The World of Japanese Historical Documents

When attempting to read a Japanese historical document, one must first decipher its characters, some of which may be very difficult to read. But information is contained not only in the meaning of these characters. The style in which they are written, the locations of persons’ names, the type and size of the paper, as well as the way in which it is folded and sealed can provide information about the author, the purpose of the document, and the reason it was passed down to present day.

At this exhibition, we will display documents mainly from the Edo period (1603-1868) and earlier. These include documents relaying the orders of famous individuals, diplomatic documents containing valuable information exchanged between nations, letters sent to family and friends, as well as documents that were saved coincidentally because the paper on which they were written was reused. We will introduce visitors to the "world of historical documents," in which there is meaning in how the paper is handled and how the characters are written.