Library of Congress houses new Online Japanese Rare Book Digital Collection

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Washington/Canadian-Media: Launched in December 2020, the Japanese Rare Book Digital Collection, currently contains 35 titles in more than 270 volumes, twenty-five of which are rare books newly digitized, while the remaining ten titles were first scanned and made available online several years ago, Library of Congress (LoC) reported.

Only recently, these collections were assembled as a collection and configured for viewing on the Library’s updated platform for digital content, some of which contain rare and beautifully illustrated works of classical Japanese literature that have drawn attention from scholars around the world.

Two unique editions of the famous 11th-century work “The Tale of Genji,” which is attributed to Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978–c. 1014), a lady-in-waiting at the imperial court in Kyoto (then known as Heiankyō ) are of particular interest.

One of the two sets of “The Tale of Genji” held by the Asian Division is illustrated with a woodblock print edition produced in Kyoto in the mid-17th century.

The main text in 54 volumes, also includes six additional volumes consisting of commentaries, a genealogy, an index, and an extra chapter written by a later, unknown author.