Mechanisation projects at the National Institute of Japanese Literature, Tokyo, 1972–1977

Research in classical Japanese literature has always had to face the problem of obtaining access to the original texts. These are invariably in the form of manuscripts or old printed books and are scattered all over the country and even abroad. The number of existing old literary works (pre 1868) is estimated at about sixty thousand, and the number of different editions at about six hundred thousand. Some texts are preserved in museums, others in academic libraries and private collections e.g. in shrines and temples. Most of them are jealously guarded and a good letter of introduction is required to obtain access to them. The lack of an authoritative archive of these materials has led to considerable loss of them abroad and the gradual destruction of this cultural heritage. In this situation a national archive of old literary works is essential and a research library in the field has been required. Since it would be too expensive to collect the originals of these materials the idea of a microfilmed collection of old literary works has emerged.