Waseda University Library - Collections

Collections

The Waseda University Library owns a large number of materials of eminent cultural value. Alongside the two items designated as National Treasures and five sets (187 items) as Important Cultural Assets, are manuscripts, rare books, calligraphy, handwritten strips of poems, archival materials related to Japanese history, and several special collections named after their donors, among others. Because of their rarity, access to such materials is usually limited, except for special exhibitions.

Among Waseda University Library's many unique collections are the following:

• Literary works from the Qing Dynasty of China, collected by a writer of Chinese verse, Noguchi Ichitaro (Pen name: Neisai, 1867-1905);
• History of the Ming Dynasty, donated in 1910 by Shimomura Masataro (1883-1944), the owner of Daimaru Draper in Kyoto and alumnus of Waseda;
• Statistical literature in early modern Japan;
• Governmental materials and letters related to the University's founder;
• Chinese military books of the Qing and Ming eras;
• Japanese and Chinese classical mathematics, in particular numerous editions of "Jinkoki";
• Japanese books of the late Edo period;
• Original manuscripts of the renga masters (Sōgi, Shinkei etc.); and
• History of the modern Japanese legal system.

Outside of the library system, Waseda University also has museums including the Waseda Theatre Museum, which contains its own collection.