HIST T335 Modern Japan 

When conducting historical research:

FIRST. Use specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, and textbooks to identify who, what, when, where, how and why.

SECOND. Use the references cited at the end of chapters or articles in textbooks, specialized encyclopedias, handbooks, and guides, and specialized bibliographies to identify the core scholarly research on your topic or research problem.

THIRD. Use databases and indexes to update core scholarly research with current scholarly material.

FOURTH. Identify and obtain as much primary source material as possible. A primary source documents first-hand accounts or first recordings of events. The historian using a number of such primary sources produces a secondary source. Examples of primary source materials include letters, diaries, memoirs, speeches, contemporaneous newspaper accounts, government documents, statistics, photographs, etc. Consult the History librarian for help in locating primary source materials.

History

Cambridge History of Japan, vol. 4: Early Modern Japan and vol. 6 The Twentieth Century (DS835 .C36 1988) Provides in-depth articles and extensive bibliographies on Japanese history.

Country Study: Japan An in-depth analysis of Japanese history, politics, economy, religion, social life, and customs published in 1994.

Encyclopedia of Asian History, 4 vols. (Reference DS31 .E53 1988) Provides short articles with bibliographic references.

Japan Encyclopedia (Reference DS821 .F73 2002) Provides short entries on Japanese history and culture.

Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, 9 vols. (Reference DS805 .K33 1983) This is the most comprehensive and scholarly encyclopedia on Japan. Provides extensive articles and bibliographic references.

Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism (Reference DS805 .M63 1998) Provides short entries that include at least one bibliographic reference.

Politics and Government

Dictionary of the Modern Politics of Japan (Reference JQ1605 .S86 2003) Provides short entries with an extensive bibliography for further reading.

Japan Handbook (Reference HC462.9 .J3195 1998) Covers Japanese economy, politics, culture, and international relations since 1945.

Social Life and Customs

Countries and Their Cultures, 4 vols. (Reference GN307 .C68 2001) Provides long articles with bibliographic references.

Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2 vols. (Reference BQ128 .E62 2004) This encyclopedia describes the Buddhist world view, basic teachings and practices of Buddhism, as well as its different schools and sects. In addition to containing entries on Buddhist scriptures, art, architecture, divinities, monastic orders, festivals, rites and ceremonies, this set explores the history of Buddhism, the different forms it has taken in different parts of the world, and how Buddhism has blended with other religions like Shinto, Confucianism, Daoism, Islam, and Christianity.

Encyclopedia of Religion, 15 vols. (Reference BL31 .E46 2005)  This is the most comprehensive and scholarly encyclopedia of all religions.

Encyclopedia of World Cultures, 10 vols. (Reference GN307 .E53 1991) This reference set lists and describes more than 1,500 global cultures. Based on research of social scientists, it is the source for historical, social, political, economic, linguistic, religious, and other information on virtually every existing culture.

Handbook of Japanese Mythology (Reference BL2203 .A86 2003) Brief entries include references to further reading.

Human Rights and the World's Major Religions, Volume 5: The Buddhist Tradition (Reference BL65.H78 H8595 2004) Chapter 10 covers Japanese Buddhism, Militarism and Human Rights.

Using IUCAT Catalog (Indiana University's online library catalog), you can locate more books in Helmke Library in either print or electronic format. Search by your social movement or event and select to search ALL IU libraries. If the result list is too large, add a keyword such as a key historical event or figure.

Suggested search strategies

Secondary materials search:
keywords anywhere: Hiroshima and war

Primary materials search:
keywords anywhere: japan
subject: sources

Academic Search Premier

• Millions of articles in more than 8,000 journals, with nearly 4,000 titles available full text
• Excellent for finding current articles in journals and magazines

JSTOR

• Find full text scholarly articles in journals
• Typically, coverage of a journal starts with its first issue and ends 2-7 years ago
• Remember to narrow by discipline and type of article to get fewer results

The type of primary source needed for your research depends on your chosen topic. Eyewitness accounts, autobiographies, contemporary literature and philosophy are all possibilities for primary sources.

In the First Person

• Indexes first person narratives from the 1550s to the present
• Includes letter entries, diary entries, and oral histories
• Select Places and then the country of interest

Times (London) Digital Archive 1785-1985

• The entire newspaper is digitally captured, with all articles, advertisements and illustrations/photos divided into categories to facilitate searching.
• Covers 1785 to 1985

Historical New York Times

• Cover-to-cover content includes news stories, editorials, photos, graphics, supplements, and advertisements.
• Covers 1857 to two years ago

Internet East Asian History Sourcebook

• Part of the Internet History Sourcebooks Project
• Public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly for educational use
• Covers Chinese and Japanese texts