The book can be used as a textbook or self-study guide for scholars of Asian studies, as well as students who need to learn to read scholarly Japanese.

The book contains concise descriptions of grammar points essential for reading scholarly writings in Japanese and exercises based on excerpts taken from prominent Japanese scholarly texts. Each exercise reading provides a list of vocabulary and explanations of expressions. The reading materials provided mainly cover Chinese history, comparative literature, religion, and culture.

The book can be used as a textbook or self-study guide for scholars of Asian studies, as well as students who have completed two years of basic language learning and need to learn to read scholarly Japanese.