Copies of the HIROHASHI and HINO family documents and their subsequent organization and management by the Cabinet Records Bureau

Abstract

Documents formerly in the collections of the HIROHASHI and HINO families, now held in the National Archives of Japan, were copied by the Cabinet Records Bureau from 1892 to 1893. Due to the nature of copied materials, use of copies must take into consideration the extent to which they reflect the originals’ condition. This paper firstly outlines the task of copying original documents by analyzing official documents, and describes key points to consider when using copied materials. The provenance of some of the documents from the HIROHASHI and HINO family collections also appears to be confusing. This paper therefore attempts to trace the history of the organization and management of these documents by comparing them to published inventory and catalogued information that remains in official documents and using labels attached to the documents themselves. Then the paper also examines the correct provenance of the documents and the cause of this confusion.