Archives in Japan: the State of the Art

546 American Archivist / Vol. 54 / Fall 1991

International Scene Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021

Archives in Japan: The State of the Art

CHIYOKO OGAWA

Abstract: Although Japan has a long history, its archival traditions are still developing. The author gives a brief history of Japanese recordkeeping and its archival institutions. She also discusses archival legislation and the Japan Society of Archives Institutions. The article includes a translation of the Japanese archives law and an annotated bibliography of English-language articles on Japanese archives.

About the author: Chiyoko Ogawa has been responsible for the international exchange and outreach activities of the National Archives of Japan since 1987. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Japan Society of Archives Institutions and a fellow of the Records Management Society of Japan. She is also a member of the Society of American Archivists and of the Academy of Certified Archivists. She worked previously as an assistant archivist in the Centre for the Compilation of the Centennial History of the University of Tokyo. Archives in Japan: The State of the Art 547

JAPANESE ARCHIVES ARE little known Professor Ludwig Riess, a German his- abroad, probably because Japanese archi- torian employed by the Japanese govern- vists do not use languages other than Jap- ment at the end of the nineteenth century, anese. In addition, an archives system- wrote an essay in Shigakukai Zasshi, no. considered essential in most countries—is 5, the journal of Shigakukai, the first his-

not yet well developed in Japan. Neverthe- torical society in Japan. Riess insisted that Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 less, Japan has a long tradition of preserv- the society's first priority should be the tasks ing old records. One can find archiveslike of preserving and arranging records and facilities dating from as early as the sixth preparing reliable finding aids for the ex- and seventh centuries in government of- isting historical materials. Unfortunately, fices called Kan No Fudono, which means most Japanese historians ignored Riess's a repository for official documents. essay and devoted themselves to their own historical research. At the beginning of the A Brief History of Japanese Archives twentieth century, Professor Shuko Miura, According to Japanese ancient history, of the Historical Department of the Impe- Shoso In, the oldest existing museum in the rial University of Kyoto, visited Europe. world, was built as a treasury of the em- On returning to Japan, Miura introduced peror of Shomu in the eighth century to his experiences as a user of the Public Rec- celebrate the seventy-seventh anniversary ords Office in the United Kingdom, the Ar- of his death. Both the old wooden building chives nationales in France, and the Dutch and its precious holdings are still well pre- National Archives, among others. He made served today. Among those precious hold- the point that there are archives in Euro- ings are more than 11,000 pieces oiMonjo, pean countries which are very convenient paper records of the government adminis- institutions for historical researchers. tration of the eighth century. However, with Miura's introduction also disappeared into the passage of time, the volume of records the noise of two world wars. increased and they ceased to be preserved The confusing period after World War II as precious treasures. In Japan, as in every created a difficult situation for recordkeep- country, too many records create preser- ing. From the time of the Meiji Restora- vation difficulties. tion, most offices had kept records of their The year 1868, the year of the Meiji Res- activities. Old records called Komonjo were toration (called Meiji Ishin), was a remark- also found in old houses and warehouses. able turning point in Japanese history. In Because these were paper records, their that year, the Japanese feudal era came to postwar value as recyclable material ex- an end and Japan's modern age began. The ceeded their original archival, informa- newly established Meiji government abol- tional, or even evidential value. In addition, ished the former policy of national isolation air attacks on major cities had destroyed and published the slogan Bunmei Kaiaka, innumerable records, along with their own- meaning civilization. People were sent to ers. In the centennial history of Naikaku Europe and America to study the customs Bunko, the Cabinet Library, we find an ac- of Western countries. Existing records tes- count that the library lost 47,000 volumes tify to the attempts these people made in of Western books to fire. It is also known the late nineteenth century to bring the ar- that for weeks at the end of the war, many chives and records management system to people were engaged in burning the records Japan. We know that their efforts were un- of the war administration to avert accusa- successful and that they sank into the waves tions of war crimes. Not until the end of of Japanese industrialization at the turn of the 1940s do we find documentation of the the century. occupation army instructing the Japanese to 548 American Archivist / Fall 1991

set up archival repositories to preserve the Modern Archives: Principles and Tech- records of government administration. By niques (1956) to the Japanese only a few that time, innumerable records had already years after this remarkable book appeared been destroyed by recycling or burning. in the United States. In the same decade, At about the same time, a movement be- another national archival institution, Boei- gan to preserve old documents (Komonjo) cho Senshibu, was set up to follow the pat- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 of the premodern era found in family be- tern set by Shiryokan. The present English longings. This movement was proposed by name of Boeicho Senshibu is the War His- historians who issued the call to not destroy tory Department of the Library of the Na- Komonjo, because Komonjo are important tional Institute for Defense Studies under research materials. People were urged to the Defense Agency. keep them at least as they were, instead of Three prefectural archives were set up throwing them into the garbage. In the during the 1960s, in Saitama, Tokyo, and 1950s, just before the beginning of urban- Kyoto. Their founding signalled the birth ization, there were many old traditional of Kokuritsu Kohbunshokan, the National wooden houses surrounding major cities and Archives of Japan, which followed in 1971. in the suburbs. Such old houses usually had In the following decade, the 1970s, there warehouses (Kura) in which Komonjo were was a rush of archives foundings. Two na- often found. It was difficult in the confu- tional archives were established—the Na- sion of the postwar period to convince peo- tional Archives under the Prime Minister's ple of the historical value of Komonjo. Office and Gaikoh Shiryokan, the Diplo- matic Record Office under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—as were seven regional The Existing Archival Structure archives, in the prefectures of Fukushima, In 1951, in response to the historians' Ibaraki, Kanagawa, and Gifu and in the appeal, the Ministry of Education set up its cities of Hiroshima, Fujisawa, and Ama- Repository of Historical Documents (Shir- gasake. At the end of the 1970s, there were yokan) as a repository for Komonjo. In 1952, fifteen archives at the national, prefectural, Shiryokan started an annual training course and city levels. for handling Komonjo. The first trainees In 1974, eager archivists met to form were mainly from larger libraries. Shiry- Shiryo Kyo, the Liaison Council of Insti- okan became the Department of Historical tutions for Preservation and Service to His- Documents of the Institute of Japanese Lit- torical Sources. There were about twenty erature in 1972. It is not an active archives founding members, mostly from the staff accessioning records. The present archival of various archives in Tokyo and its neigh- training course run by Shiryokan, the most boring prefectures. The organization is now scholarly training course in Japan, is based called Zen Shiryo Kyo, the Japan Society on the original training course founded in of Archives Institutions (JSAI). 1952. Another surge of archives foundings oc- In 1959, the first local Japanese archival curred in the 1980s, as archives were es- institution, Yamaguchi Ken Monjokan, was tablished in nine prefectures, Hokkaido, established in the Yamaguchi prefecture. Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba, Toyama, Aichi, From the beginning, Yamaguchi Ken Mon- Osaka, Hyogo, and Hiroshima, and in four jokan held administrative records of the ordinance-designated cities, Kawasaki, prefectural government as well as several Nagoya, Osaka, and Kitakyushu. By the significant Komonjo collections. Yamagu- 1980s, the number of archival institutions chi Ken Monjokan is also famous because of national and prefectural level had almost its staff introduced T. R. Schellenberg's doubled, compared with that of the pre- Archives in Japan: The State of the Art 549

vious three decades. From 1951 to 1979, a national archives, the Prime Minister's fifteen archival institutions had been Office undertook the National Archives founded, and from 1980 to 1989, an ad- Project, a ten-year study of various aspects ditional thirteen archival institutions started of archives in many countries. They stud- their services. This rush to found archives ied, for example, the National Archives of seems to have continued into the 1990s. the United States in the 1960s. Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 The National Archives of Japan recently In 1971, the National Archives of Japan prepared a statistical report on records held started with fewer than fifty staff members. in various regional governments as of 31 It was organized into three divisions: Gen- December 1989. The report shows that six eral Affairs; Archives; and Naikaku Bunko, prefectural archives are expected to open the Cabinet Library. The original building after 1992. In addition, eight prefectures and staff proved to be less than half that and cities have scheduled new archival planned for by the ten-year study. Among institutions as part of their plans. All forty- the three divisions, the Cabinet Library is seven prefectures and eleven ordinance- unique in that its history spans more than designated cities are expected to be op- a century. The Cabinet Library was estab- erating their own archival institutions in the lished in 1883 as a central government li- future. It is generally thought that this trend brary in the Prime Minister's Office. When of archives growth is due largely to the long it became part of the National Archives, its awaited archives legislation Kohbunshokan holdings included more than 500,000 vol- Ho, the Public Archives Law of Japan umes of significant collections, including (PAL), which was drawn up in December Komonjo and official documents of the pre- 1987. PAL was finally promulgated and Meiji era. entered into law as of 1 June 1988 (see the The Archives Division was set up as a appendix to this article). Although no re- totally new division with the task of ar- liable data are available on the founding of chives maintenance. First to be opened to smaller city or town archives and related the public were the old records of the Prime organizations, the recent increase in insti- Minister's Office which formerly had been tutional members of the Japan Society of kept in the neighboring stacks of the Cab- Archives Institutions leads one to believe inet Library. At the time of the founding that archives on the local level are also in- of the National Archives, there were few creasing. archives other than those transferred from the Prime Minister's Office. The National Archives of Japan and The Public Archives Law of Japan (PAL) the Public Archives Law is a very short piece of legislation, having only seven articles. Reading PAL, one may On 2 July 1991, the National Archives easily recognize that the law describes ar- of Japan (Kokuritsu Kohbunshokan) cele- chives institutions as essential at all levels brated its twentieth anniversary. It has been of administration. PAL is administered by administered under the Public Archives Law the Prime Minister's Office and the archi- since June 1988. The National Archives of val services are the responsibility of the Ar- Japan was established as an auxiliary organ chives Division of the National Archives. of the Prime Minister's Office in 1971, on Japanese archives are not centralized. the recommendation of the Science Council Because they are independent of one an- of Japan to avoid the possible dispersal or other, the National Archives is equal to any loss of official documents. The loud de- local archives. Before PAL was set in place, mands of historians spurred the recommen- the National Archives maintained contact dation. In preparation for the founding of with local archival institutions and their staff 550 American Archivist / Fall 1991

by sending the director-general of the Na- As early as 1974, the JSAI began to meet tional Archives to JSAI's annual meet- with staff from various local archives. Since ings. In addition, after the archives law that time, the society has continued to hold was set in place, the National Archives its annual meeting at various local archives began to prepare several new programs and related institutions. These meetings such as a directors' meeting of prefectural discuss practical issues. In 1983, for ex- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 and ordinance-designated city archives and ample, the meeting was addressed by Frank a one-week training course for local ar- Evans, who was in Japan on a UNESCO chives staff. These programs have been held mission. Evans made clear to his Japanese annually since 1988. Thus, the National colleagues that they and their work had many Archives expends great effort to maintain counterparts in other countries. better contact and deeper exchanges with The tenth International Council on Ar- local archival institutions and their staff. chives Congress, held in Bonn in 1984, was These exchange activities of the National the first chance for the JSAI to send several Archives are based on Article 7 of the PAL: members to an international conference. "The Prime Minister may, upon request, Four JSAI colleagues joined the Bonn con- provide guidance or advice to local public gress to have the experience of meeting ar- entities for the operation of Public Ar- chival colleagues from all over the world. chives." For example, when a foreign ar- This encouraged the JSAI to finally submit chives expert visits Japan, the National its application to join ICA as a category B Archives and JSAI cooperate to hold lec- member, and it joined that organization in tures and meetings. 1986. Before JSAI joined the ICA, its idea of The Activities of the Japan Society of international exchange was to read and Archives Institutions translate foreign literature into Japanese. As mentioned earlier, the Japan Society Since joining, the JSAI has expanded this of Archives Institutions was founded in the idea. JSAI members now attend interna- mid-1970s and has become significantly tional conferences, workshops, and regular more active since 1985, when the decision archival studies courses, such as those at was made to join the International Council the University College of London. The JSAI on Archives (ICA) as a category B member has also had several visits by foreign ar- (national professional association). In- chival experts; one significant visit was from creased activity also resulted from discus- Michael Roper of the Public Record Office sions that accompanied the preparation and of the United Kingdom in the summer of drafting of the PAL. JSAI contributed to 1986. JSAI colleagues began to conquer the drafting of the law, which is said to be their language barrier by trying to com- among the most recent archival legislation municate and discuss their concerns with in developed countries. The PAL is also overseas counterparts. In 1988, at the elev- unique because it was introduced by a enth ICA congress, more than ten Japanese member of the House, the Honorable Niro colleagues were in Paris, among them Niro Iwakami, the first president of JSAI. His Iwakami, the principal author of the Public personal enthusiasm for the preservation of Archives Law of Japan. His enthusiasm for archives led him to take a key role in the archives preservation was unchanged, and Diet in the promulgation of the PAL. Iwak- his contribution was acknowledged by the ami was encouraged in his preparation of ICA at the closing ceremony, when he was the law by JSAI's activities, including the introduced as the awardee of the ICA Medal development of professional training op- of Honor. portunities for local archival staff. In June 1989, the National Archives of Archives in Japan: The State of the Art 551

Japan invited Jean Favier, president of ICA ities, as well as by JSAI members, to es- and the director-general of the Archives of tablish the profession of archivist. In 1989, France, to Japan. Favier's visit had a great the JSAI submitted an official demand to impact on all Japanese archivists because the prime minister to consolidate the status his Les Archives is the only piece of West- of professional archivist, to set up a qual-

ern archival literature translated into Japa- ification system for archivists, and to es- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 nese and published in Japan. He was tablish the profession as soon as possible. welcomed by the National Archives, and Although there is a provision concerning he met with Crown Prince Hironomiya dur- professional personnel in PAL (see Article ing his short stay in Japan. The National 4, Paragraph 2 in the appendix), Supple- Archives and the JSAI held a joint lecture mentary Provision No. 2 states, "For the at which people assembled not only to hear time being, Public Archives . . . may op- Favier's speech on the French archives but erate without appointing professional per- also to join him in formally awarding the sonnel as set forth in Article 4, Paragraph ICA Medal of Honor to Niro Iwakami. 2." It is quite usual in Japanese personnel In spring of 1991, Charles Kecskemeti, management to move a person from one the executive director of the ICA, visited position to another after two or three years Japan. In Tokyo, Kyoto, and Chiba, he of service. Most archives are subject to this made several speeches on world trends in type of management. Hence, most archival archives. These meetings were crowded with personnel cannot feel that their positions colleagues who discussed with Kecskemeti are stable. In fact, no matter how qualified various issues they are facing. It is worth they are for archives work, most archivists noting that Japanese archival colleagues are move on to positions in other departments, highly interested not only in getting infor- such as finance or tax administration. It is, mation from abroad but in making personal therefore, most urgent for the staff of Jap- exchanges with overseas counterparts. anese archival institutions to gain an estab- There are several other archival profes- lished professional status that holds the sional associations in Japan: the Business promise of stable archival positions. The Archives Association and the College and National Archives organized a "Research University Archives Associations, which are Group on the Training and Qualifications located both in Kanto (eastern Japan) and of Professional Staff Engaged at Archive in Kansai (western Japan). In addition, there Institutions." are related associations, such as the Rec- Movements to create opportunities for ords Management Society of Japan, Japan practical education and training for support Library Association (with various subor- staff and archivists are also under way. One ganizations), and the Local Historical Re- example is a one-week training course that search Association. The JSAI maintains the National Archives has periodically of- contact with these organizations, although fered since 1988. Another is an eight-week these contacts could be closer. course begun in 1952 and administered by Shiryokan, the Department of Historical Documents of the National Institute of Jap- Professional Issues anese Literature. Beginning in 1990, the Unlike librarians or museum curators, JSAI has held precongress workshops, and archivists have no legally established the Business Archives Association plans to professional status in Japan. Since the be- start its own course at Hosei University in ginning of modern archives in Japan in the the spring of 1992. Thus, since PAL was 1950s, there have been many discussions promulgated in 1987, many archival col- and attempts by national and local author- leagues have made efforts to develop var- 552 American Archivist / Fall 1991

ious archival courses for their own lic's understanding of archives in general professional training and education. in Japan. Japanese archivists expect to develop more exchanges with libraries and Perspectives and Conclusion information communities as well as with the historical community. At the same time, The current focus of the Japanese archi- we expect to widen international informa- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 val community is on increasing the under- tion exchanges and personal international standing of records management as a concept exchanges. Such efforts will help Japanese that supports archives service as its foun- archivists to develop and progress in the dation and on consolidating archival leg- coming twenty-first century. islation related to the archives profession. Furthermore, it is essential to raise the pub- Archives in Japan: The State of the Art 553

Appendix: The Public Archives Law of Japan

Article 1 (Purposes) by a local public entity shall be prescribed by regulation of the entity concerned. This law aims to prescribe necessary

matters pertaining to Public Archives in view Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 of the importance of preserving official Article 6 (Accommodation of Funds, documents and others as historical mate- etc.) rials and of making them available to the The state government shall make efforts public. to accommodate local public entities with funds necessary for the establishment of Article 2 (Definition) public archives or to use its good offices to The term official documents and others obtain such funds on behalf of such enti- in this law means official documents and ties. other documents (except those of current use) which are in the custody of the state Article 7 (Technical Guidance, etc.) government or of local public entities. The prime minister may, upon request, Article 3 (Obligation) provide technical guidance or advice to local public entities for the operation of Pub- The state government and local public lic Archives. entities shall be responsible for taking ap- propriate measures for preservation and uti- lization of official documents and others which are important as historical materials. Supplementary Provisions 1. (Date of Enforcement) Article 4 (Public Archives) This law shall be enforced as from the 1. Public archives shall be the institu- day which shall be fixed by a cabinet order tions that aim to preserve and make avail- and shall not be later than six months from able to the public those official documents the day of promulgation of this Law. and others which are important as historical 2. (Exception About Professional Per- materials and to make investigations and sonnel) research into matters pertaining thereto. For the time being, Public Archives to 2. There shall be in a public archives a be established by local public entities may director, professional personnel who make operate without appointing professional investigations and research into official personnel as set forth in Article 4, Para- documents and other important historical graph 2. materials, and such other personnel as may 3. (Partial Amendment to the Law con- be deemed necessary. cerning the Establishment of the Prime Minister's Office) The law concerning the establishment of Article 5 the prime minister's office (Law No. 127 1. Public archives shall be established by of 1979) shall be partially amended as fol- the state government or by local public en- lows: The following item shall be added to tities. article 4, after item 7: Item 7—(2) Matters 2. Matters pertaining to the establish- Pertaining to Enforcement of the Public ment of a public archives to be established Archives Law (Law No. 115 of 1987). 554 American Archivist / Fall 1991

Bibliography: English-Language Articles on Japanese Archives

Borsa, Ivan. "Archives in Japan." Journal Thurston, Anne. "The Management of Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/54/4/546/2748305/aarc_54_4_k7m1t73525361r87.pdf by guest on 01 October 2021 of the Society of Archivists 7 (April 1984): Records and Administration of Archives 294. in Japan: A Report on a Visit to Japanese Evans, Frank B. Development and Pres- Professional Institutions." Proceedings ervation of the Manuscript Collections of of Japan-Britain Joint Seminar on Ar- the National Diet Library. Paris: chives, 1989. Tokyo: Japan-Britain Joint UNESCO, 1984. Seminar Committee, 1989. Iwakura, Norio. "Outline of the National Yasuzawa, Shuichi. "Local Archives in Archives of Japan." Archivalische Zeit- Japan," Nederlands Archievenblad 89 schrift 74 (1978): 77-96. (1985). Reprinted in Janus 5 (March Morddel, Anne. "A Visit to Japan." Rec- 1985): 16-18. ords Management Quarterly 23 (July Yasuzawa, Shuichi, and Masahito Ando. 1989): 40-45. "Japanese Archives at the Dawn of New National Archives of Japan. National Ar- Age." Information Development—The chives of Japan. N.p.: National Ar- International Journal for Librarians, Ar- chives of Japan, 1992. chivists, and Information Specialists 4 Ogawa, Chiyoko. "National Archives of (January 1988): 33-37. Japan." Archives and Manuscripts 19 Yasuzawa, Shuichi, and Mine Yasuzawa. (May 1991): 124-27. "On the Present Situation for Business Records Management Journal 3 (Summer Archives in Japan." International Coun- 1991). The entire issue is on Japanese cil on Archives Bulletin of the Committee archives and records management. on Business Archives no. 9 (1986): 61- Roper, Michael. Japan—Archival Devel- 71. opment: Report on a Mission. Paris: In- ternational Council on Archives, 1986.