Japanese Biblical Studies

Here are the top-selling Bible-related books for July 2012 on Kyo Bun Kwan’s Best 20 list. It’s interesting to note that the number of Bible-related books in the top 20 doubled this month, with 10 titles compared to June’s 5 titles (see my post on the Best 20 for June 2012). Continue Reading…

Visitors to BibleGateway.com can use a single English interface to search 135 Bible versions in 47 languages. Unfortunately, though, no Japanese versions are among them.

BibleGateway does link to downloadable and searchable PDFs of Bible books from the Japanese Living Bible, but this is unwieldy for standard searches. Besides, few churches or scholars regularly use the Japanese Living Bible in worship or in study.

Instead, most Japanese Bible students would begin their searches with one or both of the two most widely used Bible versions in Japan: the New Interconfessional Translation Bible and the New Japanese Bible.

Continue Reading…

Kyo Bun Kwan, a publisher of mostly Christian books dating back to 1885, issues a “Best 20” list of the top sellers each month. Its bestseller list includes books from any publisher, and not just Kyo Bun Kwan. (The website does not make it clear, though, where the sales data comes from. Also, note that there is no permanent link for each month’s “Best 20.”)

Here are the 5 Bible-related books – with 4 in the top 10 – that made the list in June 2012 (to keep the list simple, I have only given my translation of the title followed by the Japanese title, linked to a page with more info):

• 4. Bible Guide for First-time Readers – はじめて読む人のための聖書ガイド
• 7. Jesus’ Words: Kesen Dialect (about the Kesen Dialect) – イエスの言葉：ケセン語訳
• 8. New Bible Talk (Bible Reading Automatic Player) – ニューバイブルトーク（聖書朗読自動再生機）
• 9. Christianity and the Bible – キリスト教と聖書 
• 17. Song of Solomon: Ancient Israel’s Love Poem – 雅歌：古代イスラエルの恋愛詩

Do you know of any other Japanese bestseller lists that feature books in biblical studies and/or theology?