In this article, “early Japanese books (kotenseki)” is a generic term used to refer to books and documents issued and produced in and before the Edo era (1603-1868). There is a distinction between “manuscripts (shahon)” and “printed books (kanpon).” Manuscripts are handwritten with a brush, and an important point is by whom and in which period it was written. Among them, “autographs (jihitsu-bon)” and “old manuscripts (koshahon)” are especially valued. Autographs are written directly by a master of a certain field, for which the personality of the writer adds extra glamour to the document itself. “Old manuscripts” means transcriptions made in and before the Muromachi era (1336-1573) which are of academic value. As Japan has a long cultural tradition and our ancestors valued books, many old manuscripts produced hundreds years ago have been handed down. Although this does not seem well known, it is said that Japan has no equal in keeping a wealth of old manuscripts, which makes us feel proud.

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Classics of Japanese literature such as “Nihon shoki,” “Man’yoshu,” “Genji Monogatari” and “Ise Monogatari” have come down for a long period since their birth, copied out by hand again and again. As a result, various versions of old manuscripts of 700 to 800 years ago remain today, designated as national treasures and important cultural properties. It was in the early Edo era, at the beginning of the 17th century, that these classics were printed and published for the first time. That was a period of transition from manuscripts to printed books. At the time book pages were set up in wooden movable type to be printed. This kind of printing is called “old movable-type printed books (kokatsuji-ban),” making a distinction from the Western style printing introduced in and after the Meiji era (1868-1912). While manuscripts took time to make even one copy, with the birth of printed books, which can be reproduced in multiple copies, many people came to be able to read the same book at the same time. Classical poems (waka) and phrases of old tales became almost standardized around this time. Old movable-type printed books comprise extremely important groups of books from the viewpoint of cultural history, but their age ended only about fifty years later. It is said that one of the reasons for their decline was that reprinting, which needed setting up the types again, took too much time to catch up with the increasing number of readers.

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Since then, for about 200 years of the Edo era, numerous books in a variety of fields including literature, art, history, medicine, science, were published by engraving characters and pictures on a “printing block,” a wooden board. In the 18th century, highly developed skills of experienced engravers and printers and an exquisite and sophisticated aesthetic sense unique to Japan, blessed as it was with four beautiful seasons merged together to produce brilliant and elaborate multi-colored printing: “nishiki-e (colored woodblock prints)” with bright colors that looked like nishiki (colorful silk brocade) and “ehon (picture books)” with graceful and fascinating illustrations drawn by artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Kitagawa Utamaro. Worthy of being called a flower in Japanese history of printing culture, with elaborately-wrought illustrations, characters and bindings, ehon is a work of art, attracting attention and highly esteemed both inside and outside the country.

Early Japanese books, from old manuscripts to ehon, which bear witness to more than a millennium of culture, are valuable cultural heritage that belongs to the world.

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While paper books convey a material presence, they need care and protection to so remain. Early Japanese books have been read, loved and protected for hundreds of years, surviving wars, fires and natural disasters to be handed down to this day.

Having been handed from person to person over time, early Japanese books are held in many places with which they have had a connection. For example, a collection previously owned by the Edo Shogunate is held by the National Archives as the Cabinet Library (Naikaku Bunko), and books of the Imperial court are held by the Archives and Mausolea Department of the Imperial Household Agency. The collection of the Konoe family, head of regents to the emperor, is preserved at the Yomei Bunko, and the Reizei family also has a long tradition of preserving documents. Many books which used to be treasured by feudal lords are now held by prefectural and university libraries. The collection previously owned by Tokugawa Ieyasu and handed over to the Owari Tokugawa family was taken over by Hosa Library, City of Nagoya. Temples and shrines also hold old documents. Toyo Bunko, Dai Tokyu Kinen Bunko, and Tenri Central Library focus on collecting especially rare early Japanese books and provide them to researchers. Materials moved out of the country between the Meiji era and the post-war period found a place where they could be protected in peace in European and American libraries and museums such as the British Library and the New York Public Library. This shows how early Japanese books are treasured in various places.

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Early Japanese books handed down from the past are not in circulation like the current publications National Diet Library (NDL) collects through the legal deposit system. All of the early Japanese books held by the NDL were donated to or purchased by the Library according to its policy for acquisition of materials.

NDL’s collection of early Japanese books started with 43,630 volumes previously owned by schools of the feudal domains and acquired at the beginning of the Meiji era, which was a mere 5% of all books held by schools of the feudal domains. After that, the following collections were added to the collection of the Imperial Library, the predecessor of the NDL:

• Documents of the Tokugawa Shogunate: called “kyu-baku hikitsugi sho”
• Soke monjo: documents relating to trade with Korea handed down in the Tsushima Soke family   ▶related article
• Books previously owned by Sakakibara Yoshino (1832-1881), Meiji era scholar of Japanese classics
• Daisobon: kibyoshi (illustrated storybooks in yellow covers of the Edo era) previously owned by a book-lending shop owner Onoya Sohachi, whose shop located in Nagashima-cho, Nagoya, was visited by Takizawa Bakin and Tsubouchi Shoyo
• Enkojihon: books about Buddhism, Chinese books, Korean books and others previously owned by Kanshitsu Genkitsu (1548-1612), president of Ashikaga Gakko and Zen monk
• Books relating to the art of tea ceremony previously owned by Imaizumi Yusaku (1850-1931), art historian
• Kabutoyama Bunko: old documents, topographies, sugoroku (Japanese backgammon) previously owned by Negishi Takeka (1839-1902), scholar of the Japanese classics from the end of the Edo era to Meiji era
• Materials on herbalism previously owned by Shirai Mitsutaro (1863-1932), author of “Nihon hakubutsugaku nenpyo (time-line of natural history in Japan)”
• Materials on astronomy and the calendar previously owned by Shinjo Shinzo (1873-1938), President of the Kyoto Imperial University and astrophysicist
• Materials on herbalism previously owned by Ito Keisuke (1803-1901), first Doctor of Science in Japan

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Established after the war and having taken over the collection of the Imperial Diet, the NDL purchased, for example, an anthology of Chinese poetry and writings by Japanese authors previously owned by the dermatologist Dohi Keizo (1866-1931), and books previously owned by a scholar of Japanese language, Kameda Jiro (1876-1944).

In recent years, the NDL acquired materials of importance in publishing culture and bibliography such as Rongo, Nihon shoki (edition published under an order from the Emperor Goyozei, NDL call number: WA7-251), Utai bon, Ise Monogatari, Ouma jirushi, Kan’ei gyoko ki.

As most of the early Japanese books are damaged and discolored with age, libraries keep them safe from ultraviolet rays, under optimally maintained temperature and humidity. When used, it is necessary to treat them with utmost caution so as not to cause the slightest damage. Today, we are coming closer to striking a long sought-after balance between preservation and use of library materials. The NDL has been vigorously digitizing early Japanese books, considering them as a national cultural heritage. Many of the books above introduced can be viewed via the NDL website, so you can enjoy the old documents and beautiful books you encounter in an exhibition, relaxing at home. Here are some of the databases and digital exhibitions where early Japanese books are available, among more than 17 online exhibitions of the NDL.

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◆Digitized Contents (Rare Books, etc.) (Japanese only): contains about 51,000 color images of 957 titles of rare books from the NDL collection, including six materials designated as important cultural properties

◆Rare Books of the National Diet Library (Japanese only): introduces about 100 rare and semi-rare books held by the NDL, which were on exhibit at the special exhibition commemorating NDL’s 50th anniversary in 1998.

◆Rare books of the National Diet Library - The 60th anniversary -: electronic exhibition based on the special exhibitions held at the Tokyo Main Library and the Kansai-kan of the NDL in 2008, which introduced 77 materials on three themes: 1. Carrying on the Classics; 2. Intellectual Exchange; 3. Variety of "ehon" books

◆Fauna and Flora in Illustrations -Natural History of the Edo era- (Japanese only): presents about 180 materials related to the natural history of the Edo era, based on the special exhibition held in FY2005 with additional materials provided in digital form under the title "Eyes to Nature."