Message to Our Readers

In 2008 Monumenta Nipponica will turn seventy. Over the years the journal has appeared in several formats, and on this occasion Sophia University has decided to revert to the mode generally followed for the first decades of publication. Each issue will be somewhat thicker than at present (approximately 200 to 220 pages), but the journal will come out twice instead of four times a year. The spring issue will be published in May and the autumn issue in November.

The immediate reason for the change is to reduce the pressures of the current intense production schedule. Also, in recent years, many submissions have been quite lengthy, and an expanded format will make it easier to accommodate various types of articles. Readers at first may miss the frequency with which MN has appeared in their mailboxes, but we trust that they will understand the reasons for going to a schedule with longer intervals between publication and will appreciate each issue's increased scope. As MN enters its eighth decade, we reflect with gratitude on its readership's steadfast loyalty and look forward to your continued interest and support.