''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...

Japanese studies Japanese studies ( Japanese: ) or Japan studies (sometimes Japanology in Europe), is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japan ...

. Published by Sophia University (Tokyo), it is one of the oldest English-language academic journals in the field of

Asian studies Asian studies is the term used usually in North America and Australia for what in Europe is known as Oriental studies. The field is concerned with the Asian people, their cultures, languages, history and politics. Within the Asian sphere, Asia ...

, being founded in 1938. Although the journal originally published articles in several languages, such as French, German, Spanish, and Italian, the journal has been published solely in English since early 1963. A series of 75

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monogra ...

s were also published until 1986 under the ''Monumenta Nipponica'' name. A symposium was held at Sophia University on October 6, 2018 to commemorate the 80-year anniversary of ''Monumenta Nipponica’s'' founding. Videos of the symposium are available on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. In 2020, Sophia University published a special issue commemorating ''Monumenta Nipponica’s'' 80-year founding, showcasing the people who made the journal happen and noteworthy historical events.

Each issue contains two to three main research articles, and around twenty reviews of recent books in Japanese studies, dealing with Japanese

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

, art,

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, and related topics in Japanese and

. The journal occasionally publishes translations of Japanese-language works and English-language reviews of noteworthy books on Japanese studies that were published in other European languages, particularly German and French. In addition to the printed journal, ''Monumenta Nipponica’s'' content can be accessed via 3 websites. * The list of all the issues and the titles of the articles and other content can be found at its Sophia University home page. Each item has a link for easy access at the appropriate hosting site. * The most recent issue is available through

Project MUSE Project MUSE, a non-profit collaboration between libraries and publishers, is an online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books. Project MUSE contains digital humanities and social science content from over 250 univers ...

. They also host back issues starting with volume 60, which was published in 2005. * The majority of ''Monumenta Nipponica’s'' back issues, from 1938 up to 5 years before the most recent issue, are accessible through

JSTOR JSTOR (; short for ''Journal Storage'') is a digital library founded in 1995 in New York City. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary sources as well as current issues of j ...

Editors-in Chief

The following persons have been

editors-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Monumenta Nipponica'': * Vols. 1–6 (1938–1943)—Johannes B. Kraus (founder) * Vols. 7–16 (1951–1961)—Wilhelm Schiffer * Vols. 17–18 (1962–1963)—Wilhelm Schiffer, Francis Mathy * Vols. 19–23 (1964–1968)—Joseph Pittau * Vols. 24–25 (1969–1970)—Edmund R. Skrzypczak * Vols. 26–52:1 (1971–1997)—Michael Cooper * Vols. 52:2–65:1 (1997–2010)—Kate Wildman Nakai * Vols. 65:2–67:2 (2010–2012)—Mark R. Mullins * Vols. 68:1–69:2 (2013–2014)—Richard A. Gardner, Caroline Hirasawa * Vols. 70:1–70:2 (2015)—Richard A. Gardner, Bettina Gramlich-Oka * Vols. 71:1–72:2 (2016–2017)—Bettina Gramlich-Oka, Sven Saaler *Vols. 73:1– (2018–present)—Bettina Gramlich-Oka

References

External links

*
Monumenta Nipponica on Project MUSEMonumenta Nipponica on JSTORMonumenta Nipponica 80th Anniversary Symposium on YouTube
* {{Authority control Japanese studies journals Publications established in 1938 English-language journals Biannual journals Academic journals published by universities and colleges 1938 establishments in Japan

Contents

Editors-in Chief

References

Further reading

External links