abstract

In the 19th century Japan and Russia were facing many political and cultural changes: the restoration of imperial rule in Japan and the abolition of serfdom in Russia in the 60s of the 19th century. These events greatly influenced further development of libraries and reading. This paper analyzes the following aspects:
1. Appearance of first public libraries in Russia and Japan.
2. Development of private libraries in two countries.
3. Consideration of readers and published literature in the context of social and cultural situations in two countries.

In 1888, the Imperial University (present-day The University of Tokyo) history instructor Ludwig Riess (1861–1928) submitted an opinion statement to the university which stated, “In the national archives of the Netherlands at The Hague, there are many precious sources relating to Japanese history.” This led to the University subsequently engaging in the first ever overseas survey of Japan-related historical sources. In the 1920s, the Japan Academy began a Union Académique Internationale (UAI) overseas Japan-related historical sources survey project. In 1954, it was taken over by the Historiographical Institute.
In this report, I will cover this research project’s progress and ultimate aims, as well as discuss the results of an on-going historical sources survey and joint research in Russia.

In this presentation I would like to attract your attention to materials housed in GARF (State Archive of Russian Federation). The archive was created in 1992. Japan related materials may be found in the following depositories: Soviet-Japan and Japan-Soviet Friendship Societies, Soviet Committee for Peace, Soviet Committee for Solidarity with Asian and African Countries and materials of International Conferences for Prohibition of Nuclear and Hydrogen Weapons. So far this archive materials were used by some Russian and American scholars for the study of Soviet Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries in the interwar period, but postwar materials have not been much used, though they contain some useful information on how Japan and the Soviet Union perceived each other.

Welcome to the 30th EAJRS Conference

第30回日本資料専門家欧州協会年次大会

Rethinking resources for Japanese studies

日本学資料の再考

organized by Department of Japanese Studies at Sofia University "Saint Kliment Ohridski"

18-21 September 2019

The author visited the Lille City Library to research on Japanese and Chinese classics. These books were part of the collection found in storage belonging to Léon-Louis-Lucien Prunol de Rosny (1837-1914), professor of the first Japanese language course in France. Rosny is known as a pioneer of Japanese Studies in Europe, though his efforts are not fully appreciated in modern day. 
Prof. Peter Kornicki published the catalog of Japanese Classics of  Léon de Rosny’s collection (1994); as the collection gained some renown it became clear that Rosny's Japanese book collection and the Japanese teaching materials compiled by  Léon de Rosny are closely related.
In addition to the Japanese books, Rosny’s collection included over 500 Chinese books, gifted to him by his teacher Stanislas Julien (1797-1873). Furthermore, it is believed that some books from Julien's teacher, Jean-Pierre Abel-Rémusat (1788-1832), are also included, and should be valued as part of academic history. However, the catalog of Chinese books has not been published, and has not yet not been widely recognized.

The very first archival documents related to Japan and modern Japanese development dates over a hundred years ago and is related to the very beginning of the establishment of the Modern Bulgarian State after the liberation from the Ottoman Empire which coincides with the Meiji period in Japan. Though different archival sources in Bulgarian archives we can take a look into the diplomatic and military activities of Japan from that time and to analyze its relations with the Great powers as well as the specific interest of the Japanese government to the so called Eastern question on the Balkans representing a complex of political interests of both the newly established Balkan states and the Great Powers competing for a greater influence in this region. Two main aspects of the Japanese modern history from that time can be explored through Bulgarian archives. The first one is related to the wars that Japan fights against China and after that against Russian Empire. The other issue is related to the rapid Japanese economic and industrial development which impresses Bulgarians to a great extent. 

Shibusawa Eiichi is said to have been involved in as many as 500 companies and 600 organizations, but given the large scope it is difficult to gain a clear picture of his involvements. In an attempt to partially alleviate this, our foundation complied and digitized the “Name Change Charts of Companies and Organizations Related to Shibusawa Eiichi.” This digital resource is divided by industry such as “Finance” or “Education” and provides a visual representation of the development of companies and organizations related to Shibusawa Eiichi through their name changes.
In my presentation I will use the “Name Change Charts,” as a tool to look at Eiichi’s business and other involvements and thereby think about his significance to the field of Japanese studies.

University of Michigan Library is "committed to providing equal access to information and services for all students, faculty, and staff members. We aim to provide an equitable experience for individuals with disabilities by following accessibility standards, responding to user feedback, and providing support and accommodations."
This presentation is a progress report of the project of increasing accessibility to Japanese studies materials in the Library’s Digital Collections for inclusive users.

In 1590, Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano introduced the Western printing technology to Japan with which the Kirishitan-ban or the Jesuit press publication was issued as the first movable metal type printing there. Several tens of tittles were published from 1591 until the promulgation of the edict of 1614 against professing Christianity.
Although the Kirishitan-ban itself is the outcome of the Japan-Europe relation, several important cultural interchanges between them have progressed since then with it.

Historiographical Institute the University of Tokyo, ‘HI’ for short, has been investigating historical materials concerning pre-modern Japanese history. In the process, we have been making and managing metadata as the results and shooting the materials. Recently, we have been digitizing of the historical materials based on the results so that the data can be used at long-term preservation and utilization of them. In the paper, we report on the approach and the efforts.