Early Japanese Books at UCLA, Berkeley to Be Digitized

Thousands of rare materials from the 1600s to 1868 will be made accessible to scholars worldwide.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

A major digitization project led by UCLA's Yanai Initiative, in collaboration with Japan's Ritsumeikan University, will create a digital archive of thousands of early modern Japanese books, manuscripts, scrolls, maps, and medical texts from the libraries of UCLA, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco. The $31 million project, funded by a gift from Japanese philanthropist Tadashi Yanai, aims to make this unique collection of rare materials from the 1600s through 1868 accessible to scholars around the world.

Why it matters

This expansive digitization effort will provide unprecedented access to a trove of premodern Japanese cultural heritage materials that were previously difficult for most scholars to access. By making these rare books, scrolls, and manuscripts available online, the project will dramatically reshape how students and researchers engage with these primary sources, enabling new avenues of scholarly inquiry and collaboration in Japanese studies worldwide.

The details

The digitization process is complex and painstaking, as the materials range from delicate, centuries-old scrolls to irregularly sized publications. The project will encompass rare holdings such as pocket-sized 17th century samurai directories, lavishly illustrated maps, and Buddhist texts that bridge medicine and religion. Once completed, the digital archive will be accessible through user-friendly interfaces in English and Japanese, hosted on the Japan Past & Present website and the Art Research Center's online platform.

  • The project was launched in 2024 with a $31 million gift from philanthropist Tadashi Yanai.
  • As of early 2026, roughly two-thirds of the relevant materials at UCLA have been digitized, with some already available through UCLA Library Digital Collections.
  • Work is also underway at UC Berkeley, but completing their larger collection of over 23,800 volumes will likely take several more years.

The players

Yanai Initiative

A collaboration between UCLA and Waseda University in Tokyo that aims to expand access to Japanese humanities resources.

Ritsumeikan University

A Japanese university that is collaborating with the Yanai Initiative on the digital archiving project.

Tadashi Yanai

A Japanese executive and philanthropist who provided a $31 million gift to support the digitization project.

Michael Emmerich

Director of the Yanai Initiative and UCLA's Tadashi Yanai Professor of Japanese Literature.

Tomoko Bialock

UCLA's Japanese studies librarian.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“Given the nature of the materials, this is among the largest digitization projects ever undertaken by an academic institution for premodern Japanese works.”

— Michael Emmerich, Director of the Yanai Initiative and UCLA's Tadashi Yanai Professor of Japanese Literature (Mirage News)

“By making these materials digitally available to scholars, students and the wider public regardless of geography, we are not only safeguarding cultural memory but also opening up new possibilities for scholarly inquiry, education and interdisciplinary collaboration.”

— Ryō Akama, Professor of Japanese Literature at Ritsumeikan University and Director of the Art Research Center (Mirage News)

What’s next

Work is also underway to digitize the Japanese biomedical references collection at UC San Francisco, which includes anatomical diagrams, illustrated guides to treating illnesses, and Buddhist texts that bridge medicine and religion. The project aims to eventually include premodern Japanese texts from other UC campuses as well.

The takeaway

This landmark digitization effort will make a vast trove of rare and historically significant Japanese materials accessible to scholars and students around the world, dramatically expanding research and learning opportunities in Japanese studies and the humanities.