Encounter with Captain Moriya Koyu　　(HIRANO Kenichiro, Directer-General of JACAR)

I have an American friend who teaches modern Japanese history at an American university. Maybe ten years ago, he asked me if I had any means to identify a Japanese man named Mr. Moriya Koyu. According to my friend, Moriya-san appeared to be a Japanese army officer who once studied in the United States. My friend's great uncle was a professor at MIT. The professor's descendants keep a thank you letter and gift from Moriya for his generous teaching at MIT. The decendants wanted to know more about the sender Moriya. My friend, a Japan specialist, was seaching for the man's identity. He asked for my assistance, but at that time I was helpless.

While in the United States he was directed to assist a group of Japanese army officers during their inspection tour in the United States. (Reference Code : C01006744800) (See [Image 2-1] and [Image 2-2])

Six years later, Mr. Moriya, as a colonel, led the Japanese Army’s investigation into a hundred shells captured on battle fields in the South-East Asia. (Reference Code : A03032052200) He apparently came to be regarded as a leading officer in the artillery, perhaps thanks to his education at MIT. However, the last document suggests that the Army Minister ordered a bonus be paid to Major General Moriya, because he was in critical condition in June 1943. (Reference Code : A04018710900)

I immediately reported my findings to my friend, who was excited and said he would circulate the news among his relatives.

[Reports]

-24th EAJRS Conference in Paris (September 18-21)

The European Association of Japanese Resource Specialists　(EAJRS) is a society of resource experts affiliated with research institutes as well as universities and public libraries. Organizations providing database resources on Japan and other materials also participate in this association. While members mainly reside in Europe, some participants are from North America and elsewhere. In general a conference is held every September, at which time participants present and actively exchange information. For several years JACAR staff members have exhibited at the conference to get the word out about our services. This past year we began increasing our activities by holding a workshop and exhibiting a booth at the conference. The gathering was held for four days from the 18th to the 21st of September at Bibliothèque universitaire des langues et civilizations (BULAC) in Paris and attended by 95 participants.

The participants displayed much interest in a new search function for documents including photographs, maps, and illustrations as well as foreign languages. The new function works in collaboration with University of the Ryukyus, which provides links to "Miyara Dunchi Bunko 宮良殿内文庫"). This collaboration between a university and JACAR was of particular interest in a session focusing on Okinawan related themes. A representative of the university spoke during the session on Okinawa and participated in our workshop discussion.

A suggestion came out that JACAR's policy and method of preparing metadata ought to be posted on the website along with other opinions. Our workshop was quite successful.

-19th SARBICA Executive Board Meeting and International Seminar in Bandung (September 26-28)

From September 26th to 28th the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia (ANRI) hosted the Executive Board Meeting and International Seminar of the 19th Southeast Asia Regional Branch of the International Council on Archives (SARBICA). This gathering in Bandung, Indonesia, was attended by representatives from archives of ten member countries as well as observers from China and Japan. A Japanese participant was sent from the National Archives of Japan (NAJ) and another represented the Japan Center for Asian Historical Records (JACAR).

Approximately 200 people attended the June 27th international seminar subtitled "Disaster Management of Archives: Challenges and Solutions in Digital Era." The meeting was divided into three specialist led panels titled as follows: "Disaster Management Policy on Archives"; "Disaster Management on Archives: Challenge and Opportunity"; and "Disaster Management on Archives: Sharing Experiences."

The Japanese participant from NAJ delivered a presentation in the third panel titled "Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and the Restoration Project for Damaged Official Documents."

Note: SARBICA is the first regional branch of the International Council of Archives. It was established at an inaugural Conference held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July, 1968. There are ten members countries represented in SARBICA, which include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It holds the Executive Board Meeting once every year.

[Publicity Work]

-Overseas

-Domestic

[Visitors]