This directory is part of an ongoing project through which The Japan Foundation gathers information about Japan specialists and Japanese studies institutions in various countries. The U.S. part of the series is handled separately and has been managed and edited since the late 1980s by Patricia Steinhoff, professor of sociology at the University of Hawai'i. The Japan Foundation is the Japanese government's agency for cultural diplomacy and international cultural affairs. Established in 1972 by special legislation in the Japanese Diet, The Japan Foundation became an Independent Administrative Institution in October 2003. Its mission is to promote international cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. It maintains its headquarters in Tokyo and operates through a network of 19 overseas offices in 18 countries worldwide.

Published to accompany the exhibitions held at the Royal Academy of Arts, 24 October - 20 December 1981 and 28 December 1981 - 21 February 1982.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same title, coorganized by the Hayward Gallery, London and the Japanese Foundation, Tokio, as part of the Festival of Japan 2001.