About Sino-Japanese Studies (1988-2003)

The idea for Sino-Japanese Studies (SJS) came to its editor, Joshua A. Fogel, in 1987 or 1988, and he called together a small group of five or six people who met in a hotel room at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian Studies in 1988. Later that year the first issue of SJS appeared.

At first, it was envisioned as a Newsletter and bore that word in its title, but it soon became apparent that this was no merely ephemeral newsletter, and from issue number two it has been SJS. From the start, SJS was conceived as a journal devoted to studies of China and Japan together, irrespective of discipline or time period. For many that would take the form of comparative Sino-Japanese research, while for others that meant actual Sino-Japanese interactions. Everyone involved has been committed to fostering this sub-field which at once covers both the China and the Japan fields while, at the same time, examines where these two meet.

Essays in SJS come from many different disciplines—literature, history, contemporary politics, art history, and the like—and will continue to do so, as long as contributions are received by the editor. Similarly, in-depth reviews are strongly encouraged from potential contributors, especially of books in Chinese and Japanese.

ISSN: 1041-8830
OCoLC: 180146335 (1988-2003: 20977878)
LCCN: 90642655

2009 Relaunch of Sino-Japanese Studies

SJS went into temporary abeyance between 2003 and 2009. During these years a number of scholars suggested restarting the journal, but no one was willing to take on the job. During these years as well, internet online publishing was going through a revolution. With the expertise of a young graduate student, Konrad Lawson (no relation to the convenience store chain), turning SJS into an entirely online and open access journal became a real possibility. We wanted to keep the same high academic standards while reducing the carbon footprint, saving trees, and making the journal even less expensive than its earlier hard format. At the time of this writing (early 2009), no journal of the sort envisioned and indeed executed in SJS exists in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong or Japan. All of these factors worked to encourage me to relaunch SJS.

Source of the SJS Logo

The Sino-Japanese characters on the cover of each issue of Sino-Japanese Studies and used on this website
are taken from the following sources:

日中 The cover of Nit-Chū hiyūkō no rekishi 日中非友好の歴史 (The Unfriendly History between Japan and China) (Tokyo: Asahi shinbunsha, 1973) by Sanetō Keishū 実藤恵秀 (1896-1985) who is respected in both China and Japan as the founder of modern Sino-Japanese studies.

研究 From the biography of Timur Tash 鐵木兒塔識, Yuan shi 元史 [History of the Yuan Dynasty], Song Lian 宋濂 , comp., juan 140.

Website Design and Hosting

The SJS website is designed, hosted, and maintained by Konrad M. Lawson. If you have any questions regarding the website's design or functionality, please feel free to contact Konrad at: konrad [at] lawson.net.