This is a list of in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Background
Isonokami no Yakatsugu
was a Japanese noble and scholar of the late Nara period. He was the grandson of the '' sadaijin'' Isonokami no Maro and son of the ''chūnagon'' Isonokami no Otomaro. Yakatsugu himself reached the court rank of and the position of ''dainagon ...
's
Nara period
The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...
is held out to be Japan's first public library, but private libraries, such as
Kanazawa Bunko
, formally titled the Kanagawa Prefectural Kanazawa-Bunko Museum, is a museum located in Kanazawa Ward, Yokohama, Japan. It features a collection of traditional Japanese and Chinese art objects, many dating from the Kamakura period.
Originally b ...
, remained the norm until modern times. The
Imperial Library, one of the predecessors to the
National Diet Library
The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
, was established towards the end of the nineteenth century. In 1948, during the
Occupation
Occupation commonly refers to:
*Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, th ...
, the was passed, creating Japan's sole national library,
followed in 1950 by the , the twenty nine articles of which cover both (Chapter II) and (Chapter III).
National library
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Public libraries
As of 2008, there were 3,106
public libraries
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
There are five fundamenta ...
in Japan: 1 regional library, 62
prefectural
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
libraries, 2,433
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
libraries, and 610
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
libraries.
Prefectural libraries
Hokkaidō region
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Tōhoku region
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Kantō region
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Chūbu region
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Kinki region
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Chūgoku region
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Shikoku region
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Kyūsyū region
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Municipal libraries
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Hakodate City Central Library
is a public library in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan. The library is known in particular for its important collection of northern materials and for its .
History
The origins of a library in Hakodate lie in the opening of a society library at the h ...
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Special libraries
1,761 institutions were listed in the 2009 ''Directory of Special Libraries in Japan''.
* E.H. Norman Library,
Embassy of Canada
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University libraries
In 2007, there were 758 four-year universities in Japan: 86 national, 77 public, 595 private.
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Tama Art University Library
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References
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
Japan education-related lists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Libraries in Japan