Japanese Art and Anime

by Chao Chen, Humanities Reference Librarian

email chao.chen@tufts.edu | phone 617.627.2057 | home icon Homepage

Chao Chen


Preparations for Research

A. Sources for research ideas:
You may get inspiration to research a topic from many sources, including the following

  • 1. Professor’s suggestions; Course Syllabus
  • 2. Textbooks on Course Reserves.
  • 3. Bibliographies found in the above readings;
  • 4. Other sources that inspire or interest you.

B. Survey the sources—list, from the above sources, terms, concepts, and topics you need or want to explore further:
(Be mindful if a line of inquiry might suggest itself.)

  • Authors, titles (of books and articles) and ideas from the above.
  • Terms, concepts, methods/approaches/theories you need or want to explore further.
  • Artists, art works, an art historian’s analysis of a "problem", and so on
  • The above overlap and relate to each other; state these relationships when you identify them.
 

If you prefer to start with the visuals to help frame your research; try these sources:


JSTOR (a collection of journals with omission of the current years)

Click on the Images in JStor Tab to view images within the journal articles. (The ARTStor Images Tab is not the same as searching ARTstor separately.)

ARTstor (the digital images database)



Three key topics in the course:

1. Japanese Pictorial Traditions.

2. Japanese Anime/Manga and

3. Various cultural and social themes reflected in Japanese Visual Culture, particularly in the above-two forms and in their relationship.

1. Oxford Art Online

Includes "Grove Art Online"—the online equivalent of the 34 volumes of the print version of The Dictionary of Art, plus updates since the print version.)


2. Oxford Reference Online

Art and Architecture; social, political, religious history; history of ideas; all periods.

Search Oxford Reference Online

3. Textbooks on Course Reserves.

4. International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers

 

Some More Titles

Japan Style. N7350 .C25 2007. book cover

This book offers a thorough examination of Japanese style, covering its architecture, arts, crafts, cinema and literature, ranging from Ukiyo-e to Tadao Ando. Illustrated with over 150 images, both traditional and contemporary.

Warriors of Art: a Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists. N7355 .Y355 2007

Japanese Art in Detail.N7350 .R44 2005

History of Japanese Art. N7350 .M26 2005

How to Look at Japanese Art. N7350 .A375 1996

Anime: a Guide to Japanese Animation, 1958-1988. Ref. NC1766.J3 B37 2000

The Anime Movie Guide. NC1766.J3 M33 1997


 

book cover

Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime. NC1764.5.J3 J37 2008.

This volume brings together an international group of scholars from many specialties to probe the richness and subtleties of these deceptively simple cultural forms. The contributors explore the historical, cultural, sociological, and religious dimensions of manga and anime, and examine specific sub-genres, artists, and stylistics. (Publisher)

book cover

Manga from the Floating World: Comicbook Culture and the kibyoshi of Edo Japan. PL747.4 .K46 2006

Based on extensive research using primary sources in their original Edo editions, the volume is copiously illustrated with rare prints from Japanese archival collections. It serves as an introduction not only to the kibyôshi but also to the genre's readers and critics, narratological conventions, modes of visuality, format, and relationship to the modern Japanese comicbook (manga) and to the popular literature and wit of Edo. Filled with graphic puns and caricatures, these entertaining works will appeal to the general reader as well as to the more experienced student of Japanese cultural history. (publisher)

Traditional Japanese Prints:

Traditional Woodblock Prints of Japan (ukiyoe) NE1310 .T2913

A Guide to Japanese Prints and Their Subject Matter (Color prints, Edo period). NE1321.8 .S74 1979b

Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print, Including an Illustrated Dictionary of Ukiyo-e. NE1321.8 .L36 1978

Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Bibliography of Writings from 1822-1992. NE1321.8 .W42


arrow Readings on Course Reserves.



arrow WorldCat (catalogs of libraries worldwide)



Procedure Note:

1. Verify if Tufts Library has the book you need.

2. Use ILliad (interlibrary loan service) to request non-Tufts books.


Recommended


A Survival Guide for Art History Students
N385 .M37 2005		 Look!: the Fundamentals of Art History
N345 .D26 2006
book cover book cover
A Short Guide to Writing about Art.
N7476 .B37 2008		 A Shorot Guide to Writing about Film.
PN1995 .C66 2010
book cover book cover

Path of Discovery in the Catalogs

1. Find a title/author (assigned readings/Course Reserves);

2. Note the descriptive language of the Catalog record.

3. Use that language in further searches

  1. e.g. Click on subject/author in the record to see further results and related topics.
Title Japanese Visual Culture: Explorations in the World of Manga and Anime / edited by Mark W. MacWilliams; foreword by Frederik L. Schodt.
Publisher Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, c2008. NC1764.5.J3 J37 2008
Contents Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, c2008. NC1764.5.J3 J37 2008
Subject Comic books, strips, etc. -- Japan.
Comic books, strips, etc. -- Japan -- History and criticism..
Animated films -- Japan -- History and criticism.

Search for Artists, anime masters, etc.

Subject browse (by last name)

Katsushika, Hokusai

Isozaki Arata

Miyazaki, Hayao


Keyword search

Hayao Miyazaki

Use exhibition catalogue for critical essays by scholars; search for more of their works in journals.

Title Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan: Celebrating Fifty Years of the Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition / edited by Nicole Rousmaniere.
Contents Preface / Kaneko Kenji -- Continuity and change: understanding Japanese art crafts in context / Nicole Rousmaniere -- The Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition: its history and spirit / Uchiyama Takeo -- The catalogue -- Ceramics -- Textiles -- Lacquer -- Metal -- Wood and bamboo -- Other crafts: dolls, cut metal foil, glass -- Craft heritage -- Craft techniques.
Subject Decorative arts -- Japan -- History -- 1868- -- Exhibitions.
  Handicraft -- Japan -- Exhibitions.
Folk art -- Japan -- Exhibitions.
Art objects, Japanese -- Exhibitions.

Perform a Keyword Search for a broader question related to your artist/art works:

(anime or manga) and cultur**

Subject browse:

Popular Culture, Japan



Note:

  • 1. include "and" in between keywords;
  • 2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;
  • 3. cultur* for all forms: culture, cultural, culturally, etc.

1. ARTbibliographies Modern

2.

JSTOR (with omission of the current years)
Project Muse (with current years only)


3.

Bibliography of Asian Studies


4.

Film & Television Literature Index

Academic OneFile (all subjects)


Additional Database

  1. Art Abstracts
  2. Arts & Humanities Citation Index

Click on the number to pause the slide.

Some Database Charateristics


Each Database is selective

arrow Subject Matter—disciplinary perspective, period, geographical region, and more;
arrow Scope
arrow Depth (of indexing) —citation, abstracts, full texts, which determines their search capabilities.



Strategy in Selecting a Database


arrow First, run a relatively broad search in them to assess their relevance on a topic;
arrow Next, try out a variety of keyword, subject, and author searches in a chosen database.
arrow Last, use newly learned ideas and words in other databases.

Range of Keywords—Scope of a Research Question


1. Try a general search with simply the artist name, and/or the artist and a related theme:

  1. Hiroshige Ando
  2. Hiroshige and ("floating world" or ukiyoe)

2. Examine the general search results to discover possible new directions such as

  1. Western, European, French, (regional influences),
  2. woodblock prints, paintings (medium),
  3. "floating world", ukiyoe (style or theme).
  4. and so on

About JSTOR

1. JSTOR provides images in the articles, information which is not conveyed in text alone;

2. Likely to include seminal works on a subject, which are highly original and influential, and central to the development or understanding of a subject.

3. Make sure to supplement with more up-to-date information from other sources when using JSTOR.

Click to browse some major journals in the field:

journal cover journal cover journal cover

Evaluation of Search Results:

In what types of journals and publications (besides art history journals) did you find relevant work? What does this suggest about research on your topic?

What sorts of audiences seem to be addressed in works on your topic? How can you tell? 

What aspects of the search results surprised you? Why? Did “peripheral materials” lead you anywhere? How?

Based on your search, how would you characterize the main approaches to your topic? What do you think are some of the central debates in the study of your topic? What is your evidence for thinking so?

Review of Recent Books

Review articles of any recent books on a subject are likely to summarize the current state of research in an area.

A sample search in Project Muse

(manga or anime ) and japan*; limited to "reviews only"


Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. japan* searches for or all forms: japan, japanese, etc.

Sample search results:

Manga from the Floating Word: Comicbook Culture and the Kibyōshi of Edo Japan (review). The Journal of Japanese Studies, Summer 2009.

The Japanization of Modernity: Murakami Haruki between Japan and the United States (review). Monumenta Nipponica, Spring 2009.

Find Authors Who Have Recently Cited an Article

1. Not every single article is cited;
2. Influential authors are cited more often;
3. More recent publications take time to be cited.

Therefore, search for seminal works by influential scholars and find out who cited them recently.

Those who cited the article found in Arts & Humanities Citation Index:

Title: Lost and 'Found' - Once More Fallen Woman.
Author(s): Nochlin, L.
Source: Art Bulletin Vol. 60 issue 1, 1978
Times Cited: 14

Read a Couple of Articles Carefully and Identify:

  • the "problem" addressed (the thesis of the article);
  • the central debates on this problem;
  • the major arguments by the author;
  • the methods applied in making these arguments;
  • the evidence (e.g., visual/formal details, original documents, or secondary sources);
  • if the conclusions are based on speculations, are they convincing?

Throughout your reading:

  • Compare and contrast methods by authors: key points of difference or convergence
  • Note controversies and weaknesses; explain and clarify gaps
  • How about the presentation, logic and clarity of the article?
  • State your own positions; provide your own interpretations and critiques

Finding Full Texts

1. Click on the FindItAtTufts button to these three options:

  • a. link to the full text of the article when available digitally;
  • b. link to a Library Catalog search for the journal in print that contains your article.
  • c. link to ILliad for requesting the article when the above two options are negative.

2. Search for a journal directly here:


Current (United States and International)

  1. LexisNexis Academic
  2. Factiva
  3. Massachusetts Newsstand 

Ethnic, Altenative and Independent Press

  1. Alt-PressWatch    
  2. Ethnic NewsWatch  from 1990 -
  3. Ethnic NewsWatch: A History  1960 -  1989

Historical

  1. American Periodicals (1740 - 1900)
  2. The Nation Digital Archive (1865 - present)
  3. Time Magazine (1923-Present)
  4. New York Times Online Archive
    (1851 - 3 years before current date)
  5. African American Newspapers - 19th Century  
  6. American Newspapers (1690 - 1922)
  7. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
  1. 17th and 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers (British)
  2. 19th Century British Newspapers
  3. British Periodicals (1680s - 1930s)
  4. Times Digital Archive (1785 - 1985)

 


Factiva includes content in over 22 languages from over 150 countries and 350 geographic regions.


 


In print:

Books and journals with color plates, photographs, and other visuals are excellent sources.

 

An Advanced Keyword search; limit to print materials, in the Tufts Catalog:

edo and (paint* or print*) and (catalog* or exhibition*)

Note:

1. include "and" in between keywords;

2. "or" and ( ) to nest related/varied expressions;

3. paint* searches for or all forms: paint, paintings, painters, etc.


 

Digital Images


JSTOR (a collection of journals with omission of the current years)

Click on the Images in JStor Tab to view images within the journal articles. (The ARTStor Images Tab is not the same as searching ARTstor separately.)

ARTstor (the digital images database)

Artifact (Tufts University)

 


Using the Chicago Manual of Style:

The Manual presents two basic documentation systems, the humanities style (notes and bibliography) and the author-date system.


Consult Chicago Manual of Style Online for detailed guidance.


Print copy at the Reference Desk: Z253 .U69 2003


Brief samples (the humanities style):

Book Citation in a bibliography:

Steiner, Hadas A. Beyond Archigram: the structure of circulation. New York: Routledge, 2009.


Book Citation in a note:

Fernando Luiz Lara, The rise of popular modernist architecture in Brazil (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, c2008), 35.


Article citation in a bibliography:

Wright, Gwendolyn. "Cultural History: Europeans, Americans, and the Meanings of Space." The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 64, no. 4 (2005), 436-440.


Article citation in a note:

Ralph E. Griswold, "Wright Was Wrong," Landscape Architecture 53 (April 1963), 190-214.

 

Citation Management Tool: RefWorks

  • 1. Store your records of books, articles, etc.
  • 2. Generate a bibliography in the style of your choice.
  • 3. Format in-text notes/footnotes while you write.

Learn how to use RefWorks
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last updated: 24/07/09