Students of Japanese history (graduate students with language competence seeking a career in Japanese studies, undergraduates studying the Japanese language, and non-linguist undergraduates and graduate students studying Japanese history for a variety of reasons) have to deal with the Japanese language in different ways. They should all, however, seriously consider the time it takes to acquire a "basic mastery" of the language (roughly three times as long as for a Romance language). They should also consider the content of the language study, considered even more important by the author than the time element involved. Even advanced students who are linguistically competent to read scholarly articles on Japanese history find them difficult, not because of the language, but because of the content. The time an undergraduate student of history spends in language study could be more profitably used to take courses in anthropology, literature in translation, political science, or sociology. While Japanese language study "has utility at every level for generally recognized purposes," language instruction should not be expected to help in understanding Japanese history. Conversely, the author feels that the study of Japanese history does not complement language training to a significant degree. (AMM)