Annual research meeting: Archives Japan 50
50 Years of Archival Understanding and the 50 Years that Led to the Public Documents and Records Management Act
2009 Volume 11 Pages 22-39
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2009 Volume 11 Pages 22-39
The year 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives, which are known as “Japanʼs first archives”．On the occasion of its establishment, the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives absorbed its character and functions from overseas archival institutions and reached the understanding that “archives are based on a democratic principle”．As it arrived at its 50th year, the Public Documents and Records Management Act was passed. The outlook of Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives has been legally recognized as a national standard in article 1 of the act,titled “Purpose”．I present this study of the process of 50 years centering on two archival concepts (institutional archives and collecting archives).
