The

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

Japanese Text Initiative (JTI) is a project intended to provide a comprehensive

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" o ...

database of Japanese literary texts. Sponsored by the University of Virginia and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

East Asian Library, the online collection contains over 300 texts from Japan's pre-modern and modern periods (generally defined as before and after the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

of 1868). Pre-modern texts include the '' Man'yōshū'', the ''

Tale of Genji Tale may refer to: * Narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, ...

'', the ''

Kokin Wakashū The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the '' waka'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian period. An imperial anthology, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son Emperor Daigo () in abo ...

'', and the ''

Hōjōki , variously translated as ''An Account of My Hut'' or ''The Ten Foot Square Hut'', is an important and popular short work of the early Kamakura period (1185–1333) in Japan by Kamo no Chōmei. Written in March 1212, the work depicts the Buddhist ...

''. Modern texts include works by

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', ''Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, poet and father of famed author Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German la ...

, and Akutagawa Ryūnosuke. The stated aim of the initiative is "In the short term... to put online most or all of th
Twenty Classical Works
in J. Thomas Rimer's ''A Reader's Guide to Japanese Literature'', revised edition (New York: Kodansha, 1999)". The aim is also to add pre-20th century literature and as much 20th century literature as copyright restrictions will allow. The database is still a work in progress, and it is not completely comprehensive; generally, the later in time one goes, the fewer works are featured. There are relatively few Edo-period pieces, and some Meiji and Taishō period authors are either absent, or not all of their works are available. As of October 2014, the last update was in March 2004. The database can be browsed either by author or by title, and includes a search function which, among other things, can be used to search for specific or phrases occurring in the works available.

References

"Scope and Goals"

External links

{{University of Pittsburgh Japanese studies University of Virginia University of Pittsburgh Japanese literature websites