For over a century, Japanese scholars have investigated language change and variation through the lens of social history. Yet the bulk of this research has received little attention outside of Japan. This volume presents the first comprehensive English-language survey of Japanese sociohistorical linguistics, bringing together contributions from leading specialists covering topics such as language contact, writing systems, linguistic variation and dialects, honorifics and greetings, and language education and policy. Taken together, these studies demonstrate how social forces have shaped the history of the Japanese language, offering valuable comparative perspectives for researchers on language change worldwide.