Special Contribution: The “Modern and Contemporary East Asian Records” Collection at Yamaguchi University Library and Its Significance on the JACAR Database

MATSUSHIGE Mitsuhiro
Professor, College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University
Member, JACAR Advisory Committee

The “Modern and Contemporary East Asian Records” collection (the “East Asian Records”) is part of the “Digital Collection of Valuable Records” available via the Yamaguchi University Library. It comprises materials collected and preserved by Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School (est. 1905)—one of the institutions that eventually became Yamaguchi University—as well as the Institute of East Asian Economic Affairs, an affiliated research body. The institute originated as the Higher School’s Survey Department (established in 1921 and renamed the Survey Section in 1926) before being formally reorganized in 1933. It later closed in 1946 but reemerged in 1949, when Yamaguchi University’s Faculty of Economics reestablished an affiliated Survey Office and later renamed it the Institute of East Asian Economic Affairs in 1957.

The collection includes numerous publications issued by various Japanese government agencies and affiliated organizations, such as the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan, Office of the Governor-General of Korea, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Army Ministry, Asian Development Board, and local government bodies. In addition, it contains materials published by private or semi-governmental organizations that operated in close connection with administrative bodies in East Asia (such as the South Manchuria Railway Company), companies, business associations, and trade associations, and Japanese expatriate communities in China, Taiwan, and Korea.

The majority of the materials reflect research findings on the socioeconomic conditions of regions across East Asia, which is a defining characteristic of the East Asian Records. This emphasis clearly stems from the mission at Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School, which prioritized both cultivating professionals capable of thriving in East Asia’s economic sphere and sustaining the research activities at the foundation of that process.

One important point to note is that Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School and the Institute of East Asian Economic Affairs also served as hubs for disseminating the research that government agencies conducted. While reports did receive publication in book form, most of the volumes were not for broad public distribution but rather for internal reference within administrative institutions. Yamaguchi Higher Commercial School and the Institute of East Asian Economic Affairs actively collected these materials—either directly or through donations from alumni working at East Asian administrative bodies—and made them available to students and faculty. Although access was limited to those within the school, that initiative ultimately contributed to bringing government research findings to a broader audience.

This aspect of the East Asian Records highlights the collection’s larger significance. It offers valuable insights into how Japanese government agencies’ activities in East Asia were received by society, what shaped that reception, what impact the activities had on local actors, and how the social dynamics influenced government bodies’ subsequent actions. The records in the collection could be instrumental in reconstructing the realities of Japan’s foreign relations in the region—and that, I believe, is one of the key reasons the East Asian Records are now part of the JACAR database.

I sincerely hope the new addition will further facilitate historical explorations of Japan–Asia relations and encourage greater utilization of both the East Asian Records and the extensive range of materials available through JACAR.