medieval from 1192 to 1573, Early Modern from 1573 to 1868, and Modern from 1868 onwards.
- The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture Provides a comprehensive overview of the influences that have shaped modern-day Japan. Spanning one and a half centuries from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the beginning of the twenty-first century, this volume covers topics such as technology, food, nationalism and rise of anime and manga in the visual arts. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture traces the cultural transformation that took place over the course of the twentieth century, and paints a picture of a nation rich in cultural diversity.
- Routledge Handbook of Japanese Culture and Society This Handbook is an interdisciplinary resource that focuses on contemporary Japan and the social and cultural trends that are important at the beginning of the twenty-first century.
- Encyclopedia of Contemporary Japanese Culture Responding to the broadening of interest in Japanese culture beyond specialist studies, the encyclopedia is intended as an accessible reference for both specialist readers and general readers seeking information on a specific topic or wanting an overview of a theme of area of contemporary Japanese culture. It also broadens the view of Japanese to include Brazilian Japanese, Nikkei in North America, japayuki (immigrant sex workers), the Burakumin and Ainu, the Chinese and Korean populations in Japan, gaijin, the status of women, and the greying of Japan. The focus is on the period since 1945.
- Japanese Garden Dictionary: A Glossary for Japanese Gardens and Their History This online dictionary is based on the Bilingual [Japanese & English] Dictionary of Japanese Garden Terms, published in 2001.
- Dictionary of Japanese Architectural and Art Historical Terminology This 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).
- Contemporary Japanese architects : profiles in design his book explores how architects in Japan have responded to the demands of their times and how they continue to engage with new economic realities and the shifting global order. The moving image of Japanese society is reflected in the work of the architects profiled tin this book.
