A variety of resources related to Japanese and Japan are available on the Internet. To make it easier to access useful resources, Institute staff have carefully reviewed a select list of websites and organized them by category. To use this virtual library of websites, please click on the pop-up menu bar in the top panel. Click on the category you are interested in and then click on the "Select" button. A list of related websites will be displayed in the panel to the left. When you find a website that interests you, click on the name to display the review in this panel. If you wish to visit the actual site, click on the hyperlinked URL (site address) at the bottom of the review. A new browser window will appear over top of ITJ to display the website. To return to ITJ, please click on this window that should still be visible beneath the new website's window. We hope that you find this resource useful. Suggestions for improving the Virtual Library of Web Resources should be sent to: librarian@itj.org If you know of websites that are not listed here, we would greatly appreciate it if you would submit these references to the ITJ librarian by completing the brief resource suggestion form.
This archive is maintained by Jim Breen (jwb@dgs.monash.edu.au) as a repository of files and software related to Japan, its people and particularly the Japanese language. From this site you can download a variety of dictionary files from the following categories:
Japanese/English electronic dictionary project;
A Variety of other Japanese and Translated Articles.
To visit this site click on the address below.
http://www-personal.monash.edu.au/pub/nihongo/00INDEX.html
Guide to Japanese ComputingThis site, which is maintained by staff at the University of Washington, contains a list of software for Japanese language and culture educators.
Professor Kazumi Hatasa teaches Japanese at Purdue University and is in much demand as a technology trainer for teachers of Japanese. This site contains free software and other information to help teachers of Japanese better use technology in their work. This site includes the following categories of information and software:
This is part of a larger website that provides clear instructions for configuring Netscape Navigator so that it can view Japanese language scripts. These instructions are only for people who are using Apple Macintosh computers and who have installed the Japanese language software kit.
Professor Miyagawa, the developer of JP Net teaches Japanese at MIT. This website contains much useful information regarding "hot" software for teachers of Japanese, as well as information about other aspects of teaching Japanese, especially in the New England Region. The JP NET project seeks to build a clearinghouse for tools, services and information for Japanese Language and Culture educators and students world-wide.
This site, only available in Japanese, explains all of the functions available under Eudora-J, a means of sending e-mail in Japanese.
The growth of Japan-specific information available through the Internet over the past several years is staggering. High-quality resources are now readily available from text-based newsgroups to multimedia web offerings. This Website offers some highlights of Japan-related information, rather than a comprehensive view. This site includes great material for students' background reading on several topics related to Japan. It also provides an excellent collection of current events information covering a wide scope of subject matter.
Also, this site contains very useful budget travel tips, just in case you have an exchange program in the works.
This might be the mother lode of "links" to other Japan-related sites, including a site that lists the top 500 sites with information about Japan. If teachers or any of their students want to find useful research material or visual aid "riches," this is where you want to explore.
NHK sponsors this site which offers a good course in simple conversational Japanese. Could be used for pronunciation drills and might be very helpful for students interested in a program of self-directed study.
Be forewarned - it's not free, it costs 9,500 yen, or approximately $75.
This is just one of several links to an outstanding website designed by the Council on East Asian Libraries. Maps are usually always interesting to students but this site is listed because it connects you to a variety of terrific realia from contemporary Japan.
Like the title reads, this site is for those who not only have the technology to surf the net in Japanese, but also those who, can read kanji! The Asahi Shimbun is one of Japan's three most widely-read daily newspapers and is often described as the most prestigious of the three major dailies. Great graphics, and faithfully updated current events information. Hot link to the "English users" page exists, so it might be interesting to switch back and forth between sites to self-test kanji knowledge.
Weekly carrying brief news about Tokyo life and plenty of announcements (for rent, personal, restaurant, language lessons, etc.). Quite popular with Tokyo crowd albeit mostly non-Japanese. While interesting for the adult viewer, some areas might not be appropriate for young eyes - the personals and ads for bar hostesses. There is no immediate application for students it would be more useful to the college graduate or adult visitor to Japan who is intending to stay for several months. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://www.Tokyo classified.com
Japan WeeklyPublished by the Kyodo News Service. Topics change each week and focus on what is happenings in Japan and include many news photos. All articles are in English and the site is fairly easy to navigate. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/cgi-bin/kwsWeekly
Japan EchoThis is the electronic version of the popular news magazine featuring articles that can be viewed in English, Spanish, or French. It has a great index. The articles are translations of essays by commentators in Japan. Several of the articles might be of interest to students. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://www.smn.co.jp/TEXT/index.html
Tokyo KaleidoscoopThis site contains some personal homepages from people in Japan and these may be a bit racy at times. This site also provides information on Japan by linking to Kyoko, Yomiuri, Nihon Keizai, and Japan Echo. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://www.smn.co.jp/TEXT/index.html
Kyodo NewsThis site contains some personal homepages from people in Japan and these may be a bit racy at times. This site also provides information on Japan by linking to Kyoko, Yomiuri, Nihon Keizai, and Japan Echo. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://home.kyodo.co.jp/
The Nikkei WeeklyThis is the electronic version of this business news weekly. It primarily focuses on the economy of Japan and includes coverage of other Asian economies as well.. To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://www.nikkei.co.jp/enews/
Asahi Shimbun in EnglishOne of Japan's three most widely read daily newspapers, often described as the most prestigious of the three major dailies. Great graphics, and faithfully updated current events information. Hot link to the "Japanese users" page exists, so it might be interesting to switch back and forth between sites to self-test kanji knowledge.
One of Japan's three most widely-read daily newspapers. Graphics are not as upscale as the Asahi Shimbun site, but the current events information is excellent. Sports coverage is slanted favorably towards the Yomiuri Giants, unfortunately. Hot link to the "Japanese users" page exists, so it might be interesting to switch back and forth between sites to self-test kanji knowledge.
One of Japan's three most widely-read daily newspapers. Graphics are more aesthetically pleasing than the Yomiuri site in English, and the current events information is excellent. It is not clear to what extent the Yomiuri American differs from its Japan-based and Japan-published "sibling." In Japanese, of course.
A very popular Japanese daily, read by many English speakers who live, work and travel in Japan. Excellently-archived, which makes it a powerful research source. Up-to-date current events information, well-organized.
Your students will really enjoy learning about Japan with this site.
A Communicative Framework for Introductory Japanese Language Curricula This Washington State-led curriculum design initiative is more commonly called the "Washington State Guidelines." In their own words, the site contains information that "has emerged out of a collaborative project to assist teachers and administrators in Washington State in the design and implementation of local curricula for Japanese language in high schools. Its primary objectives are to establish standards, and set directions, for communication-oriented instruction by defining a set of principled, reasonably-achievable outcomes, and to aid teachers by providing a framework for course design, textbook and materials selection, and lesson planning; and school boards, principals and other administrators in planning for, supervising, and supporting Japanese language instruction."
Popularly known as the "Oregon Benchmarks," this site contains an educational design which was driven largely be an Oregon State legislature mandate, to be used primarily by precollegiate Japanese language programs in the state of Oregon. In the words of the crafters of the project, " This project aspires to be a model for cooperative statewide ventures between college and pre-college level teachers and administrators. At the heart of Oregon's educational reform are proficiency-based performance standards. Our job as educators -- and the central goal of the Project -- is to bring as many students as possible up to and beyond these standards in Japanese."
This site is linked to MIT's massive "JP Net," and is located in the JP Net Articles Index. This site is an essay written by Professor Shigeru Miyagawa and offers a thoughtful and well-supported perspective on the "ownership" of the Japanese Language Curriculum.
This site is linked to MIT's massive "JP Net" website. Here, you will find a fully-detailed curriculum, class schedules, reading and writing materials, quiz review materials, and kana and kanji study materials. Be aware that some of the materials are only accessible to MIT students and faculty only. Nonetheless, this site may provide materials that would contribute to your curriculum design efforts.
This site is, as of 4/23/97, only available in Japanese. An English-based site is under construction. Kinokuniya is a Japanese bookstore with an excellent selection of books available in a wide variety of languages. The subject matter covers a wide range of topics and they have an extensive selection of books and materials for language and culture teaching and learning.
This publisher's site contains wonderful realia. It's "E-zines" section contains realia (in Japanese!) that will be of particular interest to high school and middle school students, a veritable "Teen Beat" section.
In addition, the latest in current publications are available.
Kodansha is one of Japan's largest publishers, both of books and magazines. Founded in 1909 with a magazine for public speakers, the company now publishes a total of 56 weekly and monthly magazines, ranging from comics to general interest magazines for people of all ages. As for books, Kodansha sold over 95.2 million books in fiscal year 1993, and in the same year it published 2,579 new titles.
In their own words, "Sasuga Japanese Bookstore is a specialty bookstore that features Japanese books, magazines, manga, software, compact discs, and books about Japan in English. If you need a publication from Japan, you can get it from Sasuga. Sasuga is the first and only Japanese bookstore in New England, and the newest Japanese bookstore in the U.S. We are not part of a big Japanese bookstore chain - but we have access to almost any book or magazine published in Japan. We also have an extensive catalog of Japanese language learning materials, dictionaries, and books about Japan in English - contact us for a free copy or check it out here on our WWW page."
Established in 1964 to further international exchange through tourism, the Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO) has since involved itself in a broad range of promoting tourist traffic to Japan through various activities overseas and tourism promotion activities in Japan. If you are planning a study tour of Japan, or are simply interested in a long-awaited vacation there, this is a great place to start getting organized.
At Kansai Gaidai University in Japan, the Asian Studies Program has hosted hundreds of exchange students who live with Japanese homestay families. This web site is designed to help these students adjust to day-to-day living with a Japanese family. It has useful advice and your students should find it very interesting. Who knows? Someday your students will, hopefully, be staying with a Japanese family, too!
Written by Eri Inokuma and illustrated by Kunio Numbe, this site fully describes, step-by-step, how to take advantages of one of Japan's greatest pleasures&emdash;the sento, or the public bath. We hope you'll appreciate the detailed description of each step involved and the cultural context provided for those steps. If you or your students are "stressing out," this site might soothe those tensions.
This site contains information on the following commonly-taught Japanese culture topics: bunraku, Ikebana, kabuki, kimono, No plays, rakugo, sato, setomono, shamisen, shodo, sumo, and zen!
Beautiful color photographs adorn each page.
Duke University's Library opens it doors to a wealth of wide-ranging resources on Japanese culture. Including several journals, as well as monthly and weekly publications. Manga and anime. Opinion pieces. Men's and women's publications. Works on mass media, advertising and film.
This site might not have it all, but it will point you in the right direction.
The mother of all Japanese culture sites! The University of Oregon appears to be behind the design of this site. Its table of contents is incredibly deep and broad, covering topics from Buddhism to the environment, to education, to gender issues, to history, to literature to the military and...you get the idea? Check this place out!
The result of a joint research project involving Stanford University and NTT, this site is operated by NTT and contains a wealth of information on Japanese culture. Check out the hot link to a "Kid's Network," which should be of interest to most elementary school students as well as some middle school students.
Terrific for teachers and students. Not exclusive to Japan, of course, but this site gives good information about Japan while placing it within a broader Asian context.
Its contents are divided into four sections: Information & News, For Educators (a lesson search is available!), Adult-Free Zone (with activities for kids and an E-pals section), and Gateway to Asia. Well worth a visit!
A very good site about Asian culture. Goes beyond a focus on Japan, although its data on Japanese culture is quite good. Good particularly for those who want broader regional information.
The University of Pittsburgh appears to be the designer of this incredibly extensive list of Japan-related sites. Of particular interest will be the categories pertaining to study-in-Japan opportunities and language. You will also find extensive selections on magazines, mass media, and culture. The list goes on and on.
This site will be useful for people interested in learning more about foundations that support educational exchange and cross-cultural learning. The Japan Foundation is one of the strongest supporters of Japan-U.S. educational programming. "The purposes of the Kokusai Koryu Kikin, the Japan Foundation, are to efficiently carry on activities for international cultural exchange and thereby to contribute to the enhancement of world culture and the welfare of mankind, with a view to deepening other nations' understanding of Japan, promoting better mutual understanding among nations, and encouraging friendship and goodwill among the peoples of the world."
The Japan Foundation & Language Center's website includes five main sections as well as including information about the Foundation's grants programs. The sections are: 1)Arts & Culture; 2) Japanese Language; 3) Nihongo Library; 4) Directory and Information; and 5) the Newsletter.
To visit this site, click on the address below.
http://www.jflalc.org
The Center for Global Partnership (CGP), is a branch of the Japan Foundation supportive of grassroots exchange programs between (largely) the United States and Japan. For example, it has funded the Japanese Language Exchange (JALEX) program since 1992. It is a program that has reached, conservatively speaking, 22,000 American students of Japanese language and culture in over one-hundred school sites in 22 states.
As the title suggests, this organization is devoted to an examination of Japan's trade with other nations. The motto of the site is "Building International Partnerships." Of particular interest to teachers and students will be the "Business Japanese" section, devoted to the study of business jargon. Excellent data for the economically-minded teachers and students. The site also includes a very informative site on APEC.
The Gaimusho's home page contains useful and fun (yes, fun!) information. For those who are skeptical about the possibility of fun being found on any branch of the government's home page, check out the 1998 Olympics site. The site is beautifully designed and check out the snow flower logo, with the theme "from around the world to flower as one." Also, this site reports important foreign ministry-related developments, like the resolution of the Peru hostage crisis, and forecasts fascinating future developments, like the Expo 2005 to be held in Aichi prefecture.
US-Japan Links: A National Electronic Network of Japan-America Societies Did you know there are 34 Japan-America Societies across the United States? If you want to find out where they are and what they are doing, this is the site for you. The organization located closest to you can provide outstanding support for your Japanese language and culture program at your school and community.
This site is cool! It is well-designed, young people love it, and it's sure to be a success with younger students and for all who are young at heart. If awards from several organizations are any indication, this is one of the world's best sites for young people. A semi-finalist in the 1996 NII awards, a Magellan three star site, recognized as on of the top 5% of all web sites by the Point organization, and the list goes on!
Unlike the "Japan Window: Just for Kids" web page, this site is designed, for the most part, for elementary aged students. A very good site for younger students who are just beginning to learn about Japan.
To visit NikoNiko Net, click on the address below.
http://www-japan.mit.edu/nikoniko/