Three university libraries in the Kansai region of Japan, Kyoto University, the University of Osaka, and Kobe University, signed an agreement in 2023 to closely cooperate with each other to promote expansion of electronic resources and open science.

This presentation will introduce the features of the digital archives of our libraries and report on our past efforts and future challenges from the perspective of research support.

In order to research an author fully, it is important to make a comprehensive review of his work. Insofar, however, as so many of these plays have never been properly transcribed into typeset editions, it is necessary to rely on books published during the Edo period. Many libraries place restrictions on the use of materials published in the Edo period, and photoduplication services are often unavailable. In recent years, the rapid progress of digitization means that the number of plays and related materials that can be referenced on the Internet has increased dramatically. In this presentation, I will introduce the digital resources that I use to access both original and related material as well as provide references to earlier research.

Last year in Sophia, Willy Vande Walle presented the CEEJA Japan Library in Colmar, France.
In our presentation this year, as a follow-up, we will discuss the three issues.

The National Center for Art Research (NCAR) was established in 2023 within the National Museum of Art, Japan, as a central institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts in Japan. While it does not have a physical library-like space, NCAR operates Art Platform Japan (APJ), a web-based portal that provides a range of tools and resources to support both domestic and international research on modern and contemporary Japanese art.

The Art Research Center (ARC) of Ritsumeikan University has been building a large-scale digital archive of materials related to Japanese culture and art for over 25 years. ARC has developed a unique set of databases organized by type of material, enabling researchers to conduct effective research activities. The database clusters include not only materials held by ARC, but also materials digitized by ARC from museums in Europe and North America, as well as materials provided by institutions such as the National Institute of Japanese Literature and the National Diet Library.

The latest trends and future prospects of NACSIS-CAT/ILL and the E-resources Data Sharing Services.