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Japanese Studies

Welcome to the UCLA Library Guide for Japanese Studies. This guide presents both introductory and in-depth information for Japan-related research.

Classification Systems

Materials held by libraries are arranged by certain classification schemes:

Making a Research Trip to Japan

If you are planning a research trip to Japan, you might want to bring with you a letter of introduction to access to Japanese libraries. The UCLA Library can also assist you to set up special arrangements with certain Japanese academic libraries before your trip to Japan. Please contact Toshie Marra for more information.

The Paul I. & Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies offers research travel funds.

You might also find the following research guides useful for preparion of your research trip to Japan:

Japanese Romanization Table

Modified Hepburn Romanization Table (Romanaization system used in major databases)

あ 
a
i う  
u え   
e お 
o や    
ya
yu
yo
か         
ka き         
ki く           
ku け         
ke こ        
ko きゃ         
kya きゅ         
kyu きょ         
kyo
さ       
sa し        
shi す          su せ      
se そ       so しゃ      
sha しゅ      
shu しょ      
sho
た         
ta ち         
chi つ         
tsu て      
te と      
to ちゃ      
cha ちゅ      
chu ちょ      
cho
な         
na に         
ni ぬ        
nu ね      
ne の      
no にゃ      
nya にゅ      
nyu にょ      
nyo
は         
ha ひ         
hi ふ           fu へ      
he ほ      
ho ひゃ      
hya ひゅ      
hyu ひょ      
hyo
ま         
ma み         
mi む         
mu め      
me も      
mo みゃ      
mya みゅ      
myu みょ      
myo
ら        
ra り           
ri る         
ru れ      
re ろ      
ro りゃ      
rya りゅ      
ryu りょ      
ryo
わ        
wa ん          
n "は"   
wa " を"  
o "へ"
e (ヴァ)      
va (ヴィ)     
vi (ヴォ)     
vo
が         
ga ぎ         
gi ぐ          
gu げ      
ge ご      
go ぎゃ      
gya ぎゅ      
gyu ぎょ      
gyo
ざ         
za じ         
ji ず         
zu ぜ      
ze ぞ      
zo じゃ      
ja じゅ      
ju じょ      
jo
だ         
da ぢ         
ji づ         
zu で      
de ど      
do
ば         
ba び         
bi ぶ         
bu べ       
be ぼ      
bo びゃ      
bya びゅ      
byu びょ      
byo
ぱ  
pa ぴ         
pi ぷ         
pu ぺ      
pe ぽ      
po ぴゃ      
pya ぴゅ      
pyu ぴょ      
pyo

Notes on romanized search:

  • Long vowels-->Omit them.
    e.g., 大阪(おおさか)-->Osaka; 研究(けんきゅう)-->kenkyu
  • Double consonants (small っ)-->Repeat the consonant.
    e.g., 日本(にっぽん)-->nippon; ホットドック-->hottodokku
    Exception: Double consonants “cc” --> “tc” e.g., 一丁(いっちょう)-->itcho; 坊ちゃん(ぼっちゃん)-->botchan
  • ん-->always ”n,” not nasal “m.”
    e.g., 新聞(しんぶん)-->shinbun; 短編(たんぺん)-->tanpen

*To maximize your search results, try different romanized forms and/or word divisions.
For example, “nihon shi” and “nihonshi” for 日本史.

*See the ALA-LC guideline on Japanese romanization (American Library Association-Library Congress, revised 2012) for more information about word division.

Style Manuals and Guides