Survey on Japanese Movable Books Outside Japan

[Paula R. Curtis]

Dear all,

Please see the following message from librarian Haruko Nakamura (shared by request) seeking information on "movable books" in your local collections.

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Dear all,

Building on the University of Minnesota’s project on the digitization of “movable books,” the NCC CDDP Task Force invites librarians, curators, individual collectors, and scholars to complete this brief survey. The purpose is to identify “movable books” published in Japan that are held in collections outside Japan—including materials that may be uncatalogued or minimally described. Survey results may inform a future special project to pursue grant funding and other support for cataloging and digitization. 

Survey link: https://forms.gle/tzcEGzAyTfQXmp1BA

For this survey, “movable books” are defined as any book or broadside (printed or manuscript) produced through the end of the Meiji period (1912) that includes elements designed to be physically manipulated by the user.  For example, please check the links below. 

人中経絡圖彙 (Held by University of Minnesota) and  Other examples of Japanese movable books

The survey has six short sections and takes about 10 minutes to complete. It will close on August 15, 2026, with a possible extension.  

We are also planning a presentation and Q&A in late July or early August to introduce the University of Minnesota project and the NCC CDDP task force work, explain the survey and its purpose, and share examples of movable books. Please stay tuned for the announcement. 

Thank you in advance for your time. 

 

Haruko Nakamura

Yale University Library 

On behalf of NCC CDDP Taskforce

Toshie Marra, Librarian for Japanese Collection, UC Berkeley (Chair) 

Kiyonori Nagasaki, Keio University/International Institute for Digital Humanities (Advisor)

Setsuko Noguchi, Japanese Studies Librarian, Princeton University 

Fabiano Takashi Rocha, Japan Studies Librarian, University of Toronto 

Ayako Yoshimura, (Chair, NCC Ex-Officio)

Naoko Kato, NCC (Administrative Assistant)

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Dr. Paula R. Curtis

Academic Administrator

Department of Asian Languages & Cultures, UCLA

https://alc.ucla.edu/

Operations Leader, Japan Past & Present
Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities

https://japanpastandpresent.org/

Portfolio & Projects

http://prcurtis.com/