[About the Association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives] < [The Association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives]

About the Association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives

The Association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives has been founded in 1996 for the purpose of investigating and publishing the research materials of Minakata Kumagusu (1867-1941). The first members gathered in 1992, originally for cataloguing the materials housed in the former residence of Kumagusu, then organised a research team which gradually took shape of a permanent association of researchers.

At the moment, the members are working, in cooperation with Kumagusu Residence Commemoration Foundation in Tanabe, Kumagusu Memorial Hall in Shirahama, and other relating organisations, mainly in order to set up the system and facilities for keeping the materials in the residence, in which a computer-based catalogue and microfilm reproductions of rear and fragile documents are included. Researches on the preserved documents and publication of the newly discovered writings are also being carried on as part of the efforts for, as our ultimate purpose, compiling an enlarged edition of the general works of Minakata Kumagusu, which is expected in this instance to occupy around 40 volumes.

Current primary activities of cataloguing, microfilm-taking and transcribing the manuscripts may take a few more years before the public access would be made fully possible. Besides, offering the opportunities of academic researches and discussions is also our important aim. Helpful cooperation of the researchers and readers of the same interest is always welcomed. (2000. 4)

Our activities

* Currently, detailed descriptions are presented only in Japanese. For more information, please refer to the Japanese page.

About Minakata Kumagusu

As to general introduction of Kumagusu himself and his works, so enormous amount of documents have been published already in printed forms as well as on the internet that we do not feel being obliged to put forth yet another introductory note on Kumagusu. Instead, book reviews on a few number of resent publications are presented in the page of 'Books on Kumagusu and his time', and there is also a section for Primary/introductory information on Kumagusu in our Links page, where further information might be sought for (though non-Japanese resources are still relatively few at the moment).

Articles of "Minakata Kumagusu: A Keyword Dictionary" (Kodansha, 1993), to which our members participated as editors and contributors, are now being prepared to be presented in 'Books on Kumagusu and his time' category of our site. (2004. 9)

The Completion of our Association

The Association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives has been working, by request of Ms Minakata Fumie (1911-2000) and Minakata Kumagusu Residence Commemoration Foundation (Tanabe City), for cataloguing the Books and Materials housed in the former Minakata Kuamgusu Residence for over ten years, and eventually published the Catalogues of Minakata Kuamgusu Library and Materials in Summer 2004 and Spring 2005 respectively.

The Library and Materials of Minakata Kumagusu has been bequeathed by Fumie, the only daughter of Kumagusu, as a whole to Tanabe City, and the latter is now planning to establish an institute in order to manage them for the purposes of commemoraring, promoting and putting forward the research of the philosopher, under the name of 'Minakata Kumagusu Archives (Japanese name: Minakata Kumagusu Kensho-kan)'. Having completed our initial task of cataloguing the books and materials of Kumagusu in a year's advance of the official outset of the institute, the association of Minakata Kumagusu Archives has been finished (inevitably leaving a unit for operating a few remaining rutines, including the management of this website) with the publication of the Catalogues.

The researches of Minakata library and materials in the former Minakata Residence are to be advanced on the basis of two 'catalogues', and we, the former members of the Association of Minataka Kumagusu Archives, will keep working on further researches on Minakata materials and for better understandings of Minakata from each one's points of view. In the near future, we will show the newer phases of our activities in a different site on line. (2005. 4. 1)

See Also: The completion of the Association of Minakata Kuamgusu Archives [in Japanese] (Minakata Kumagusu Studies, No 7)

[Photo]

Photo: A scene of investigation working
in the former residence of Kumagusu (2000.3)

Obituary

Mr GOTOH Shin (1929-2003) [in Japanese]

Mr TSUKIKAWA Kazuo (1949-2008) [in Japanese]