A History of Writings in Japanese and Current Studies in the Field of Rare Books in Japan

摘要

Partly because of the limited time allotted, my presentation today will begin with a very brief sketch of the history of books and other forms of writing in Japan from 611 to 1868, and end with some comments on the current situation in the field of rare books. Strictly speaking, to understand the history of writing in Japan, one must have a knowlege of that in China, with its distinguished history of some 5,000 years. This, however, I shall leave to the Chinese representative.