Considering the Formation of Archives Function in the Records Management of Postwar Japanese Companies

A Case Study Using the “Records of Yamaichi Securities”

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporate historical materials were positioned under the Yamaichi Securitiesʼ records management rules, and pioneer the discussions on the cooperation between record management and corporate archives in Japanese companies. In 1961, Yamaichi company enforced the first document management rule, i.e., the “Document Handling Guidelines,” due to the increasing number of documents associated with the expansion of post-war securities trading. At that time, it was believed that the companyʼs rules referred to the document management model rules, but it was found that the “Document Preservation Period List” signifies a type of company history compilation that is unique. Rationalization of clerical work that accompanied the “information age” of the 1980s did not promote the disposal of on-site documents and their transfer as company historical materials.