The Japanese Chemical Literature - ACS Publications - American

The Japanese Chemical Literature LEO J. STEVENS Smith, Kline & French Laboratories, Philadelphia, Pa. in collaboration with

Downloaded by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA on March 23, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 17, 1954 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1954-0010.ch050

SHIN-ICHIRO FUJISE Tôhoku University, Sendai, Japan

The Journal of the Japanese Chemical Society was first published in 1880, and other scientific journals appeared in Japan soon thereafter. Today the literature is extensive and holds much chemical knowledge, particularly in the special fields of natural products and alkaloids. The use of original Japanese literature by American chemists is handicapped by the linguistic barrier, although a few publications include abstracts or complete papers in a language other than Japanese, and by unavailability. Chemical Abstracts lists or abstracts published Japanese chemical work, and when the number of articles abstracted is taken as a criterion of the significance of the Japanese literature, it ranks eighth (in 1949), trailing the United States, England, Russia, France, Germany, Switzerland, and India, and preceding Italy.

The Portuguese and D u t c h share the honor of being the first to introduce certain aspects of western science to Japan—for example, medicine i n the sixteenth century (7). Y o a n Udagawa first translated a chemical text imported from Holland, the author of which was a Britisher named Henry (12). I n 1823, Philip Franz von Siebold, a German physician in D u t c h employ, arrived in Nagasaki to initiate lectures on clinical medicine (7). H o w ever, science in the occidental tradition did not develop until the Emperor Mutsuhito (better known as Meiji) was restored to power as the actual ruler of Japan (Meiji Restoration, 1868)—a historical event which brought about the abolition of many of the outward ves tiges of Japanese feudalism, with the repudiation of the preceding policy of isolation and the introduction of occidental knowledge. Then followed the founding of Tokyo I m perial University in 1877. Its early faculty included R . W . Atkinson and S. Divers of Great Britain as professors of chemistry. The Tokyo Chemical Society was formed i n 1878. W i t h i n two years a periodical was inaugurated, later to become known as the Journal of the Chemical Society of Japan. I n 1921, the Tokyo Chemical Society was reorganized into the Chemical Society of Japan. This learned group has cooperated with the International Atomic Weight Committee since 1899 (12). W i t h the modernization of Japan, science and scientific literature made rapid prog ress; a considerable number of distinguished Japanese chemists emerged, among them Nagai, the discoverer of ephedrine (1887). However, the war years 1941-45 proved detrimental to scientific progress i n Japan and, with the end of hostilities, economic con ditions during the occupation often interfered with academic or industrial research. Nonetheless, considerable scientific activity, particularly i n chemistry, is revealed b y 494

LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

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the growth of professional societies—the Chemical Society of Japan now has more than 12,000 members—the increase in the number of periodicals published, and many other related developments.


Publications of Scientific Institutions and Professional Societies

N i h o n Gakushin is the Japan Academy, formerly known as the Imperial Academy of Japan, inaugurated in 1887. It is now an honorary organization affording membership to those who have made outstanding contributions to science. The Japan Academy is comprised of two sections : Cultural Sciences and Natural Sciences (11). The Proceedings of the Japan Academy are published i n English by the Japan Academy i n Tokyo. Nippon Kagakukai, the Chemical Society of Japan, assumed its present name i n 1921. A s a professional society i t publishes several important periodicals. Nippon Kagaku Zasshi which began publication i n 1880, is the Pure Chemistry Section of the Journal of the Chemical Society of Japan; i t appears monthly i n Japanese. Kdgyo Kagaku Zasshi, the Industrial Chemistry Section, is a monthly printed i n Japanese. The Journal of the Chemical Society of Japan was subdivided into the two sections men tioned i n M a r c h 1948 (4). The Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan is likewise pub lished b y the society. A bimonthly, the Bulletin appeared first i n 1927, and i t prints articles i n English, German, and French. Another organ of the Chemical Society of Japan is Kagaku To Kogyo, Chemistry and Chemical Industry, printed monthly i n J a p anese. The Society of Organic Synthetic Chemistry sponsors Yûki Gosei Kagaku Kyokai Shi, the Journal of Organic Synthetic Chemistry. The Journal is a monthly, printed i n Japanese with English titles (4, 12). Nippon Butsuri K a g a k u K e n k y u K a i , the Physicochemical Society of Japan, was founded in 1925 in connection with the Faculty of Science, K y o t o University, and has at the present more than 700 members (11). The Review of Physical Chemistry of Japan is printed b y Marzen & Co., L t d . Tokyo (4). Nippon Nbgeikagaku Kaishi, the Journal of the Agricultural Chemical Society of Japan, is printed monthly in Japanese with English summaries (4, 12). Kagaku No Rydiki, the Journal of Japanese Chemistry, is published monthly in Japanese by the Nankôdô Publishing Co. It was introduced i n 1922 (12, 28). Acta Phytochimica is published by the same firm for the Societas Phytochimica. I t ap pears irregularly and is printed in English, French, or German (4 12). Kagaku Kikai, Chemical Engineering, is the organ of the Society of Chemical E n g i neers, appearing bimonthly in Japanese with English abstracts (12). Tokyo Kogyo Shiken)o Hokoku, Report of the Government Chemical Industrial Research Institute, T published twice a year i n Japanese. Science Reports of the Research Institutes, The Tohok University (Series A , Physics, Chemistry, and Metallurgy) had its inception i n 1948 as a bimonthly. I t is printed i n English. N i h o n Seika Gakkai, the Japanese Biochemical Society, is associated with the D e partment of Biochemistry, Medical School, Tokyo University. The society publishes Seikagaku, Biochemistry (4, 12). N i p p o n Butsuri Gakkai, the Society of Japanese Physicists, dates its origin to 1877. W i t h a roster of over 2000 members, i t publishes Nippon Butsuri Gakkai shi, the Journal of the Society of Physicists (11). The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan is one of the most important professional so cieties. Since 1880 i t has published Yakugaku Zasshi the Journal of the Pharmaceutical Society, and since 1953, the Pharmaceutical Bulletin, a quarterly i n English, German, or French. N i h o n Y a k u r i Gakkai, the Pharmacological Society of Japan, was instituted in 1881, a few years following the introduction of pharmacology to Japan i n 1876 (12). This society has headquarters at the Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, Tokyo University. I t publishes Nippon Yakurigaku Zasshi, the Journal of the Japanese Pharmacological Society, and Yakurigaku, Pharmacology, both appearing monthly i n Japanese (24). The Folia Pharmacologica Japonica is published irregularly by the J a p a nese Pharmacological Association at K y o t o University, usually appearing i n Japanese y

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with a Brevaria, containing abstracts i n English or German of the articles printed wholly i n Japanese (4). N i h o n Seiri G a k k a i , the Japanese Physiological Society, publishes Nihon Seirigaku Zasshi, the Journal of the Japanese Physiological Society, i n Japanese with short English summaries (4). N i h o n Saikingakkai, the Congress of Japanese B a c teriological Societies, one of the larger professional societies with 2500 members, publishes the Japanese Journal of Bacteriology. Kampo To Kanyaku, Chinese Medicine and Drugs, is published by the Japanese Society of Chinese Medicine, appears irregularly, and is printed i n Japanese (24),

Abstracts of Japanese Chemical and Related Literature The importance of abstracting Japanese scientific articles, otherwise wholly or par tially inaccessible because of the linguistic barrier, was recognized early by the German Chemisches Zentralblatt, the American Chemical Abstracts, the Journal of the Chemical Society (London) (abstracts 1871-1925), and the British Chemical Abstracts. Since its first appearance in 1907, Chemical Abstracts has given increasing attention to Japanese chemical literature. This is described by the editor, E . J . Crane, in two articles (8, 9) from which the following statistics are taken. Abstracts of Japanese articles published in Chemical Abstracts were 0 . 3 % of the total in 1909, and 9.1% in 1951 (first half of the year); however, the Japanese chemical liter ature was not covered completely before 1918. In comparison, American articles were 20.1% i n 1909 and 36.6% i n 1951; German articles made up a large part of the total in 1909 (45.0%), while they represented only 7.9% in 1951 (9). F o r a number of years World War I I prevented the growth of the coverage of Japa nese chemical literature. After the war, Crane re-established connections with Japanese literature (δ) and by 1948 Chemical Abstracts had again received abstracts of approximately 5000 articles that had appeared i n J a p a n since 1941 (6). Boig and Howerton made a statistical analysis of articles abstracted from chemical periodicals i n the field of organic chemistry (1877-1949). They show that 88 Japanese articles were abstracted by Chemical Abstracts in 1949, to account for the sixth place— English, German, Russian, French, and Italian organic articles leading in that order (1). Similar statistics for analytical periodicals (1877-1950) reveal 48 Japanese articles ab stracted b y Chemical Abstracts i n 1950, again placing the Japanese language sixth after English, Russian, French, German, and Spanish (2). The need for abstracting facilities was recognized by a group of Japanese chemists around R i k o M a j i m a , formerly professor of chemistry at Tôhoku University, now a member of the Japan Academy. H e began, in cooperation with Junjiro K u s h i b i k i and others, to classify, abstract, and index Japanese chemical literature. I n 1926 N i h o n K a g a k u K e n k i u k a i , the Japanese Chemical Abstracting Society, was founded. Seven volumes were published from 1927 to 1938, covering Japanese chemical literature from 1877 to 1926; more than 23,000 abstracts and a great number of patents (21,662) were published. M o n t h l y issues appeared from January 1927 to J u l y 1945, when the editorial office and the library were destroyed i n air raids. Following W o r l d W a r I I , financial conditions made publication very difficult and i n that period only incomplete abstracts were published. Financial subsidies by the Japanese M i n i s t r y of Education and many chemical firms permitted the resumption of monthly abstracts from 1951 on, and an a n nual index appeared. A t present, the abstracting service is functioning normally. In 1951, 3503 abstracts and 1252 patents were published; in 1952, 4255 abstracts and 1697 patents; and up to J u l y 1953, 2535 abstracts and 1443 patents were published. .In 1952, 736 publications were abstracted ; of these were 113 written i n English, French, or German. This would indicate that Nihon Kagaku Soran, Japanese Chemical Abstracts, is progressing satisfactorily (12). Since 1941, Seitetu Gizyutu Soran, Metallurgical Abstracts, has been published monthly in Japanese by the Engineering Department of the Y a w a t a Iron and Steel Co. Some chemical articles are abstracted (16). Nippon Kogyo Soran, Japanese Engineering LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.


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Abstracts, are published by the Kôsyunkaku Publishing Co. and edited by Nippon Kôgakukai, the Engineering Society of Japan. Printed i n Japanese, they have appeared since 1949 (17). Gakuzyutu Bunken H u k y u k a i is an abstracting service which brings ab stracts of scientific and technical literature i n the form of printed cards. Interrupted during the war, it was resumed in 1950; the abstracts are i n Japanese (17). The oldest Japanese abstract journal is Igaku Tyuo Zasshi, the Central Review of Medicine, with an abstract service inaugurated in 1903 by Siro Amako. The Review appears bimonthly, covers more than 270 medical, pharmacological, and related journals, and is printed in Japanese (17). N o treatises of chemistry of the type of Beilstein or Grignard exist i n the Japanese language (25).

Medical Publications The present favorable development of clinical research in Japan is reflected by the great number of clinical journals and papers printed. Practically all specialized fields of medicine are represented in Japan by learned societies and pertinent publications. Several are of interest to chemists concerned with problems of medicinal or pharmaceutical chemis try. Acta Scholae Medicinalis Universitatis in Kioto prints i n English or German papers originating from the Medical and Pharmaceutical Departments of K y o t o University. The journal is distributed without charge to suitable institutions or scientists. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine incorporating Arbeiten aus dem anatomischen Institut der Kaiserlich-Japanischen Universitat zu Sendai, and Mitteilungen uber allgemeine Pathologie und pathologische Anatomie, is printed i n English, French, and German and is one of the oldest i n Japan. Publication began in 1877; United States representative is the Chas. E . Tuttle Co., R u t l a n d , Vermont. Papers on experimental medicine, pa thology, and other related subjects are very frequent. The Japanese Journal of Experimental Medicine has been published semiannually since 1930 by the Institute of Infectious Disease, Tokyo University. Articles appear i n English. Nippon Saikingaku Zasshi, Japanese Journal of Bacteriology, is printed monthly, i n Japanese. The Japanese Medical Journal, published by the National Institute of Health of Japan, appears i n English, bimonthly; it is concerned with medical progress and public health. The Japanese Journal of Medical Science and Biology, also published by the National Institute of Health, has appeared quarterly since 1947. I t is printed i n English, featuring papers on immunology, biology, and virology. The Keio Journal of Medicine is published quarterly by K e i o University and dates from 1952; all articles are in English. The Yokohama Medical Bulletin, founded by I . T a k a k i , is a bimonthly publication of Yokohama University, i n English. Kyoto Furitsu Ikadaigaku Zasshi, Journal of the Kyoto Prefecture College of Medicine, is distributed monthly i n Japanese with English or German summaries; occasionally articles are printed in English or German with Japanese summaries. The Pharmacopoeia Japonica, written i n Japanese with titles i n L a t i n and English, makes reference to the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, the National Formulary and New and Nonofficial Remedies; there is an edition in English.

Dictionaries and Patents Although there are Japanese and Japanese-English dictionaries, only a few specialize in chemical or related terminology. " R i k a g a k u Jiten, Dictionary of Physics and C h e m i s t r y / ' is a Japanese-English (and French and German) dictionary (16,25,27). " R i k a g a k u Jiten Zohokaitei H a n , Dictionary of Physics and Chemistry, revised and enlarged by Ishihara and coworkers, has an American edition (15, 21). A specialized " M e d i c a l D i c t i o n a r y " is published (18,25). LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.


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Chemical terminology may be found in ordinary dictionaries—for example, in Satow and Ishibashi's "English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language, American Edition." This book is somewhat out of date {22). The Japanese equivalents of the English words are written in romanized form (26). Fujita's "Kenkyusha's English-Japanese Dictionary, Commercial and Technical Terms," contains some chemical terms and a list of English abbreviations with Japanese equivalents (13). A Webster-type dictionary published in the United States is "Kenkyusha's New English-Japanese Dictionary on Bilingual Principles" (19, 26). Representative of other purely Japanese dictionaries is one by Daniels, "Dictionary of Japanese (Sôsho) Writing Forms" (10, 16). There is also the "Dai-Jiten, Great Dictionary," in 26 volumes, which is the Japanese equivalent of a dictionary of the unabridged Webster or Oxford type (14, 26). Otsuki's "Dai-Genkai" consists of four volumes and index (20,26). This dictionary includes the etymology of words, a rare practice among Japanese lexicographers. Little can be said about Japanese patents as a source of information for the chemist searching the literature; however, Japanese patents are being abstracted by Chemical Abstracts. Information about them may also be had from Tokyo Koho, the official patent report appearing irregularly in Japanese, published by Hatsumei Kyokai, The Patent Office, Tokyo (8). Acknowledgment Appreciation is extended to Shigehiko Sugasawa, Department of Pharmacy, Tokyo University (retired), for his advice and contribution of valuable information. Literature Cited (1) Boig, F. S., and Howerton, P. W., Science, 115, 25-31 (1952). (2) Ibid., pp. 555-60. (3) Calvert, R., "Patent Practice and Management for Inventors and Executives," p. 328, Scarsdale, Ν. Y., Scarsdale Press, 1950. (4) Chemical Abstracts, Columbus, Ohio, "List of Periodicals Abstracted by Chemical Abstracts," p. cxxi, 1951. (5) Chem. Eng. News, 25, 1028 (1947). (6) Ibid., 26, 1136 (1948). (7) Chicago Americana Corp., New York, "Encyclopedia Americana," pp. 689-92, 1829-1953. (8) Crane, E. J., Chem. Eng. News, 26, 3342-3 (1948). (9) Ibid., 29, 4250-3 (1951). (10) Daniels, O., "Dictionary of Japanese (Sösho) Writing Forms," London, Lund Humphries, 1944. (11) Europa Publications, Ltd., London, "The World of Learning," 4th ed., pp. 503-22, 1952. (12) Fujise, Shin-ichiro, private communication, Sept. 28, 1953. (13) Fujita, "Kenkyusha English-Japanese Dictionary, Commercial and Technical Terms," South Pasadena, Calif., P. D. and Ione Perkins, 1944. (14) Heibonsha, "Dai-Jiten (Great Dictionary)," Tokyo, Heibonsha Press, 1934-6. (15) Ishihara and coworkers, "Rikagaku Jiten Zohokaitei Han, Dictionary of Physics and Chemistry," American ed., Ann Arbor, Mich., G. Wahr, 1942. (16) Ishihara, Jun, "Rikagaku Jiten (Dictionary of Physics and Chemistry)," 4th rev. ed., Tokyo, Iwanami Book Co., 1949. (17) Isiwara, H., Rev. Documentation, 20, 27-30 (1953); Chem. Lit., 5, 11 (1953). (18) Nanzando, Tokyo, "Medical Dictionary," 1953. (19) Okakura, "Kenkyusha's New English-Japanese Dictionary on Bilingual Principles, "Berkeley, University of California Press, 1945. (20) Otsuki, F., "Dai-Genkai," Tokyo, Fuzambo, 1932-5. (21) Philadelphia Bibliographical Center and Union Library Catalogue, private communication, Nov. 12, 1953. (22) Satow, Ε. M., and Ishibashi, M., "English-Japanese Dictionary of the Spoken Language," American ed., South Pasadena, Calif., P. D. and Ione Perkins, 1942. LITERATURE RESOURCES Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1954.

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(23) Smith, W. Α., Kent, F. L., and Stratton, G. B., "World List of Scientific Periodicals Published in the Years 1900-1950," New York, Academic Press, 1952. (24) Sugasawa, S., private communication, July 11, 1953. (25) Ibid., Nov. 19, 1953. (26) Winchell, C. M., "Guide to Reference Books," pp. 241-2, Chicago, American Library Associ ation, 1951. (27) Yoshioka, J. G., private communication, Nov. 18, 1953. RECEIVED April 28, 1954. Presented before the Division of Chemical Literature, at the 125th Meeting of the


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The Japanese Chemical Literature - ACS Publications - American

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