Discoverability / Findability ofMaps Owned by the International
Research Center for JapaneseStudies
International Research Center forJapanese Studies
Toshinori Egami
March 4, 2028, at Ritsumeikan University
International Workshop: Portal Sites for
Old Japanese Maps

International Research Center forJapanese Studies
 Inter-University Research Institute (National Institutes

2for the Humanities)
 Research activities
International, scholarly, interdisciplinary, andcomprehensive research on Japanese culture Research cooperation
Research cooperation and support to Japan studies
scholars around the world
Note: Japanese Studies ＝ 日本研究 Faculty; researchers

3(Professors/Associate Professors/Research Fellows:
About 50 members) Doctoral program students（Department of Japanese studies, The Graduate
University for Advanced Studies: About 20 members)
 Visiting Research Scholars(Visiting Faculty/Visiting Research Fellows: About 50members a year) Visitors to the Nichibunken Library (in 2016)
International: About 460 (Domestic: 570)

Library Catalog


Total: 550,000 books– Periodicals: About 11,000 titles– Maps: About 3,600 titles (4,500 maps)– Iconographic materials: About 2,000 titles– Audiovisual materials: About 15,000 titles

4Examples of special collections– Gaisho: Works in Japanese studies written in languages other thanJapanese, and books published overseas on Japan– Emakimono picture scrolls and woodblock print materials includingshunga erotic images and yokai monstrous beings– Picture postcards, travel brochures, and maps of overseas territories fromthe Japanese occupation period

Visual Sources and Nichibunken
Databases
 Ever since established, the Center has been

actively collecting iconographic materials including
maps, photos, and woodblock prints (i.e. visualmaterials related to Japanese culture studies) and digitalizing and organizing collectediconographic materials into databases
 of research findings from research activities andteam research by researchers.

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Maps owned by the Center About 3,600 titles (4,500 maps)

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Note: Not all are necessarily “old maps.” References area on 1F of the Library (openannex)
Maps room on 3F of the Library Stacks (closedstacks)
 “Japanese old maps” as rare materials or
Japanese materials made in other contries
 Unno Collection

Nichibunken Map Collection
 Total: 4,500 maps
 Photocopied: 1,700 maps
 Publicly available: 979 maps (last updated inMay, 2016)7

Other maps databases


Maps Drawn by Mori Koan
– provides access to maps that appeared in Zoho kaitei Mori Koan noegaita chizu (Maps Drawn by Mori Koan, Enlarged Edition) of theNichibunken Japanese Studies Series,– which are mostly owned by non-members of the Center and otherinstitutes. (Not all maps are publicly available.)Old Maps of Nagasaki– offers photocopies taken by the Center of old maps of Nagasaki
owned by the Nagasaki Museum of History and Culture.

 Rare Books and Maps on Japan in European Languages

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 Birds-Eye View Maps by Yoshida Hatsusaburo

Number of cases of map-image use As of January, FY 2017 (breakdown)– Publications: 80 (mainstream: 46/scholarly: 34)– Research: 51– Television programs: 26 （informational: 10/variety: 16）– News: 15– Advertisements: 6– Exhibitions: 3– Other: 189

Number of image usage （Overall; as ofJanuary, FY 2017)– * Yokai: 248（54 cases）– * Old maps: 199（103 cases）– * Historic places: 123– Enpon (shunga): 105– * Overseas images of Japan: 78– * Early photographs: 39– Popular culture: 32– * Namazue catfish prints: 21– * Gaisho: 17– Heian jinbutsu shi information: 9– Soda: 810– * Picture scrolls: 7– * Early modern: 4– Japanese-language newspapers: 4– Traditionally bound books: 3– Picture postcards: 2– Tale of Heiji: 2– Record of the Iwakura Embassy: 2– Books and maps: 1– Rare books and maps: 1– Kojiruien encyclopedia: 1– Crepe-paper books: 1

What source did you use infinding this image/material?
Total: 240 (January, 2017, and after)– Search engine (e.g. web search): 121（answered “via Google”: 83）– A person (primarily author): 46– Media, e.g. books, television programs: 16– Nichibunken databases: 13– No response: 13– Other: 31

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Searchable on Google Midterm Plan

Sequentially migrate image databases torenewal systems searchable on outside
search-engines
 Number of cases of Gaizo image use

12– 2013 1– 2014 3– 2015 0 （renewal in July 2015）– 2016 37– 2017 78

(In my opinion)
 Google rather than portal site
 Free “Japanese Old Maps” from“Japan”ese “Old” “Maps”
 Enhancement interlibrary loan anddocument delivery network and service13

Registration with OCLC WorldCat

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

OCLC WorldCat

Expected results– The world’s largest bibliographic library-catalog database participatedin by 70,000 or more organizations in 170 countries and territories.
– Only a few Japanese organizations currently participate in thedatabase (e.g. Waseda University, National Diet Library).
– The Nichibunken registered with WorldCat and added its catalog tothe database in January, 2018.
– Will allow searching for Japanese materials in romaji spelling– Will allow access to bibliographic reference indicating where thematerial being searched for can be located– Will allow access to digital images via links– Will allow making requests for copies and resource sharing(WorldShare ILL)