About Us
Our Goal & History
The Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms collects translations and definitions of historical and technical terms concerning premodern Japanese history and provides them as a searchable database to assist researching Japanese history in foreign languages. As of July 2023, the database includes approximately 18,000 English terms, 1,800 French terms, and 6,300 German terms.
The Online Glossary was originally designed and released in July 2003 as a part of the Japan Memory Project (JMP) in 2000-2004, which aimed at promoting international research of premodern Japanese history. Since then, the Online Glossary has served well for scholars, both in and outside of Japan, as an essential tool for Japanese history research in foreign languages. In July 2023, celebrating its twentieth anniversary, it was renovated with new features.
In the process of developing and updating the database, we have received warm support and guidance from a number of foreign scholars who were affiliated with the Historiographical Institute and those who allowed us to include their glossaries. We hope we can continue to update the database with the cooperation of scholars, both in and outside of Japan, to continue enriching it as a more valuable resource for the field.
User's Guide
About Included Terms
The Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms incorporates translations and definitions from various publications and projects, with the permission of the copyright holders. Please note that translations and definitions may vary according to the period, theme, and author of the sources. This database does not aim at providing “fixed translations” of certain terms; rather, through collecting existing translations and definitions, it aims at offering users clues for selecting and considering their own translations.
How to Search
Enter a keyword to the search box at the search page. You can narrow and customize the search results by selecting “search scope(s),” “period,” “language,” and "layout." You can select the search scope(s) as follows:
| Option Names | Definition |
|---|---|
| Entry | The written form of the term in Japanese. (Ex. 鎌倉幕府) |
| Entry (Exact Match) | To search entries exactly the same as the keyword. |
| Japanese Reading | The reading of the term in hiragana. (Ex. かまくらばくふ) |
| Romanization | The romanization of the term, as it appears in the cited source. (Ex. Kamakura bakufu) * You can use the alphabet with a macron for a long vowel. (Ex. ritsuryo, ritsuryō) |
| Translation | A short word-to-word translation. (Ex. The Kamakura shogunate) |
| Definition | A longer definition of the term. |
| Period | You can choose from two categories: 1) Ancient/Medieval, or 2) Edo (Tokugawa). Each division is judged based on the cited source’s theme. |
| Language | Available languages for use: English, French, and German. |
All data in square brackets has been provided by the Glossary Project Team editors to add necessary information or make corrections. Please note that obvious mis-spellings and other errors have likely been corrected by the judgments of editors for the sake of searchability.
Search Results
Search results are listed in the following order: (1) Entries that exactly match the keyword, (2) Entries that include the keyword in their headwords, and (3) Entries that include more keywords.
Search results are displayed in either simple or advanced layouts. The advanced layout shows all columns (except empty columns), while the simple layout only shows entry, translation, and source columns. You can select the layout on the search and search results pages.
The search results can be sorted from the sort menu. You can also filter the search results from the filter menu at the left of the page (the “filter” button for smartphones).
Contact Information
Please contact us via the Contact Form if you have any questions or feedback. We appreciate your comment as a reference to further improve the database. Please note, however, that we do not answer questions about individual terms (Ex. “why is this term translated in this way?”).
Research Projects
The Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms has been developed and updated with aids of the following research funds. Please see the Research Results Section for past examples of using the Online Glossary for academic studies.
- “Research for Promotion of Use of Premodern Japanese Historical Sources,” Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research for COE Research, JSPS, headed by Ishigami Eiichi, 2000-04.
- “Research for Building an Environment to Enhance International Use of Premodern Japanese Historical Sources.” Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A), JSPS, headed by Ishigami Eiichi, 2005-08.
- “For Accumulation and Update of the Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms,” Joint Research at the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, headed by Joan R. Piggott, 2017-18. [Project Reports: 2017, 2018]
- “For Reconstruction of the Online Glossary of Japanese Historical Terms,” Joint Research at the Historiographical Institute, the University of Tokyo, headed by Nadia Kanagawa, 2022-23.
- Program for Constructing Data Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences, JSPS, 2019-2022.