''Monumenta Nipponica'' is a semi-annual

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

Japanese studies , sometimes known as 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 Japanese language, history, culture, litera ...

. 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, Asian ...

, 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 generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

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 an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. 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. ...

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

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 novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

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

, 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. 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 of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994. Originally containing digitized back issues of academic journals, it now encompasses books and other primary source ...

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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

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. 73:1–77:2 (2018–2023)—Bettina Gramlich-Oka * Vols. 78:1–78:2 (2023)—Angela Yiu * Vols. 79:1– (2024–present)—Edward R. Drott

References

External links

*
Monumenta Nipponica on Project MUSEMonumenta Nipponica on JSTORMonumenta Nipponica 80th Anniversary Symposium on YouTube
* {{Authority control Japanese studies journals Academic journals 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