From 2018, The Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties has been working on building the collaborative framework for an enhanced cooperative database, in consultation with international and domestic institutions. As a result, we released the online search portal, called “The Multi-database Search System for Historical Chinese Characters”, in October 2021.
The problem of agency is central to study human identity and personhood. The results of the present study show evidence that human agency could be considered through the linguistic agency even though it is rather difficult to equate social agency with grammatical agency.
The paper employs qualitative and quantitative analysis of parallel texts database to examine how high-agentive and low-agentive semantic roles are used to construct a hierarchy in Japanese language and culture in comparison with English and Russian.
The present study investigated the process of translating Japanese texts (expressions and words) in Japanese language classes or at University state exams into English and/or Bulgarian language by non-native English speakers - Sofia University Japanese studies BA students, and more precisely the actual recourses used for the process of translation.
This paper analyzes the extent to which students use open digital resources dedicated to the Japanese studies during the Japanese language learning and research activities and proposes an organized list of such resources.
When described in this paper, the digital resources are understood as an aggregate of software, information, technical, full-text electronic publications, including audio and video records, illustrations and catalogs of electronic libraries, recorded on the electronic storage media and/or posted on Internet websites, which are used for learning and research. No regulatory and teaching method materials are included.
Hikifuda are woodcut or lithograph prints that retailers and wholesalers, mercantile agencies, and other organisations in Japan of the Meiji era (1868–1912) used as advertising materials.
Japanese advertising leaflets in the RSAL collection represent an interesting, but still poorly studied layer of urban art in Japan at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries.
Seiashō is a text of karon ("on poetry") genre written by a famous poet Ton'a (1289–1372). Now it attracts the attention of researchers primarily by poetic legends placed in the sixth part of the work. The text discusses various problems associated with waka poetry, and cites a large number of waka.
In Edo period all major karon texts were published, but karon publications with illustrations are rare.
Beverley Art Gallery is based in the East Riding of Yorkshire, northern England. Its history is linked to Marcus Huish and British Japonism in the 19th century. As part of the official ‘Japan-UK Season of Culture 2020’, we planned an exhibition of Japanese arts to celebrate the Tokyo Olympics. The pandemic made this impossible – but instead of cancelling the exhibition, we developed an exciting way of reimagining ‘Reflections of Japan in East Yorkshire’ virtually.
The latest trends and future prospects of NII.
The Shibusawa Eiichi denki shiryo (Shibusawa Eiichi Biographical Materials) is a 68-volume (published 1955-1971) collection of materials from the life of Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931). Eiichi was a businessman and philanthropist, said to be the “father of the modern Japanese economy.” He was involved in roughly 500 enterprises and economic organizations as well as approximately 600 organizations for social welfare. Since its compilation, the Denki shiryo has acted as a dictionary of historical materials as well as a replacement for the primary materials that it contains.
Dr. L. Ovchinnikova has been conducting research of Japanese and Korean colonial history, particularly Japanese governance and situation in Korea. Her presentation is devoted to documents of Japanese colonial administration in Korea. Being editions for official use, these books were published in Japanese (Bungo) in Seoul by the Japanese Governor-general’s Office in the 20-s, 30-s and early 40-s. Compiled for practical purposes, these documents were used by senior Japanese colonial officials. Dr. Ovchinnikova was lucky enough to have a chance to work with these documents in a private library of a family of former Russian diplomats working at the Russian Consulate in Seoul in the late 30-s and the 40-s. Conducting research, she has analyzed important data found in these Japanese books and proved the necessity of using them as a source of scientific research of Japanese governance in Korea.