Databases

The official Database of Early Modern Illustrated Encyclopedias is now publicly available.

The digitized data includes the Kinmōzui (A Collection of Images to Enlighten the Young), compiled by Nakamura Tekisai with preface dated “Kanbun 6” (1666), and other “Kinmōzui”-type encyclopedias as well as books with pictorial and diagramed information. Despite the “Early Modern” in the title, this database covers the period up to and including the early Meiji era.

The database is compiled primarily from open data made accessible to the public by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies and other research institutes and libraries in Japan.

The trial version of the database launched in July 2017 has been renewed. It is now compliant with the IIIF (International Image Interoperability Framework) and a bibliography of books is included. The overall design and usability have also been upgraded. It also includes the 'Kinmō Zui, 3-version comparison' function, which allows users to view the same items in the Kanbun, Genroku and Kansei editions of the Kinmō Zui side-by-side in IIIF format.

Database of Early Modern Illustrated Encyclopedias
https://kutsukake.nichibun.ac.jp/EHJ/

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