HIST 246: Tokyo: Rise of a Megacity

To find articles written through the lens of urban geography, anthropology or sociology use the SocINDEX database. 

Here's an example: 

To find articles about the history of Tokyo (and Japan), use the Historical Abstracts database.

To find articles focusing on architecture and urban planning use the Art & Architecture Complete database. See this example. Note: You may need to use our interlibrary loan system to acquire many of the articles included in this database.

For articles written about business in Tokyo, search the Business Source Complete database. 

Search tip: For all of these databases, put the keyword "Tokyo" in the search box, then select the SUBJECT index from the drop-down list. This will help you limit your results to the ones relevant to Tokyo. 

The JSTOR database may provide some articles (or citations to articles) that wouldn't necessarily be discovered in the databases listed above. For example:

Use alternative names for Tokyo (Tokio, Edo, Yedo) as synonyms in your search and limit the search to the article title to be more precise. Add other terms as they may describe your topic or place, like this:

Also in JSTOR, use a phrase that refers to the neighborhood and use quotation marks around it. For example, "Hongo district". 

Another strategy would be to search for information about specific landmarks or institutions or buildings in the neighborhood. Always use quotation marks around specific phrases, for example, "Uyeno Park".

• The National Diet Library in Japan has a good collection of primary (and other) sources, including some of them in English. Click on the link to the Advanced Search to formulate a precise search.
• The National Diet Digital Library also has some sources in English, as well as a large collection of visual materials. 

Historical sources (in English) containing information about Tokyo are likely to be travel narratives or guide books. For example: 

• Terry's Guide to the Japanese Empire -- There are two versions, one from 1914 (available as an ebook in HathiTrust) and one from 1933 (on the Open Reserve shelves in Seymour Library). Terry's guide is written for Western tourists to Japan. Note: HathiTrust has thousands of items in full text published before 1926 (view a short video on search in HathiTrust).
• A Handbook for Travellers in Japan: (Including Formosa) by John Murray published in 1913 is also in Seymour Library on the Open Reserve shelves. It contains many foldout maps.
• Another travel guide for Westerners is Keeling's Guide to Japan (1890). 
• The Lure of Japan (1934) -- On Reserve DS 810 .A535 -- This one is produced not by a Westerner, but by the Board of Tourist Industry, Tokyo, although it appears to be directed at Western tourists in Japan. 

These kinds of historical materials can be identified in Knox Primo (including the I-Share libraries) using the Advanced Search and the keywords "japan description and travel" with the search limited to the SUBJECT field, like this:

The Historical New York Times and the Times (London) Digital Archive will provide news stories about events in Tokyo, like this article from The New York Times in 1911:

 Note the use of the word "Tokio" in the headline. You should use alternative names for Tokyo if you are searching for older articles (Tokio, Edo, Yedo). 

You can try adding terms for places within Tokyo. For example, the term "Asakusa" brings up some articles about historical events in that place. One article from Aug. 19, 1918 about food riots in Tokyo reads in part: "The rioters also pillaged houses in Asakusa, the great recreation resort of the middle and lower classes. A number of the disturbers were wounded by the swords of the police."

If your results set is large, use the date slider on the results list page to limit your results by date