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Japanese Studies

An introduction to Japanese Studies resources available from UMSL Libraries.

Japanese Studies. Image of a bridge over a river surrounded by cherry trees.


Header image: Koganeibashi no sekishō (1938) by Hiroshige Andō

 

Welcome! This guide offers an introduction to Japanese Studies resources at UMSL Libraries and on the web. You will find help with:

  • Background information
  • Searching Discover@UMSL for scholarly books & articles
  • Choosing & navigating library databases
  • Introductory information for special topics
  • Citing sources

...and more.


Questions?

Please contact the arts & humanities librarian. We also welcome purchase suggestions from UMSL affiliates for Japanese Studies materials.

Quick Resources

What's New?

Japanese Yokai and Other Supernatural Beings

The striking visual examples in this book are drawn from the rich canon of early Japanese prints, books, and paintings--sourced from leading museums, libraries and private collections worldwide. They show the "original" forms and appearances of the creatures which form the basis for all subsequent depictions.

Imperial Japan on Screen, 1931-2022

This book deals with film depictions of Imperial Japan from the time it was a totalitarian power to the productions of recent years. It especially covers wartime depictions, as well as the historical events that inspire the stories behind these productions.

Double Visions, Double Fictions

Analyzes the myriad manifestations of the doppelgänger in Japanese literary and cinematic texts at two historical junctures: the interwar period of the 1920s and 1930s and the present day.

Asians on Demand

While the past decade has witnessed a push for increased diversity in visual media, Asians on Demand grapples with the pressing question of whether representation is enough to advance racial justice. Surveying a contemporary, cutting-edge archive of video works from the Asian diaspora in North America, Europe, and East Asia, this book uncovers the ways that diasporic artists challenge the narrow--and damaging--conceptions of Asian identity pervading mainstream media.

Oishii

Sushi and sashimi are by now a global sensation and have become perhaps the best known of Japanese foods—but they are also the most widely misunderstood. Oishii: The History of Sushi reveals that sushi began as a fermented food with a sour taste, used as a means to preserve fish. This book, the first history of sushi in English, traces sushi's development from China to Japan and then internationally, and from street food to high-class cuisine.