Type of Research Principal Research [Branch A]
Project Title Reconstructing the Image of Medieval Japanese Society Based on Historical and Cultural Materials
Supervising Head of the Research Team Prof. KOJIMA Michihiro
Research Title The Style and Function of Medieval Documents: Their International Comparison and Potential Educational Use
Head of the Research Team Prof. KOJIMA Michihiro
Research Period FY2016-2018
Purpose This study examines the style and physical aspect of historical documents and compares Japanese, Korean, and Chinese medieval documents to establish a new system for the style and function of medieval documents. This study also uses the several thousands of medieval documents held by Rekihaku to develop exhibitions and educational contents for universities and other users.
Result The purpose of this study was to reconstruct the study of diplomatics in Japan in a systematic manner. Particular focus was placed on the continuity and changes between ancient and medieval documents as well as on the comparison of documents with those of East Asian countries that had strong relationship with Japan. The documents were divided into two groups, namely public documents issued by bureaucratic structures and letters issued by individuals, in order to gain an overview of the documents of Japan and other East Asian countries, and filing was conducted to explore how these two types of documents functioned and changed. The study elucidated the unique history of diplomatics in Medieval Japan where letter type documents served as official documents, while at the same time, some daimyos issued documents with their seals affixed, which was a standard format practiced in other East Asian countries. The research delivered a vision of the East Asian history of documents, which covers the documents of the kanji cultural area (areas where Chinese characters are used) such as Japan, Korea, China, the Ryukyus, Vietnam and Iran. The achievements were introduced at a special exhibition titled the “Medieval Documents of Japan: Functions, Styles and International Comparison” (October – December, 2018) and at other related symposia as well as in publications. The Medieval Japanese Documents Online was created to serve as a Website to study diplomatics and offers text read aloud.