Thousands of early modern Japanese books and manuscripts from the libraries of UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco are being digitized in a project led by the Yanai Initiative at UCLA. The collaboration with Ritsumeikan University’s Art Research Center in Kyoto aims to create what could become the largest digital archive of its kind outside Japan.
The materials, dating from the early 1600s through 1868, include illustrated scrolls, books, maps, hand-copied manuscripts, and medical texts. The project will also extend to other University of California campuses’ holdings.
“Given the nature of the materials, this is among the largest digitization projects ever undertaken by an academic institution for premodern Japanese works,” said Michael Emmerich, director of the Yanai Initiative and UCLA’s Tadashi Yanai Professor of Japanese Literature.
Among UCLA’s collection are rare items such as pocket-sized samurai directories from the 17th century known as shūchinbon or “sleeve books.” According to Tomoko Bialock, UCLA’s Japanese studies librarian, these books were typically carried in kimono sleeves.
Digitizing these delicate and irregularly sized publications is a complex process. Some scrolls require photographs from multiple angles to capture their full detail. The initiative is supported by a $31 million gift made in 2024 by philanthropist Tadashi Yanai through the Japan Foundation.
Once completed, scholars worldwide will be able to access these resources via an interface available in English and Japanese on the Japan Past & Present website. The Art Research Center will also provide access through its ARC Research Space platform.
“It’s not just that it offers easier access,” Emmerich said. “It changes the kinds of questions you can ask. You can compare different printings, trace visual influences or uncover works that scholars have not seen in generations, without ever leaving your desk.”
Emmerich added that professors would be able to build curricula around primary sources previously inaccessible to most students: “We’ll be able to create lesson plans around primary sources that live right here in our own system but that students might otherwise never have encountered.”
UCLA’s collections include about 1,320 premodern Japanese works spanning more than 4,200 volumes; roughly two-thirds have already been digitized and some are accessible through UCLA Library Digital Collections. Ritsumeikan University professor Ryō Akama described this as a significant development for Japanese humanities research: “By making these materials digitally available to scholars, students and the wider public regardless of geography, we are not only safeguarding cultural memory but also opening up new possibilities for scholarly inquiry, education and interdisciplinary collaboration,” Akama said. “This project sets a powerful new benchmark for the field, demonstrating how digital humanities can bridge borders, deepen global engagement with Japanese cultural history and enrich the future of Japanese studies worldwide.”
UC Berkeley holds over 8,000 titles across about 23,800 volumes; completing digitization there will take several years due to collection size. Toshie Marra from Berkeley’s C.V. Starr East Asian Library said: “Our library has consistently worked to make our collections available to researchers. The Yanai Initiative’s commitment will significantly boost these efforts, building on the solid foundation created by many people over several decades.”
At UC San Francisco (UCSF), teams are digitizing biomedical references including anatomical diagrams and Buddhist texts linking medicine with religion. Kristopher Kersey of UCLA noted: “This varied and rich collection will be useful to scholars across numerous disciplines… It not only provides a rich archive concerning the history of medicine in East Asia but it also helps present-day historians to better account for how differently the body and illness were conceived in various historical contexts.”
The project aims eventually to include smaller collections at other UC campuses such as Davis, Irvine and Santa Barbara.
Emmerich emphasized both expanding access to Japanese humanities resources through initiatives like this one—and supporting UCLA’s public mission: “Unlike private universities, UCLA is structured to foster this sort of project that promotes sharing resources widely with our community,” he said. “We’re not doing this just for ourselves — we’re doing it for everyone.”
The Yanai Initiative represents ongoing collaboration between UCLA—an institution recognized nationally and internationally for excellence in scholarship and achievement—and Waseda University in Tokyo. As part of its broader mission within the University of California system, UCLA continues efforts supporting diverse perspectives through academic programs on its campus.
