Japanese scholarship is capable of producing important, original insights, although it is largely confined to publications in Japanese. Most scholars outside Japan who read Japanese are, of course, concerned primarily with Japanese studies. Therefore access to Japanese materials in Middle Eastern, African and other regional studies is difficult at best.
This bibliography is a bilingual classified (but not annotated) listing of Japanese scholarship concerning the Middle East. It will be of interest to scholars of Middle Eastern Studies in general. All items have been double checked with the famous Japanese attention to detail, and over 15,000 items of scholarship, more than 99% of which are available to researchers in publicly accessible libraries and research institutes in Japan have been included.
The organisation is topical, with major sections subdivided according to various criteria. Major sections include General Works, Religion and Thought ('Oriental' Philosophy being still considered 'thought' rather than 'philosophy' by the conservative dons of Japan's academic establishment), Law, Ecology and Geography, History, Politics and International Relations (Post-World War II), Economy and Industry (also Post-World War II), Languages and Literature, Science and Technology, the Arts, Folklore and Ethnology, Society and Sociology, Japan and the Middle East, and Academic Trends.
John E. Philips
© The author and Sudanic Africa. Archived 8.4.95