Japan Studies: Collection Overview

UNC has a moderately sized Japanese collection due in part to the long-standing cooperative collection alliance with Duke University. Our acquisition focuses on titles relating to language and undergraduate student instruction. The collection also includes selective works in Japanese literature (including English translations of Japanese literary works), and Japanese history, as well as Japanese publications related to sinology for important subjects such as geography, art, architecture, performing arts, and Zen Buddhism.

UNC hired its first tenure track faculty in Japanese language and literature in the mid-1990s and established a graduate program in Global History in 2005. To support active research projects on the history of Japanese economic policies, the collection brought in the first research title, Shōda Kazue monjo　「勝田主計文書」, with partial support from the NCC MVS project grant. This 80-reel microform contains the personal papers of a prominent and influential Japanese economic official active during the early 20th century.

In 2007 UNC History Department approved a doctoral field in Asian History. Subsequently, materials from the Tokugawa (1603-1868) and Meiji (1868-1912) periods were added to our collections to support Japanese faculty's research projects.

Primary source materials from the Tokugawa period include:

• Ehon Nankōki 「繪本楠公記」, an illustrated chronicle of the life of a 14th-century warrior, Kusunoki Masashige, published in 1800 (1,2,3)
• Kibyōshi yonjisshu 「黄表紙四十種」, forty illustrated storybooks (kibyōshi 黄表紙)
• Keijō shōran - Kyōto meguri ｢京城勝覧・京都めぐり」, an illustrated travel guide to Kyoto published in 1784
• Nihon sankai meisan zue 「日本山海名産図会 」, an illustrated compendium in five volumes on agricultural and animal resources in Japan and their processing
• the fourth volume of Morokoshi meishō zue 「唐土名勝図会」, a five-volume illustrated set on China's famous places of scenic beauty authored by Okada Gyokuzan in 1806
• Edo machi hitori annai 「江戸町」独案内」, an address book and travel guide to the shogunal capital, published in 1842
• Goningumi oshiokichō「五人組御仕置帳」, the 1823 register containing information about the goningumi (five-family system), a self-governing body of mutual surveillance instituted by the Tokugawa shogunate in the 1620s to administer authority at the local level.

Primary source materials from the Meiji period include:

• The Japan Weekly Mail (1870-1915), a major newspaper in English

Japanese literature collections include:

UNC also jointly subscribes with Duke University to JapanKnowlegde database which contains core reference materials in both Japanese and English languages.

Collections:
The East Asian Collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) benefit from longstanding cooperative collection development programs with nearby Duke University. The University of North Carolina concentrates its collecting efforts on Chinese materials, while Duke University focuses on Japanese materials. Each library purchases materials requested by faculty from the other institution and arrangements for special research loans can be made.

Material Purchase:
UNC Faculty members and graduate students can request Japanese titles for purchase through both UNC and Duke University. If UNC cannot buy the materials for your research, Duke University might consider it. Please note that purchased materials might take a few months to be delivered to our libraries.

Loan periods
Any Japanese book held at Duke can be checked out for up to six months, and the loan is renewable unless the title is recalled. UNC affiliates visiting Duke libraries for the first time will have to set up an online account at Duke Library Circulation Desk in order to obtain the six-month loan period. Borrowers who do not wish to set up an online account will receive a regular semester-long loan (also eligible for renewal). Loans can be renewed online. For technical assistance, please contact Duke. 

Borrowers can also request books through the Search TRLN interface, in which case titles will be delivered directly to UNC within two-three days.  Books requested through TRLN can be checked out for up to 90 days.

Borrowing journals, loose issues, microfilms, and reference titles
Loans can be arranged for items that are typically marked for library use only. Please contact Duke for more details.

Materials for reserves
Please contact Duke for arrangements regarding relevant materials to be placed on reserve for the semester at UNC.

Videos/DVDs
Please contact Danette Pachtner at Duke to borrow videos/DVDs.The loan period is 3 nights with only one renewal allowed. If you wish to use a video held at Duke for instructional purposes, please contact UNC's Media Resources librarian Winifred Metz.