International Research Center for Japanese Studies
Encyclopedia
The , or Nichibunken is an inter-university research institute in Kyoto
. Along with the National Institute of Japanese Literature
, the National Museum of Japanese History
, and the National Museum of Ethnology, it is one of the National Institutes for the Humanities. The center is devoted to research related to Japanese culture.
with the prominent philosopher Umehara Takeshi
as its first Director-General. Prominent Kyoto academics Umesao Nobuo and Kuwabara Tetsuo also played key roles in the founding of the center.
In 1990 the center moved to its current site in Oeyama-chō, Nishikyō-ku. In 1995 Kawai Hayao, a Jungian analyst of Japanese psychology and religion, was inaugurated as the second director-general of Nichibunken. In 2001, Yamaori Tetsuo, professor of Japanese religion and folklore, became the center's third director-general. The current director-general, Katakura Motoko, was inaugurated in 2005. She is Nichibunken's first female director-general and, as a cultural-anthropologist who specializes in Middle-Eastern Studies, she is also the center's first director-general who is not a Japan specialist.
caused considerable outrage at the time for arguing in influential newspapers abroad that the establishment of the Center was part of a project designed to revamp the kind of nationalist ideology current in pre-war Japan. The center has also been criticized for promoting theories of Japanese particularism.
The appointment of Katakura Motoko as Nichibunken's fourth director-general may be seen as an attempt by the center to revamp its conservative image and distance itself from associations with theories of Japanese particularism. Katakura, a specialist in the anthropology of the Middle-East, is a relative outsider to the field of Japanese studies.
and Royall Tyler
.
This is a database of images of all rare books in Nichibunken's collection. It primarily consists of books treating Japan in Western languages published before the opening of the country to foreign commerce in the 1850s. In addition to graphic images of all pages of these rare books, the database contains searchable text with bibliographic information, tables of contents of the books, and captions of the illustrations in the books.
This online catalogue is a database of the bibliographical details of pre-1900 European books housed in Nichibunken's library which contain references to Japan. A total of 1,057 items are listed here
Nichibunken's collection of 51,805 photographs, illustrations, and other visual images of Japan or Japan-related subjects from around the world. Users must register with Nichibunken in order to view the photos in this database.
5,431 hand-colored photographs of Japan and accompanying text dating from the end of the Edo Period through the beginning of the Meiji Period. This database also requires users to register with Nichibunken.
Images and textual information on Japanese art in foreign collections. The collection includes paintings, prints, ceramics, and lacquerware. Registration required.
The Heian jinbutsushi is a Who's Who of Kyoto in the Edo period. It brings together information on literati and connoisseurs of various arts from all parts of the city and its environs. The first edition appeared in 1768 and the ninth and last edition in 1867. Between those dates, revised and expanded editions of the directory were published approximately once a decade, in 1775, 1783, 1813, 1822, 1830, 1838, and 1852. This database is constructed on the basis of original works that are all in Nichibunken's collection.
The Heian jinbutsushi tanzakuchō is a collection of rectangular cards (tanzaku) on which poems were written by persons whose names appear in the Heian jinbutsushi. The originals are holograph brush-written poems. This database is constructed on the basis of tanzaku that are all in Nichibunken's collection. For some poems in the database (those originally written in Chinese, or kanshi), annotated English translations are included.
The SODA Collection, originally the collection of the medical historian Soda Hajime, contains books and prints related to the history of medicine. The major portion of digitized resources here is pictorial.
The Miyako nenjū gyōji gajō is a two-volume album of hand painted pictures on silk by Nakajima Sōyō. It depicts the annual festivals and customs of Kyoto at the beginning of the Showa period. These paintings are accompanied by explanatory texts written by the folklorist and Kyoto scholar Ema Tsutomu.
This is a collection of historical map images. It is not possible to zoom into these maps unless you are connected to the Nichibunken Intranet
.
The Zuroku Bei-Ō kairan jikki (translated as “The illustrated true account of the observations of the ambassadors plenipotentiary of America and Europe”) is a collection of illustrations and descriptive passages related to the Iwakura Mission
. It was published in 1878.
This contains the digitized full text and prints of the Kinsei kijinden, a collection of biographies of eccentrics from the Edo period.
This contains digitized images of Edo-era and Meiji-era guidebooks to historic sites in Kyoto.
This database contains bibliographic information related to folklore research in Japan.
A database of 221 color photographic images of historical maps from the Nagasaki Municipal Museum's collection. Registration is required.
A database of illustrations from the Kannon reigenki, a collection of legends pertaining to the Kannon Bodhisattva.
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Along with the National Institute of Japanese Literature
National Institute of Japanese Literature
The , or NIJL, was established in May of 1972. Its primary purpose is to preserve manuscripts and books relating to the study of Japanese literature. Original texts and microfilms of these originals are stored in the institute's archives, although a project is underway to make digital copies of all...
, the National Museum of Japanese History
National Museum of Japanese History
The is a history museum in Sakura, Chiba, Japan.-See also:* List of National Treasures of Japan *List of National Treasures of Japan...
, and the National Museum of Ethnology, it is one of the National Institutes for the Humanities. The center is devoted to research related to Japanese culture.
History of the Center
The official origins of the institute are traced to an early study carried out by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture in 1982 on "methods of comprehensive research on Japanese culture". After surveying the field of Japanese studies for several years, the ministry, under the administration of Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro, established the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in 1987 in KyotoKyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
with the prominent philosopher Umehara Takeshi
Umehara Takeshi
was born in Miyagi Prefecture in Tōhoku in 1925 and graduated from the philosophical faculty of Kyoto University in 1948. He taught philosophy at Ritsumeikan University and was subsequently appointed rector of the Kyoto Municipal University of Fine Arts...
as its first Director-General. Prominent Kyoto academics Umesao Nobuo and Kuwabara Tetsuo also played key roles in the founding of the center.
In 1990 the center moved to its current site in Oeyama-chō, Nishikyō-ku. In 1995 Kawai Hayao, a Jungian analyst of Japanese psychology and religion, was inaugurated as the second director-general of Nichibunken. In 2001, Yamaori Tetsuo, professor of Japanese religion and folklore, became the center's third director-general. The current director-general, Katakura Motoko, was inaugurated in 2005. She is Nichibunken's first female director-general and, as a cultural-anthropologist who specializes in Middle-Eastern Studies, she is also the center's first director-general who is not a Japan specialist.
Criticisms of the Center
Nichibunken was established against the backdrop of an increasing trade surplus with the United States in the 1980s. One of the ostensible impulses behind the founding of the center was a desire to change overseas perceptions of Japan that viewed the country as a faceless economic power. The cultural-anthropologist Ueno Chizuko sharply criticized the center as a calculated attempt at national branding. Ueno claimed that, despite the center's academic pretensions, the real purpose of Nichibunken was to improve the image of Japan in order to prevent criticism of Japanese trading practices and improve sales of Japanese goods abroad. Ian BurumaIan Buruma
Buruma is a nephew of the English film director John Schlesinger, a series of interviews with whom he published in book form.-Works:*The Japanese Tattoo with Donald Richie ISBN 978-0-8348-0228-5...
caused considerable outrage at the time for arguing in influential newspapers abroad that the establishment of the Center was part of a project designed to revamp the kind of nationalist ideology current in pre-war Japan. The center has also been criticized for promoting theories of Japanese particularism.
The appointment of Katakura Motoko as Nichibunken's fourth director-general may be seen as an attempt by the center to revamp its conservative image and distance itself from associations with theories of Japanese particularism. Katakura, a specialist in the anthropology of the Middle-East, is a relative outsider to the field of Japanese studies.
The Nichibunken Library
A library of Japanese Studies is attached to the center. The collection primarily consists of books and bibliographic materials pertinent to the academic study of Japan. As of August 2004, the library contains approximately 252,000 volumes of books in Japanese and 97,000 volumes in other languages. It also houses approximately 4,400 Japanese periodicals and about 1,000 foreign language periodicals.Publications
Nichibunken publishes two periodicals in the field of Japanese Studies, Nihon Kenkyū (in Japanese) and Nichibunken Japan Review. Nihon Kenkyū is published biannually and Nichibunken Japan Review is published once a year. Both periodicals showcase the research of Nichibunken scholars although they are open to outside researchers. Both publications have featured articles from well-known Japan scholars from overseas, including Donald KeeneDonald Keene
Donald Lawrence Keene is a Japanologist, scholar, teacher, writer, translator and interpreter of Japanese literature and culture. Keene was University Professor Emeritus and Shincho Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at Columbia University, where he taught for over fifty years...
and Royall Tyler
Royall Tyler
Royall Tyler , American jurist and playwright who wrote The Contrast in 1787 and published The Algerine Captive in 1797. He wrote several legal tracts, six plays, a musical drama, two long poems, a semifictional travel narrative, The Yankey in London , and essays...
.
Databases
The following databases are accessible from the Nichibunken webpage. Some of the databases require you to register and obtain a password.- Rare Books
This is a database of images of all rare books in Nichibunken's collection. It primarily consists of books treating Japan in Western languages published before the opening of the country to foreign commerce in the 1850s. In addition to graphic images of all pages of these rare books, the database contains searchable text with bibliographic information, tables of contents of the books, and captions of the illustrations in the books.
- Catalogue of the pre-1900 printed books on Japan in European languages housed in the library of Nichibunken
This online catalogue is a database of the bibliographical details of pre-1900 European books housed in Nichibunken's library which contain references to Japan. A total of 1,057 items are listed here
- Foreign Images of Japan
Nichibunken's collection of 51,805 photographs, illustrations, and other visual images of Japan or Japan-related subjects from around the world. Users must register with Nichibunken in order to view the photos in this database.
- Early Photographs
5,431 hand-colored photographs of Japan and accompanying text dating from the end of the Edo Period through the beginning of the Meiji Period. This database also requires users to register with Nichibunken.
- Japanese Art in Overseas Collections
Images and textual information on Japanese art in foreign collections. The collection includes paintings, prints, ceramics, and lacquerware. Registration required.
- Heian jinbutsushi Information
The Heian jinbutsushi is a Who's Who of Kyoto in the Edo period. It brings together information on literati and connoisseurs of various arts from all parts of the city and its environs. The first edition appeared in 1768 and the ninth and last edition in 1867. Between those dates, revised and expanded editions of the directory were published approximately once a decade, in 1775, 1783, 1813, 1822, 1830, 1838, and 1852. This database is constructed on the basis of original works that are all in Nichibunken's collection.
- Heian jinbutsushi tanzaku Information
The Heian jinbutsushi tanzakuchō is a collection of rectangular cards (tanzaku) on which poems were written by persons whose names appear in the Heian jinbutsushi. The originals are holograph brush-written poems. This database is constructed on the basis of tanzaku that are all in Nichibunken's collection. For some poems in the database (those originally written in Chinese, or kanshi), annotated English translations are included.
- SODA Collection: Pictorial and Miscellaneous Materials,Rare Books
The SODA Collection, originally the collection of the medical historian Soda Hajime, contains books and prints related to the history of medicine. The major portion of digitized resources here is pictorial.
- Miyako nenjū gyōji gajō
The Miyako nenjū gyōji gajō is a two-volume album of hand painted pictures on silk by Nakajima Sōyō. It depicts the annual festivals and customs of Kyoto at the beginning of the Showa period. These paintings are accompanied by explanatory texts written by the folklorist and Kyoto scholar Ema Tsutomu.
- Space in Historical Perspective
This is a collection of historical map images. It is not possible to zoom into these maps unless you are connected to the Nichibunken Intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
.
- Zuroku Bei-Ō kairan jikki
The Zuroku Bei-Ō kairan jikki (translated as “The illustrated true account of the observations of the ambassadors plenipotentiary of America and Europe”) is a collection of illustrations and descriptive passages related to the Iwakura Mission
Iwakura mission
The Iwakura Mission or Iwakura Embassy was a Japanese diplomatic journey around the world, initiated in 1871 by the oligarchs of the Meiji period. Although it was not the only such "mission", it is the most well-known and possibly most important for the modernization of Japan after a long period...
. It was published in 1878.
- Kinsei kijinden
This contains the digitized full text and prints of the Kinsei kijinden, a collection of biographies of eccentrics from the Edo period.
- Illustrations of Historic Places in Kyoto
This contains digitized images of Edo-era and Meiji-era guidebooks to historic sites in Kyoto.
- Folk tale Data of Strange Phenomena and Yōkai
This database contains bibliographic information related to folklore research in Japan.
- Old Maps of Nagasaki
A database of 221 color photographic images of historical maps from the Nagasaki Municipal Museum's collection. Registration is required.
- Mysterious Stories of Kannon Bodhisattva in Ukiyoe
A database of illustrations from the Kannon reigenki, a collection of legends pertaining to the Kannon Bodhisattva.