Guides: Japanese Digital Resources: Blogs

Rankings and Search

These are rankings of popular blogs and current blog topics, and blog search sites. All in Japanese.

Nihon Blog Mura にほんブログ村
Rankings of blogs overall and by topic, plus posts of note.
Livedoor Blog Ranking ライブドア　ブログランキング
Ranking of blogs and individual articles, and also view comments.
Ninki Blog Ranking 人気ブログランキング
Not only provides rankings for blogs by category, but also allows you to search posts as well as blogs for topics.
Ameba Ninki Blog Ranking アメーバ人気ブログランキング
Provides unique genres for browsing top blogs as well as daily and monthly rankings.

Culture

These blogs are on a variety of topics related to Japanese culture, ranging from ghost stories to subcultures. Blogs about BOTH anime and manga together are housed here.

Alt Japan
This blog focuses on yokai but includes many aspects of popular culture as well as historical episodes.
Anime and Manga Studies
Focuses on academic research about anime and manga, and includes yearly bibliographies of current research.
Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai
Focuses on Japanese ghost/weird tales, including translations, news, cultural notes, and reviews.
Okazu
Blog focused on lesbian-themed anime, manga, and other media.
Otaku Lounge
Otaku Lounge is a blog that focuses on anime and other forms of Japanese pop culture. Its posts aim to be easily understood by both anime veterans and new viewers to the medium alike, and to encourage open discussion by its audience.
The Lobster Dance: Japan, Gender, Media, Culture
On a variety of aspects of Japanese culture, with a focus on gender studies and media.
Tokyo Scum Brigade
On anime, manga, contemporary culture, otaku, and other subculture topics.

Japan in General

These blogs cover multiple topics or focus on general-interest topics related to Japan, its history and culture, and daily life, as well as learning Japanese.

What Can I Do With a BA in Japanese?
A blog with very detailed resources for furthering Japanese studies and professional careers for after studying the language in college. See "Study Resources" in particular.
Ko-e Magazine Online
ko-e magazine is a bilingual literary and visual arts journal. It comes out every two months in Kyushu and Kanto and aims to serve internationally-minded readers, both Japanese and expats alike, with sophisticated, stimulating and illuminating content. Bilingual content such as interviews and essays are available online.
How to Japanese
A blog on Japan in general, Japanese language, and Haruki Murakami.
Tofugu
Posts on a variety of topics relating to contemporary Japanese culture and news, as well as learning Japanese language.

Arts

Blogs on the fine and performing arts of Japan and Asia, art history, and current events in the art world.

Nubui Kuduchi/A Song of Travel: Musings on the Arts of Japan and Beyond
This blog, written by Toranosuke (PhD student in Japanese studies), contains detailed information and news on Japanese and other arts.
Matthew Meyer
Blog of a woodblock artist living in the United States, covering many aspects of Japanese arts and culture, with a focus on ghosts and monsters.
Spoon & Tamago: Japanese Art, Design, and Culture
Focuses on contemporary Japanese art and design, as well as pop culture.
Stories of the Mirror: Glimpses of Japanese Performing Arts
News and information about the performing arts world in Japan, including academic conferences and other resources.
East Asia Image Collection Blog
In addition to providing research notes, this blog will accumulate a scholarly bibliography of works that analyze, catalog, or reprint picture postcards as sources of history and social analysis, as well as related material from the history of photography and art. It publicizes relevant digital repositories of postcards, photographs, and other visual materials related to Japanese Imperial History.

Literature

On literature, contemporary and historical, as well as manga.

Contemporary Japanese Literature
A blog written by Kathryn Hemmann, Penn PhD alumna, on contemporary Japanese literature in English and Japanese. Contains book reviews (of English and Japanese books) as well as thematic essays.
Experiments in Manga: Manga Reviews, Japanese Literature, and Related Items of Interest
On aspects of Japanese manga and literature, with a focus on reviews of current manga.
Lines from the Horizon
Reviews of translations and film adaptations of Japanese literature with a focus on the contemporary. Includes bibliographies of translated Akutagawa prize winners and anthologies/collections.
La Littérature Japonaise
Reviews of Japanese literature translated into French.
Manga Worth Reading
Manga reviews and news.
Nagareboshi Reviews
Reviews and news about manga.
Otaku Champloo
Focused on manga reviews and news, with other culture and anime notes.

Language

Japanese Word Watch
"A language instructor's observation" by X. Jie YANG, Professor at University of Calgary. Generally covers interesting words and word usage.
Sanseido Word-Wise Web
Blog on the Japanese language from Sanseido, the dictionary publisher. Updated frequently.
Language Log - Victor Mair
Victor Mair, professor at Penn, often writes about Japanese language in the Penn blog Language Log.

History

Blogs focusing on topics in Japanese history, including regional history.

San'in Monogatari
On the history and culture of Japan's San'in region.

Film and Anime

Blogs that review film and anime, and provide media-related news.

Nishikata Film Review
Reviews and news about Japanese film and anime.

Asian Studies

These blogs cover a variety of topics in Asian studies, with some Japan content.

British Libraries Asian and African Studies Blog
British Libraries' blog on Asian and African Studies, with a focus on the collections of the British Library.

Japanese Digital Resources: Blogs

Introduction

These blogs cover a variety of aspects of Japanese studies and news. Both Japanese- and English-language blogs are included, academic and popular, by a variety of writers. Also filed here are some online magazines. Some major services for Japanese blogs are: