Kyoto University Library Network

Zokyo Shoin Collection consists of Buddhist sutras and books collected from the archives of temples by a publisher in Kyoto, Zokyo Shoin and is categorized in four sections: “Zokyo Shoin-bon”, “Nichizo-bon (published)”, “Nichizo-bon (unpublished)” and “Shinshu-bon”. Among these, 54 items from “Zokyo Shoin-bon” and 20 “Nichizo-bon (unpublished)” have been newly digitized and released. As of November 20, 2019, Kyoto University Rare Materials Digital Archive provides 1,290,729 images of 14,328 titles.

Zokyo Shoin-bon is a collection of Buddhist sutras and books used as original text for Dainihon Zoku Zokyo, which was compiled under the leadership of Tatsue Nakano (1871-1934) and published by Zokyo Shoin from April 1905 to 1912. Dainihon Zoku Zokyo consists of 750 volumes of Buddhist sutras and books in 150 cases selected from 6,957 volumes of original texts written by over 950 Buddhists collected from the archives of temples. Zoku Zokyo includes many noted writings by Indian or Chinese Buddhists, which previously published Dainihon Kotei Kunten Daizokyo did not cover.

Nichizo-bon (unpublished) is composed of the books on Japanese Buddhism collected for a planned but unrealized sequel to Nihon Daizokyo, a Zokyo in 48 volumes compiled in Japan including writings by more than 300 Japanese Buddhists. The collection includes writings by Buddhist priests of great learning of every Japanese Buddhist sect.

The digitization of part of the materials released this time is supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (JP19HP8002).
 

Ninety-two items from Shimada Bankon's Shugendo Collection "Shimada Collection" have been newly digitized and released.

▼Shimada Collection

"Shimada Collection" is a unique collection of books on Shugendo, Japanese mountain asceticism-shamanism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts, into which Shimada Bankon (島田蕃根; 1827-1907), a buddhologist during the Meiji era, combined documents handed down through the Shimada family and his own collection.

Shimada Bankon was born in Tokuyama, currently Yamaguchi Prefecture, in 1827 and died of an illness in Kyoto at the age of 81 in 1907. Having learned Shugendo and Buddhism in Hieizan and Miidera respectively, he was well-informed about each sect of Buddhism. In the beginning of the Meiji era, he returned to secular life and became a professor at Kojokan (興譲館), a domain school of the Mori family. He came up with a plan to publish Daizokyo (大蔵経; reduced-size ed.) and established Kokyo-shoin (弘教書院) with Fukuda Gyokai (福田行誡; 1809-1888) in 1879. In five years of hard work, the large-scale enterprise resulted in the publication of 419 volumes of Daizokyo. He is also well known for his enthusiasm to collect and preserve Buddhism books.

The Main Library of Kyoto University takes part as a core university in the "Project to Build an International Collaborative Research Network for Pre-modern Japanese Texts (NIJL-NW project)" led by the National Institute of Japanese Literature, which supports the digitization of the 92 books released this time.