Oxford Corpus of Old Japanese

Project Director: Professor Bjarke Frellesvig

This project is developing a comprehensive, annotated, digital corpus of all texts from the ‘Old Japanese’ period; that is, the earliest attested stage of the Japanese language, mainly the eighth century AD.

The Oxford Corpus of Old Japanese (OCOJ) will be published online and continuously updated. Easily accessible through a web-based interface, it will constitute dynamic and constantly evolving research. By referencing resources of lasting value to scholars and students of the early language, writing, literature, religion, history and civilisation of Japan, it will provide wide and easy general access to a large body of important texts and materials for anyone. This includes members of the general public interested in Japanese language, history and culture.

Overall, the OCOJ will contain:

• The texts in original script and transcription, with a large amount of information about the texts encoded
• Translations of the texts into English
• An associated, linked bilingual Old Japanese-English dictionary