Overview
The Japanese Rare Materials Collection at UCLA is extensive and spans a wide breadth of material types and subjects. Subjects span very broadly from biomedical histories, to kabuki theater, to Buddhism, literature, fine arts, local gazetteers, Chinese classics, and more. The core part of this collection was acquired from 1949 through the 1960s by two UCLA scholars, Dr. Richard C. Rudolph, Professor of Chinese Archaeology, and Rev. Dr. Enshō Ashikaga, Professor of Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism, who established the UCLA Department of Oriental Languages in 1948, later named as Asian Languages and Cultures.
The UCLA Library holds about 1,350 titles in 4,150 items of premodern (pre-1868) Japanese materials in two locations—about 750 titles in nearly 3,000 items at Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library (EAL) and about 600 titles in 1,400 items at the Library Special Collections (LSC), of which 1, 306 titles are listed in Catalog of Rare Japanese Materials at the University of California, Los Angeles, compiled by Dr. Jun Suzuki, Professor at the National Institute of Japanese Literature, in 2000. The LSC materials are accessed in the LSC Reading Room upon request via AEON system. (See the how-to slides below.) The EAL pre-1868 Japanese items are kept in the UC Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF) and discoverable in the UC Library Search as shown below (sample). Please send your request by email to the Young Research Library Circulation Desk (yrl-circ@library.ucla.edu) copied to EAL and you will be notified when your requested item is available to access in the EAL Reading Room.
The entire UCLA Japanese Rare Materials Collection comprises four types by physical format: 1.) extended sheets counted in the unit of 巻 (scrolls), 幅 (hanging scrolls), or 通 (extended sheets), 2.) folded sheets in the unit of 舗 or 鋪, 3.) leaves or sheets in the unit of 枚, and 4.) books and albums in the unit of 冊 (bound leaves) or 帖 (folded extended sheets). Both two libraries hold the 1st and 4th types either in print or manuscript while the LSC holds most of the 2nd of over 200 Edo map titles in about 230 folded sheets and 3rd types of 55 woodblock print titles in over 80 sheets. The LSC holds a large biomedical collection of over 300 titles in nearly 1,000 books about Chinese and Dutch medicines. About 70% of the UCLA rare Japanese collection is held by the EAL and is composed of 65% purchased (orange) and 35% donated (blue) items. (See the EAL collection diagram.) Two named collections are featured in the “Notable Collections” below: the Julian C. Wright Collection (JCW), donated to the library in 1978, and the Toganoo Collection, purchased through the arrangement made by Dr. Rev. Ashikaga in 1962. The EAL rare Japanese collection may be characterized as strong in Buddhism, composing 36% or about 1,000 items of the collection including 12% of the Toganoo Collection of about 350 items, while the donated collections of about 900 items from JCW (23%, about 650 items) and Mitsui (9%, about 250 items) significantly complement the subjects of literature and fine arts. Of all, two LSC items may be mentioned here for their rarity and exceptional value: a 1668 manuscript scroll of Lotus Sūtra, Myōhō rengekyō 妙法蓮華経 and an 8th-century printed leaf of Hyakumantō darani, Muku jōkō kyō jishinʼin darani 無垢淨光經自心印陀羅尼.
As of June 2025, imaging of 434 titles in 1,378 items, which compose a half of the EAL rare Japanese collection plus the Lotus Sūtra scroll, is completed by the Art Research Center of Ritsumeikan University (ARC). All of the digitized works are being made accessible on the Web via the ARC databases and the UCLA Library of Digital Collections portal. (See the "Digital Libraries" tab below for more information.)
East Asian Library Japanese Rare Materials Collection
About this Collection
Have you ever imagined seeing the kinds of rare, classic books you've only read about in history textbooks—right here at UCLA?
At the Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library, the Japanese Rare Materials Collection brings that experience to life. This extraordinary collection was built through the dedicated efforts of scholars and generous donations from individuals and institutions. After World War II, UCLA scholars Dr. Richard C. Rudolph and Rev. Dr. Enshō Ashikaga began gathering rare Japanese materials. In 1948, Dr. Rudolph traveled through China and acquired thousands of important books just before the country closed its borders. Meanwhile, Rev. Dr. Ashikaga, a Buddhist priest and scholar, spent decades collecting Buddhist texts—including the renowned Toganoo Collection, a set of rare esoteric Buddhist prints and manuscripts. Their work was later supported by donors like Mr. Julian C. Wright, a Los Angeles schoolteacher who donated his private collection of illustrated books, as well as Japanese scholars and librarians who helped preserve and catalog the materials. Together, their passion for education laid the foundation for one of the most significant Japanese rare book collections in the United States.
Between 1600 and 1900, when paper was scarce and printing costly, books were precious objects. The Japanese rare materials in this collection reveal what people of that time cared about—what they studied, believed in, or imagined. Some books teach Buddhist doctrine, others contain works of literature or visual arts, and many tell vivid stories of life during the period.
Key Highlights of the Collection:
- 23% manuscripts and 77% prints
- Mostly published in Edo (Tokyo), Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagoya
- Covering the period from 1600 to 1900
- Subjects include Buddhism, Japanese literature, and fine arts
Miki Shito, UCLA Library-ARC Digitization Project Team, 2023-2025
UCLA Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library, spring 2025
Click here for a title list of the Japanese Rare Materials held by the UCLA Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library!
- Select the gallery view for a richer experience of browsing through the collection. You can sort the list by publication date, subject, and more. The list keeps updated with additional titles during the digitization project with the Art Research Center of Ritsumeikan University (ARC). (The sample images in the list are from the Union Catalogue Database of Japanese Texts Database by the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the ARC Database of the UCLA Collection, and the UCLA Library Digital Collections.)
- How to access the physical books: Follow the OPAC URL for more information about the book and place your paging request to the Young Research Library Circulation Desk by email. (See the instructions above in the "Overview" section.)
- How to access the digitized books; Go to the ARC Database of the UCLA Collection and hit the SEARCH button to see what are currently available or search by title. (See the instructions in the next "Digital Libraries" tab.) Visit also the curated collections at Wahon Literacies, Toganoo, and Kabuki Banzuke collections as well as the UCLA Library Digital Collections of Japanese Rare Materials.
Check out our blogs below to explore premodern Japan and the collection! Click here to discover more!
The ARC Research Database of Japanese Materials
What is ARC?
Established in Kyoto, Japan in 1998, the Art Research Center of Ritsumeikan University (ARC) has been leading in the field of digital humanities in Japan since it was designated as the International Joint Digital Archiving Center for Japanese Art & Culture (ARC-iJAC) by the government (the MEXT ) in 2019-2024.
What are ARC databases?
The Japanese Old Book Database Portal, one of the multiple databases the ARC has developed, currently provides more than 300,000 open access premodern works from around the world including now UCLA, in addition to the books held by or on deposit with the ARC. The ARC database of the UCLA Collection is a platform to view the digitized Japanese rare materials collection held by UCLA (in the viewing mode) and to conduct research on them using DH tools such as the AI transcription system (in the interactive mode, which requires a login password). Please follow the "How to use the ARC database" short instruction slides below and you'll quickly learn how to navigate the ARC database!
The UCLA Library Digital Collections of Japanese Rare Materials
What is a UCLA-ARC digitization project?
In partnership with the ARC (Dr. Ryo Akama, Director) and with support of the Yanai Initiative (Dr. Michael Emmerich, Director), we are making our library collection of the pre-1868 Japanese prints and manuscripts accessible online for both viewing and conducting research via the ARC database, the UCLA Library Digital Collections, and Japan Past & Present (JPP). This multi-year project, begun in March 2024, is expanding from a small selection of the Richard C. Rudolph East Asian Library collection to the collections held by other UC campuses. Dawn Childress, Librarian for Digital Collections and Scholarship, UCLA Digital Library Program (Elizabeth McAulay, Head) and Tomoko Bialock, Japanese Studies Librarian, UCLA East Asian Library (Su Chen, Head), collaborate in co-managing the project 2024-2027 with the following UCLA staff and student members:
- UCLA student members of the UCLA Library-ARC Digitization Project Team: Kenshow Asami, 2024-2025 | Minami Morota, 2024-2025 | Mimi Kodera, 2024-2026 | Miki Shito, 2023-2025 | Yui Shiraogawa, 2024-2025
- UC Southern Regional Library Facility: Jon Edmonson, Access Services Manager, Emily DiPressi, Special Collections Coordinator, Tin Tran, Processing Manager and Shared Print Coordinator
- UCLA East Asian Library: Junko Tanaka, Japanese Acquisition and Cataloging Specialist
What are curated digital collections of Japanese rare materials already accessible and digitized by UCLA?
Notable Collections
Julian C. Wright Collection
This is a gift collection donated to the UCLA Library in 1978 by Julian C. Wright (1904-1978), a collector and public school teacher in Los Angeles. Consisting largely of fine arts manuscripts and prints of 650 titles in ca.1,600 volumes, of which 456 titles are Japanese works, it enhances the Rudolph-Enshō Japanese Rare Materials collection by adding many illustrated works from the Edo period Japan.
Click here to view the Julian C. Wright Collection in UC Library Search.
Kamigata Kabuki Banzuke 上方歌舞伎番付: Woodblock Print Playbills from Western Japan
Kabuki, a classical form of Japanese performing arts, was developed in the cities of Edo (Tokyo) and Kamigata (Osaka and Kyoto), and performed also in several other cities in early modern Japan. It became one of the most popular theatrical entertainments from the seventeenth through the late nineteenth centuries. Posters and programs for kabuki performances called "banzuke'' were printed in woodblock: such as "tsuji-banzuke," posters, "yakuwari banzuke," cast lists, and "ehon banzuke," illustrated scenes. The third type was also called "ezukushi" in Kamigata.
The kabuki banzuke collection held at the UCLA Library consists of 101 bound sets of yakuwari banzuke and ezukushi from the Kamigata theaters. Eighteen out of these 101 sets are bound each with two to four mismatched banzuke prints, with a few fragmentary ones. Including the fragmentary and mismatched banzuke prints, this banzuke collection documents a total of 125 kabuki plays performed at the Kamigata theaters during a period of nearly one hundred years from the Kansei era (1789-1801) to Meiji 10 (1877). Most of the sets retain the original colored covers dyed with stencils called "kappazuri," a dyeing technique unique to the Kamigata region.
It is believed to have been acquired for the UCLA Library between the 1950s and the 1960s by Dr. Richard C. Rudolph, UCLA professor of Chinese Literature and Archaeology and the first chair of the UCLA Department of Oriental Languages (now the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures).
View digitized at UC Calisphere.
See also 青木亜里砂「カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校図書館所蔵上方歌舞伎番付調査報告」 in 『演劇映像 58号』(2017).
The Toganoo Collection 栂尾文庫
The Toganoo Collection (栂尾文庫) was a private library of Shōun Toganoo (栂尾祥雲), the first library director and the fifth president of Koyasan University, specialized in Shingon Buddhism and established as a monastic school for Shingon Buddhist priests in Mount Koya, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. Shōun, a Shingon priest and scholar originally from Kagawa Prefecture, was also the second director of the Institute of Esoteric Culture, a research institute in Koyasan. The collection was purchased by the UCLA Library in 1962.
The entire collection consists of nearly 340 titles in 1,000 volumes of modern and premodern (pre-1868) Buddhist materials including two mandala manuscript scrolls. The premodern collection (115 titles in 333 volumes) contains prints and manuscripts from the 14th to the 19th centuries on both exoteric and esoteric traditions. A selection of sixty-six manuscripts from the collection were reproduced in a 13-volume set, The Toganoo Collection of Exoteric and Esoteric Works Kept in the University of California 栂尾コレクション顕密典籍文書集成 (Hirakawa Shuppansha, 1981). The premodern titles are included in Dr. Jun Suzuki’s catalog, Catalog of Rare Japanese Materials at the University of California, Los Angeles カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校所蔵日本古典籍目録 (Tōsui Shobō, 2000).
Click here to view the Toganoo Collection in UC Library Search.
View some digitized at UCLA Digital Library.
See also 幾浦裕之「栂尾祥雲の蔵書について：UCLA栂尾コレクションと『栂尾蔵書目録』との関係から」in 『寺院文献資料学の新展開 第一巻 覚城院資料の調査と研究I』（臨川書院, 2019).
Wahon 和本 Literacies: A Collection of Books for the Study of Japanese Book History
The Wahon Literacies collection comprises a selection of 23 titles from UCLA’s collection of premodern Japanese books, in 81 volumes including three duplicate titles which demonstrate variations in coloration, provenance, and marginalia between copies. These books were selected initially for a hands-on workshop on wahon (Japanese premodern books) taught at UCLA in 2015 by Takashi Nakajima 中嶋隆, specialized in Saikaku Ihara (1642-1693) and Professor of Literature at Waseda University.
This selection introduces many of the key bibliographic terminology to understand the physical characteristics of wahon. Printed in various parts of Japan, including Kyōto, Ōsaka, Mount Kōya, Ise, Yokohama, and Edo (Tōkyō) from 1627 to 1868, it offers a glimpse into a world of wahon during the early modern Japan. Different types of printing, binding, publishing, and genre are included in the selection, such as 古活字版 (kokatsujiban), 木活字版 (mokkatsujiban], 銅版 (dōban), 画帖装 (gajōsō), 巻子本 (kansubon), 求板本 (kyūhanbon), 重刻本 (jūkokubon), 浮世草子(ukiyo-zōshi), and 草双紙 (kusazōshi). This wahon collection illustrates a wide range of publishing culture of the Edo period when the publishing industry first flourished in Japan.
- WORKSHOP HANDOUT with Images - View the materials showcased in the workshop "Japanese Art History with UCLA Rare Collection" with Izumi Ikeda, Yanai Fellow, UCLA and PhD Student, Graduate School of Letters, Arts And Sciences, Waseda University (12/15/2023)
- --------SEE ALSO--------
- Union Catalogue Database of Japanese Texts 国書データベース / National Institute of Japanese Literature 国文学研究資料館「加大ロス古典籍」 indicates the UCLA holdings in this union catalogue.
