Japan Past & Present is a global information hub and repository that promotes research and teaching in the Japanese humanities across disciplinary, temporal, and geographic borders.

Surimono woodblock print illustrating a nineteenth century Japanese book cabinet. — Surimono illustrating a book cabinet, Keisai Eisen, late 1810s or early 1820s; ink and color on paper, National Museum of Asian Art

Open to participants around the world, JPP aims to provide equitable access to scholarly tools and materials, and to help realize an increasingly diverse and inclusive future for the field. We foster multilingual collaboration, communication, and scholarship, raising global awareness of Japan’s past and its enduring relevance in the present day.

JPP was created as a project of the Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities at UCLA and Waseda University, but it was envisioned from the start as an organization that spans national and institutional boundaries through meaningful partnerships.

The collective efforts of individuals, organizations, and institutions across the globe have made it possible for JPP to feature the resources on this site. Public-facing content hosted by JPP is not to be reprinted or reproduced without express written consent of the author or copyright holder. For more information, see our Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.