Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives

Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives
山口県文書館
Yamaguchi Prefectural Library
Map
34°10′54″N 131°28′35″E / 34.181540°N 131.476307°E / 34.181540; 131.476307
Location150-1 Ushirogawara, Yamaguchi
EstablishedApril 1959
Collection size530,000[1]
Building information
BuildingYamaguchi Prefectural Library
山口県立山口図書館
WebsiteOfficial website (ja)

Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives (山口県文書館, Yamaguchi-ken Monjo-kan) opened in Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, in 1959 as the country's first dedicated modern archival institution.[2][3][4]

History

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In Shōwa 27 (1952), the Mōri family, former daimyō of Chōshū Domain, deposited its domainal documents with Yamaguchi Prefecture, whereupon they were stored, alongside materials gathered by the pre-war Prefectural History Compilation Office, at Yamaguchi Prefectural Library (ja).[5] These items were transferred in with the opening of Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives in 1959; donations and deposits - including materials from the Tokuyama Domain Mōri family - have continued since.[5]

Holdings

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The archives holds approximately 530,000 documents, roughly divided into five groups:[1]

  • Domain documents, including:
    • Mōri Family Library (毛利家文庫)
    • Tokuyama Mōri Family Library (徳山毛利家文庫)
    • Prefectural Government's Old Clan Records (県庁伝来旧藩記録)
  • Administrative documents, from the Meiji era onwards
  • Administrative materials, from the Meiji era onwards
    • Publications, photographs, films, audio recordings, etc.
  • Family documents, including:
    • Corporation, foundation, and family documents, including those of Edo period samurai houses
  • Special library
    • Textbooks, newspapers, etc.

Cultural Properties

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The holdings include seven Important Cultural Properties, two Prefectural Cultural Properties, and three Municipal Tangible Cultural Properties.[6]

Important Cultural Properties

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  • Arimitsu Family Documents (有光家文書・長門国正吉郷入江塩浜絵図): 121 items, dating from the Kamakura period to the Edo period, together with a map of the Nagato Province Masayoshi Irie Salt Fields[7][8]
  • Kumagaya Family Documents (熊谷家文書(二百五十五通)): 255 documents mounted as 13 scrolls, dating from the Kamakura period to the Edo period[9]
  • Takasu Family Documents (高洲家文書・日明貿易船旗): 117 items, dating from 1351–1643, together with a Japan-Ming trade ship flag of Wanli 12 (1584)[10][11]
  • Ōuchi Edition Lotus Sūtra Woodblocks (大内版法華経板木): 59 woodblocks of the Muromachi period[12]
  • Noshima Murakami Family Documents (能島村上家文書・過所船旗): 199 items from the sixteenth century, together with a flag pass of Tenshō 9 (1581)[13]
  • Administrative Documents of Yamaguchi Prefecture (山口県行政文書): 13,549 items, dating from the Edo period to the Shōwa era[14]
  • Former Yamaguchi Prefectural Office and Prefectural Assembly Hall, together with construction records and plans (山口県旧県庁舎及び県会議事堂附工事関係記録6冊設計図5): 6 construction records and 5 plans, from the Taishō era[6]

Prefectural Cultural Properties

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  • Materials relating to Yoshida Shōin (transmitted by the Yoshida family) (吉田松陰関係資料(吉田家伝来)): 754 items, including a portrait inscribed by Yoshida in the fifth month of Ansei 6 (1859), and his zeppitsu or final writing (Tangible Cultural Property)[15]
  • Oda Family Household Items, Merchant House Materials, and Townhouse (小田家の生活用具・商家資料・町家): 1,011 documents (Tangible Folk Cultural Property)[16]

From the archives

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b 所蔵文書概要 [Overview of the Documents Held] (in Japanese). Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives". Yamaguchi Prefecture. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  3. ^ Ogawa Chiyoko (1991). "Archives in Japan: The State of the Art". American Archivist. 54. Society of American Archivists: 548.
  4. ^ Koga, Takashi (2007). "Overview of Archives and Archival Issues in Japan". p. 3.
  5. ^ a b 山口県文書館の歴史 [History of Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives] (in Japanese). Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b 当館蔵の指定文化財 [Cultural Properties at the Archives] (in Japanese). Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  7. ^ 有光家文書 [Arimitsu Family Documents] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  8. ^ 長門国正吉郷入江塩浜絵図 [Nagato Province Masayoshi Irie Salt Fields] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. ^ 熊谷家文書(二百五十五通) [Kumagaya Family Documents] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  10. ^ 高洲家文書 [Takasu Family Documents] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  11. ^ 日明貿易船旗〈万暦十二年十月吉日/(麻布)〉 [Japan-Ming Trade Ship Flag] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  12. ^ 大内版法華経板木 [Ōuchi Edition Lotus Sūtra Woodblocks] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  13. ^ 過所船旗〈天正九年四月廿八日/〉能島村上家文書 [Noshima Murakami Family Documents & Flag Pass] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  14. ^ 山口県行政文書 [Administrative Documents of Yamaguchi Prefecture] (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  15. ^ 吉田松陰関係資料(吉田家伝来) [Materials relating to Yoshida Shōin (transmitted by the Yoshida family)] (in Japanese). Yamaguchi Prefecture. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  16. ^ 小田家の生活用具・商家資料・町家 [Oda Family Household Items, Merchant House Materials, and Townhouse] (in Japanese). Yamaguchi Prefecture. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
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