Permission Request Templates:


Request reasons and addressee


Addressee Request reasons Copyright of object (sakuhin) Owner of object (sakuhin) Copyright of image Owner of image Subject itself
Individual: author, artist, photographer, etc. ● ● ● ○  
Organization ● (1) ○ ● ● (2) ○
Institution: museum, temple, library, etc. ○ ● ● ●  
Publisher ○   ● ●  
Person/building in the picture (hishatai) taken by yourself         ●

● : Frequent cases. (1) and (2) correspond to choice in the cover letter and request form to organizations.
○ : Infrequent but possible cases.

Letter type by addressee

1. Individual (author, artist, photographer, etc.): Permission regarding image of his/her work


For scholarly publication
     Individual - Cover letter
     Individual - [Form A] Request for permission

For Website of academic institutions
     Individual (Website) - Cover letter
     Individual (Website) - [Form A] Request for permission

For promotional materials of academic institutions or their events
     Individual (Promotion) - Cover letter
     Individual (Promotion) - [Form A] Request for permission

Request for permission of use of image of the individual's work. The individual may also be relevant to the ownership of the image itself.

2. Organization (local government, political party, non-profit organization, company, etc.): Permission regarding organizational image, or image owned by them


For scholarly publication
     Organization - Cover letter
     Organization - [Form A] Request for permission

Request for permission of use of (1) image of the organization (such as public relations materials), or (2) image owned by the organization (such as historic scenes of community).

3. Institution (museum, temple, library, etc.): Permission regarding image of a work in their collection


For scholarly publication
     Institutional holdings - Cover letter
     Institutional holdings - [Form A] Application for permission

Application for permission of image use of the work in their collection. While many works/objects held in museums and temples may be out of copyright protection, their ownership still matters.
Institutional holdings - [Form B] Procedure information

Information on procedures in detail for lending the image. Many museums just "lend" images, and you are often required to return them.

4. Publisher: Permission for use of image from their publication


For scholarly publication
     Publisher - Cover letter
     Publisher - [Form A] Request for permission
For Website of academic institutions
     Publisher (Website) - Cover letter
     Publisher (Website) - [Form A] Request for permission
For promotional materials of academic institutions or their events
     Publisher (Promotion) - Cover letter
     Publisher (Promotion) - [Form A] Request for permission

For obtaining permission of use of image in a Japanese publication. Use for a jacket or flyer may require different treatments.
Publisher - [Form B] Procedure information

Procedures in detail for providing the image. Some publishers may not keep the images they used in their publication.

5. Subject in the image: Permission regarding individuals, buildings, etc. in the picture


For scholarly publication
     Person as subject - Cover letter
     Person as subject - [Form A] Request for permission

For obtaining permission for use of photograph taken by yourself. As identifying a person in the picture and finding his/her contact may be extremely hard, it is highly recommended for you to get permission when pictures are taken.
For scholarly publication
     Building as subject - Cover letter
     Building as subject - [Form A] Request for permission

For obtaining permission for use of photograph taken by yourself.

Notes to fill in the templates

All sample cover letters are bilingual (Japanese and English) in order to facilitate communication. Usually Japan side prefers to receive letters in Japanese, and North American publishers accept only English-language documents. Bilingual forms aim to fill this gap.








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