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EAST 330 Floating World: Early Modern Japanese Literature

Library tools and tips for conducting research on early modern Japanese literature, prepared for students enrolled in EAST 330.

Platform Searching

A search platform like Summon pools resources from catalogs and databases. If you only have a general direction, say Edo literature, but are not sure what specific topics ー an author, a literary genre, a theme, etc. ー or types of content ー scholarly monograph, journal article, rare primary materials, etc. ー you are looking for, platform searching allows you to cast a wide net and waste time on undesired fish. Have fun exploring but be mindful of your goal, especially if it is to move from topic(s) of interest to a research question. 

Google Web Search

Unlike Summon, Google doesn't offer filters such as “Scholarly & Peer-reviewed” and doesn't indicate whether a book that appears in the search results is available at Oberlin. But we have all learned result mining (sifting through search results to find what we need) by Googling ALL the time. Keep the following tips in mind will help you Google more effectively.

  • Google was built for keyword searching, your specificity with terms is key to useful results; 
  • Google does not distinguish between different types of sources and the reliability of a source varies -- keep the questions on this source evaluation checklist in mind; 
  • Initial search may not return what you want, but can help you get better terms to re-run the search; 
  • Decide strategically when you need to pick up another search tool.

Catalog Searching

Search OBIS
OBIS provides access to print and digital books, databases, audiovisual materials, journals, and course reserves. It is the best place to check your course reserves and look up books, recordings, journals, and films by title to determine if you can access an item through Oberlin. OBIS does not support searching with Japanese characters. Refer to Japanese romanization rules if you need to find materials in Japanese.

  • Search by subject “Japanese fiction -- Edo period, 1600-1868 -- History and criticism”



Can't find a book at Oberlin? Find and request materials through OhioLINK, a consortium of over 120 libraries in Ohio. Requested items are delivered to the circulation desk on the first floor of Terrell Main Library, typically within 3-5 business days. Note that OhioLINK catalog does not support searching with Japanese characters either.

  • Repeat a search in OhioLINK 

  • ​​​​​​​Request a book through OhioLINK 

To search Oberlin holdings in Japanese, bookmark https://oberlin.on.worldcat.org/. WorldCat is a global catalog of library materials that allows you to limit search results to Oberlin holdings.
To request materials unavailable at Oberlin or through OhioLINK, create an Interlibrary Loan account with your library barcode (a 14-digit number on your Obie ID beginning with 29362) and request directly from WorldCat. Interlibrary Loan: FAQ


Bashō: the complete haiku of Matsuo Bashō (2022) is not available at Oberlin.

  • Search OhioLink: copies are either checked out or restricted to library use. 

  • Search WorldCat by ISBN and request a copy through ILL

A good way to discover resources and explore topics is browsing the stacks. 

Browse by call number
Use a book on your syllabus to help identify the shelving location of a subject area. For example, the call number of Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900 (2002) edited by Haruo Shirane is PL782.E1 E23 2002. Oberlin Call Number Directory can help you locate this book is on the third floor of the Terrell Library. You can then determine the relevant call number range by visiting the shelves.

Browse by subject heading
Having identified a few books of interests from the shelf, you can look up their catalog records and see other books described as on the same subject, including ebooks hosted via different platforms. For example, 西鶴闇への凝視 : 綱吉政権下のリアリティー (2015) by 有働裕 is book on Ihara Saikaku in Japanese. Clicking its subject heading “Ihara, Saikaku, 1642-1693 -- Criticism and interpretation” in the catalog record, you can find an ebook in English on Ihara Saikaku, Parody, Irony and Ideology in the Fiction of Ihara Saikaku (2017) by David J. Gundry.

 

Database Searching

The North American Coordinating Council on Japanese Library Resources (NCC)'s dashboard featuring distinctive Japanese collections in North America, including the Mary A. Ainsworth collection of illustrated Japanese books at Oberlin College.