abstract

In 2015, Princeton University East Asian Library acquired an ephemera collection from the Yoshino region of Nara Prefecture which contains various types of documents from the medieval to the Showa period. Princeton University and the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo (HIUT) conducted a joint research in 2018 and 2019 to investigate about 150 pieces of fragmentary leaves from 14th century to 17th century in the collection.

This paper brings to light the most representative documents and images of the relations between Portugal and Japan from 1854 to 1952 at the AHD, the most of them never studied neither published. In particular, it will be highlighted how the sources testimonies the Japanese approach to the historical relations with Portugal, for the construction of an identity discourse.

This paper explores the leading role played by the Jesuits in Macau as intermediaries in the circulation of artistic taste and devotion during the Old Society. Alessandro Valignano conceived the College of Saint Paul in Macau to serve as the center of both China and Japan Missions. Accordingly, it should provide a Japanese environment preparing the future missionaries to this area.

Key note address

デジタルヒューマニティーズと図書館の役割 : リソースをめぐるクロストーク

The destiny of Tono Monogatari by Yanagita Kunio, or how science turned into literature

The Research and Development for Next-Generation Systems Office (R&D Office) at the National Diet Library, Japan (NDL) conducts research and development of practical applications for new library services using machine learning and other advanced information technologies as a means of improving the discoverability of digitized materials. One example of how the R&D Office’s efforts are being put to use is the Next Digital Library, an experimental search and view service for digitized materials.
The Next Digital Library features two search functions: a Keyword Fulltext Search of texts that are generated using optical character recognition (OCR) and an Illustration Search for finding illustrations, photographs, and maps that are extracted automatically from digitized material.

This paper aims to present the case of the Special Course Kuzushi-ji Seminar at the University of Helsinki during the 2019–2020 academic period, and discusses its results, contributions and challenges. This course was conducted at the University of Helsinki’s Master Programme of Languages based on the Kuzushi-ji seminar offered by the Nagoya University in autumn 2019.

Japanese studies, which were conducted as part of the Chinese and Japanese departments during the Imperial Russia era, became independent and subdivided during the Soviet era. And it was promoted with a momentum far surpassing other Western countries. That momentum continued during World War II and even after the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration, with tremendous results. Against the backdrop of the tense relationship between Japan and the Soviet Union at that time, the demand for Japanese studies and Japanese language education increased and became increasingly popular.