Some examples of noteworthy ways of managing archives in the Edo era, i.e. early modern Japan, are discussed in this article. In the first section, the author has analysed previous works on record administration using categories such as “historical studies of document management from the perspective of modern archival theory”and “the history of records management in the context of rituals associated with document disposition and certain events”.

In section 2, an example of preservation, management and use of public documents by the villagers of Okkoto-mura in Suwa-gun, Shinano-no-kuni is discussed. In Okkoto-mura, a large-scale rearrangement of records was undertaken in 1813 which involved the creation of a list which allowed item-level retrieval of documents was created; and the construction of a chō-gura , a dedicated muniment repository. Thereafter,when a village headmanʼs term of office expired, all the documents generated by him were examined by other senior village officials in order to classify them into three categories based on their function and how they would be stored: 1）non-current documents to be housed in the chō-gura , 2）current documents to be handed on to the next headman, and 3）documents relating to tax and village expenditure to be retained by the headman who created them.

In section 3 follows with a discussion of a tradition called the kenchi-chōmatsuri , or land ledger festival,performed in Ōno-mura in Hiki-gun, Musashi-no-kuni. This demonstrates that the physical existence of documents was ritualised in early modern Japan.

This paper discusses the circumstances which did not permit archive systems to develop in the Meiji era,the period when the feudal age finished and modern administrative organization started. It analyzes the governmentʼs concept of public records.

Based on an assumption that our modern record administration system has its roots in the Meiji era, the paper tries to establish whether, however, there was any evidence of the birth of the concept of modern archives by undertaking a chronological examination of changes in governmental attitudes towards records administration. The paper also discusses whether it might have been possible for the development of any archival theory in the Meiji era.

Modern archival systems did not develop in Japan between the Meiji and pre­war Showa periods. However, some classes of archival materials from prefectural governments were transferred to their libraries and were opened to the public. Those materials include records generated by the preceding feudal lords and the formal records of administration compiled under the Dajokan government system of the early Meiji period. They were regarded as local history materials and local governments were aware of the potential embodied in them which could be used to acculturate their‘subjects．’The potential of the archives was selectively controlled.

At the same time, leading librarians gradually became aware of the need for the proper management of those materials. Backed up by professional library associations, they collected the non­current records of the contemporary prefectural governments as well as local history materials and argued that setting up prefectural libraries as“reference institutions for local administration”was a necessity. Having realized the “unique nature of archives，” they then went further in arguing that proper archival institutions should be set up. Yamaguchi Prefectural Library provides one of the best examples. As an outgrowth of the library service,it led to the establishment of the Yamaguchi Prefectural Archives after WWII, the first modern archive institution in Japan.

In the domain of the Tsushima clan and until the mid­18^th century, some of the gonaisho （letters issued by the Shogun）and rōjū-hōsho （letters issued by senior officials of the Shogun）were selected and made up as rolls for future reference. The author has compared the description of the gonaisho gohōsho inzūmokuroku （lists of the gonaisho and rōjū-hōsho ）with the extant letters anddiscoveredthatallthegonaisho,all the rōjū-hōsho relating to Korean missions to Japan, and one third of other rōjū-hōsho were enrolled. Those selected dealt with issues such as the inauguration of a new shogun, replacement of a shogun, and other occasional events relating to the central government at Edo, the imperial court, the government of the Tsushima domain and relations with Korea. Others not selected for enrolment dealt with routine matters such as greetings to the Shogun. In 1796, the rule was changed so that thereafter all such letters were enrolled. The author argues that this change was the result of administrative reform of the omote-shosatsukata （the record management division of the domain）as well as the decline in the Japan- Korea trade which led to the clanʼs financial dependence on the central government.