Guides: Japanese Digital Resources: Regional

Digital Archives - Kantō

Digital archives from libraries in the Kantō region, including Tokyo and Yokohama.

TOKYO Archive アーカイブ
TOKYO Archive is a project by the Tokyo Metropolitan Library focusing on Tokyo regional history and culture, with digital images of objects and documents from their collections, including maps of Edo, banzuke, books, calligraphy, and ukiyo-e. There is also a search of documentation related to disasters in the region throughout history.
Kanagawa Digital Archive 神奈川デジタルアーカイブ
TULIPS: Tsukuba University Rare Collections
Tsukuba University provides digital copies of its rare collections through this website. It uses a special viewer to look at the digital objects.
Tokyo University Library Digital Collections 東京大学付属図書館電子コレクション
An index with links to Tokyo University's digitized collections and digital archives.
Tokyo Gakugei Daigaku Special Collections: E-TOPIA 東京学芸大学　特別コレクション一覧： E-TOPIA
This page contains links to the main special digitized collections at Tokyo Gakugei Daigaku.
Tokyo National Museum Web Archives
A database of various objects at the Tokyo National Museum, including an advanced search function.
Tokyo Metropolitan Library Digital Library 東京都立図書館デジタルライブラリー
Several digital archives offered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Library, including one with a special focus on Tokyo history and culture.

Digital Archives - Tōhoku

These are digital libraries and archives related to, or based in, the Tōhoku region.

Tōhoku Daigaku Digital Collection 東北大学デジタルコレクション
Search of several collections held at Tōhoku University, including their Natsume Sōseki and Kano Kokichi bunko, as well as Akita family documents. Includes an English interface but not all documents are digitized. Metadata can be viewed for all, and the documents consulted at the university library.
Digital Archive of Japan's 2011 Disasters
The Digital Archive of Japan's 2011 Disasters provides metadata and previews for the holdings of a wide variety of digital archives run by Japanese and overseas institutions, including photographs, news headlines and articles, testimonials, tweets, and websites. It also includes a map function as well as the opportunity for users to create their own themed collections of materials and submit translations of individual items.

Digital Archives - Hokkaidō

Digital archives from libraries in Hokkaidō.

Sapporo Municipal Central Library Digital Library 札幌市中央図書館デジタルライブラリー
A large collection of digitized artifacts held by the library, including books, maps, and postcards with a variety of topics.

Digital Archives - Chūbu

Digital archives from libraries in the Chūbu region of central Japan, including some special collections relating to local landmarks and events.

Shizuoka Prefectural Central Library Digital Archive 静岡県立中央図書館デジタルライブラリー
The digital archive of Shizuoka Prefectural Central Library, containing a number of old documents and books, as well as a special section on materials related to Mt. Fuji, and special exhibits on the Bakumatsu period and map collections.

Digital Archives - Kansai

Digital archives from the Kansai region, with a focus on Kyoto and Nara.

Nara Chiiki Kanren Shiryō Gazō Database 奈良地域関連資料画像データベース
Various scrolls and other images related to the Nara region, digitized by Nara Women's University.
Kyoto National Museum Database
Several digital archives of high-quality images of objects from the Kyoto National Museum, including general collections, national treasures, multilingual commentary on national treasures owned by the five national museums, and a curated guide to the best-known works at the museum.
Nara National Museum Gazō Database
A database of images of various objects in the Nara National Museum database, including an advanced search function.
Kyōto Daigaku Denshi Toshokan Kichō Shiryō Gazō 京都大学電子図書館貴重資料画像
A digital archive containing images of a wide variety of artifacts held by Kyōto University Library, including photographs, emaki, paintings, and more.
Ryukoku University Library Digital Archives 龍谷大学図書館貴重資料データベース
Digital facsimiles of features from Ryukoku University's collections, ranging from literature to religion, history, and sociology.
Osaka Ohtani University Digital Library 大阪大谷大学貴重と書の紹介
A variety of scrolls, including illustrations, digitized at high quality. Some require Flash or Microsoft Silverlight to view.

Digital Archives - Chūgoku

Digital archives and libraries in or about the Chūgoku region.

Digital Kyōdo Toshokan デジタル郷土図書館 (Hiroshima University)
A "digital museum" of various collections owned by Hiroshima University, including a well-annotated Nara ehon database.

Digital Archives - Kyūshū

Digital archives from libraries, museums, and other institutions in the Kyūshū region.

Kyūshū National Museum Digital Archive
A digital archive of images of a variety of objects from the Kyūshū National Museum.
Kyūshū University Library Nihon Kotenseki Database 九州大学附属図書館日本古典籍が藏データベース
A variety of digitized rare books and documents, including archival material as well as ehon and emaki.

Okinawa Resources

Various web resources on Okinawa, including digital archives and guides.

Ryūkyū/Okinawa Kankei Kichō Shiryō Digital Archives 琉球･沖縄関係貴重資料デジタルアーカイブ (Ryūkyū University)
A wide variety of digitized documents related to Okinawa, some in collaboration with the University of Hawai'i Manoa.
Okinawa Compact Jiten 沖縄コンパクト事典
A dictionary of Okinawa, courtesy of Ryukyu Shinpo. Includes many topics such as history, geography, customs, and sports.
Ryūkyū University Institutional Repository
Scholarly research produced and housed by the University of the Ryukyus, made available for free online.
Ryūkyū-go Onsei Database 琉球語音声データベース
A searchable online dictionary of various Okinawan dialects with explanatory material. Japanese and Okinawan only.
Okinawa no Kamon 沖縄の家紋
A visual guide to Okinawan family emblems, or kamon.
Ryūkyū Kafu Mokuroku Database 琉球家譜目録データベース
Genealogies of Ryūkyū families by Watanabe Miki.
Watanabe Miki HP 渡辺美季HP
Watanabe Miki is a professor at Kanagawa and a researcher of Okinawan history. He provides various resources on Okinawan history on his personal website, including a message board, index of Okinawa-related sites in China and Japan, and bibliography of Okinawa history research.
Tsūkō Ichiran Ryūkyū Kokubu Text 通航一覧琉球国部テキスト
Documents related to Ryukyu from the Edo period, with an emphasis on diplomacy. Full text but no page images available.
Ryūkyū Gaikoku Kankei Monjo 琉球外国関係文書
Full text, but no page images, of documents held by 東京大学史料編纂所. Document sections are hyperlinked from a table of contents and delivered in another frame of the page.

Japanese Digital Resources: Regional

Regional Studies