FAH 12– Arts of Japan (Pre-Buddhist Times to the Meiji Restoration)
Professor Ikumi Kaminish, Fall 2006

Library Research Sources and Strategies
Prepared by Chao Chen, Reference Librarian at Tisch Library
617-627-2057 or chao.chen@tufts.edu

1. Cultural, Social and Historical Backgrounds
Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan. (Ref. DS 805 .K633 1983)

2. Art Traditions
Grove Art Online (The seminal source for art—the online equivalent of the 34 volumes of the print The Dictionary of Art  and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, plus updates since the print version.)
                 See, as an example, the entry on Japan.

Japanese art in detail N7350 .R44 2005
Arts of Japan [serial]. Translation of: Nihon bijutsu. Tokyo ; New York : Kondansha International, 2003. N7350 .N63913 2003
     Contents v.1. Ancient and medieval.--v.2. Late medieval to modern.

Japanese Painting ND1050 .A413 1977
      Selected bibliography of books and articles on Japanese painting in Western languages.
The Art and Architecture of Japan N7350 .P3 1981

Handbook of Japanese Art N7350 .T73 1976)
Oriental Art: A Handbook of Styles and Forms N7260 .G6713 1980
Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography Ref. BQ4620 .L65 1999
Reading Buddhist art: an illustrated guide to Buddhist signs and symbols N8193 .M39 2002

Ukiyo-e: an introduction to Japanese woodblock prints N7353.5 .K616 1992
Hokusai and his age: ukiyo-e painting, printmaking and book illustration in late Edo Japan N7359.K37 H65 2005
Japanese Woodblock Prints: A Bibliography of Writings from 1822-1992 NE1321.8 .W42
Images from the Floating World: The Japanese Print, Including an Illustrated Dictionary of Ukiyo-e NE1321.8 .L36 1978

2. Critical Biographies
Grove Dictionary of Art [online]
        See a sample search on Ando Hiroshige. (Click on Image Links on the top menu bar to get images of works by the artist.)

A Dictionary of Japanese Artists : Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints, Lacquer (Ref. Ref N7358 .R6)
Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. (Ref. Ref N 7358 .B55 1981)

In addition to the Tufts Library Catalog, WorldCat may be used to find books and other publications beyond Tufts.
        A sample Advanced Keyword Search on foreign influences in Japanese art

Primary Database for Art and Art History
Art Abstracts 1984- .      Search examples.

Primary Database for Asian Studies
Bibliography of Asian Studies   Search examples
An index of Western-language articles, monographs, and book chapters published since 1971.

2. Additional Databases:
Arts and Humanities
Expanded Academic ASAP  

Bibliography of the History of Art 1973-

ARTBibliographies Modern 1974-
The scope extends from artists and movements beginning with Impressionism in the late 19th century, up to the most recent works and trends in the late 20th century. A particular emphasis is placed upon adding new and lesser-known artists and on the coverage of foreign-language literature.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals  1934 -

Essay and General Literature Index 1985-    

Arts & Humanities Citation Index. 1974- (Part of Web of Science.)
Use this database to find references cited by the article you have in hand and those who have cited your article as well.

Quick starting points (not comprehensive):
Google Scholar   Search examples

Project Muse and JSTOR,       Search examples.
These are two digital collections of core journals in many disciplines. While Project Muse offers more recent issues, JSTOR has more earlier issues. There are some overlap of journals covered in both collections.

For a comprehensive research, use as many sources as you need—sources listed in this guide and beyond.

How to find the full text?

Part II: Guides on Writing about Art
A short guide to writing about art ( Reserves: N7476 .B37 2005)
The art of writing about art (oversize:  N7475 .H83 2002)

Sample Searches