Monumenta Nipponica is one of the leading Japan studies journals in the world. In the first quarter of 2022, alone, people in over 120 countries accessed Monumenta Nipponica’s peer-reviewed articles and book reviews more than 45,500 times. The journal was founded in 1938 by Sophia economics professor Johannes B. Kraus, S.J. (1892–1946), and eighty-four years later it continues to be a vibrant forum for the exchange of ideas. The journal welcomes contributions representing diverse disciplinary perspectives in the humanities and dealing with all periods, from ancient to modern times, and also maintains its commitment to providing a platform for translations of Japanese literary and historical sources and texts. For an in-depth history of MN, see Monumenta Nipponica: Eighty Years and Counting, available as a PDF on the MN website.

Published twice a year, making a total of seventy-six volumes as of April 2022, Monumenta Nipponica carries original scholarly contributions on Japanese history, literature, art, religion, thought, and society, as well as translations of important Japanese literary texts and historical sources. Each issue carries three articles and as many as twenty authoritative reviews of recent books on Japan. From volume 60 (2005), the journal has been available online through Project MUSE. All back issues are available online, with a five-year moving wall, through JSTOR. The journal is indexed by EBSCO, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, CNKI Scholar, ERIH PLUS, Index to the Study of Religions Online, and Scopus.