Prof. Atsushi Aiba, Director of the Library and Research Information Dept. and the Office for Virtual Resources, Nichibunken, introduced a variety of databases produced by Nichibunken, most of which are freely accessible from
http://www.nichibun.ac.jp/graphicversion/dbase/database.html. Those that have and will become available this year include the digitized images of 142 erotic picture books from the Edo period, the Dojoji Engi Emaki scroll, and several texts of Meisho Zue of Kyoto from the Edo and the Meiji periods, all owned by Nichibunken. Prof. Aiba also mentioned about the collaborative project between Nichibunken and the Library of Congress which would digitize Japanese maps and prints held by the Library of Congress.
Mr. Yasuyuki Iwabuchi, Head of the Library Division, discussed the collection and the services provided by the Nichibunken Library. The session was followed by a tour to the Library.
(Handout 1, 2, 3, 4 are available.)
[Prepared by Toshie Marra.]
