Outline

Nihon Keizaishi Kenkyusho

Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan
The Nihon Keizaishi Kenkyusho (Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan) has a broad vision to focus on "Japan in the world" and "Japan in Asia". By collecting historical documents concerning economic history, by publishing a variety of academic information, and by organizing lectures and other activities, our Institute contributes to the development of research on economic history, while deepening the relationship between economic history research and wider society.

History
The Nihon Keizaishi Kenkyusho (Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan) has its origin in the Seminar of Economic History of Japan, which started in 1926 in the Department of Economics of the Kyoto Imperial University under the charge of Professor Eijiro Honjo. In July 1929 the Keizaishi Kenkyukai (Society for the Study of Economic History) was founded, and in November issued the first edition of its monthly journal entitled Keizaishi Kenkyu (Study of Economic History).

Drs. Eijiro Honjo and Iwao Kokusho, both professors of the Kyoto Imperial University, were the chief promoters of this Society. In December 1932, Dr. Kokusho established the Institute for Research in Economic History of Japan and at his own expense he bought land and constructed a building in the neighbourhood of the Kyoto Imperial University. The Institute was opened for research and other business on 15 May 1933. Dr. Honjo took office as the representative director and three other directors at that time were Dr. Kokusho, Naokatsu Nakamura and Wataro Kanno.

The Institute carried out a wide range of business activities including the publication of the journal, Keizaishi Kenkyu (Study of Economic History) and Nihon Keizaishi Jiten (The Dictionary of the Economic History of Japan), but owing to the aggravation of the Second World War, the activities of the Institute became difficult and the publication of the Study of Economic History discontinued in January 1945.

After the war, the Institute was transferred to Osaka University of Economics, resumed its activities and has continued its research and publications. Thanks to the efforts of many pioneers, the Institute celebrated its eightieth anniversary in 2013.

Collecting historical materials
The institute is putting their emphasis on the collection and arrangement of materials concerning a history study, such as books, periodicals, and manuscripts. We are making an effort to acquire the latest publication information and trends of the used book market, and we also seek material contributions aggressively.

The Institute has a collection of approximately 35,000 books and 20,000 periodicals. While the majority of the collection consists of Japanese language materials published since the mid-19th century, a sizable portion includes materials written in various European and Asian languages. In addition to economic history, topics covered by the collection include history of society, political history, and cultural history.

The Institute also possesses many historical documents and manuscripts, including the following three collections.
(1) The documents of the Nakajima family, called Zeniya (1630~1904), are valuable records of a draper in Kyoto.
(2) The documents of Inokuchiya, an express messenger agent (1723~1843), are rare records of the modern history of communication. This group of documents were transcribed and published by: Tadashi Watanabe and Mitsutoshi Tokunaga(eds.), Hikyakudonya
Inokuchiya  Kiroku(The Documents of Inokuchiya, An Express Messenger Agent), 4 volumes, 2001~2004.
(3) The documents of rural areas, urban areas and commerce near Kyotomainly from the Edo Period).
 
Database of Economic History
Keizaishi Bunken Kaidai (Bibliography of Economic History) has been published since 1933 when our institute was established in Kyoto, except a few years during and immediately after the Second World War. It is not a mere bibliography. It has a brief explanatory note on the content of each book and article. It covers economic and business history, political history, a history on thought, etc.

In 2003, we started to make the Bibliographic Database of Economic History, which was selected as a project of the Open Research Center by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. You can see the Bibliographic Database of Economic History from 1936 to the present. We also started making an English Edition of the Database from 2004, which includes information on research in foreign countries, Korea, China, Taiwan, U.S.A. and U.K. from 2007.
https://bkaidai.osaka-ue.ac.jp/
 
Studying activities
At this Institute, we hold an Economic History Research Society (Keizaishi kenkyu kai) four times a year (April, June, October, December). At this research society, experts announce their research on socioeconomic history and attendees engage in open discussion. In addition, at the Institute, an academic symposium is held on an irregular basis. At the symposiums and research society events, we take advantage as much as possible to create room for exchange with researchers from abroad.
 
Open lecturesThe Kokusho School
The Kokusho School is the name given to a series of open lectures named after Dr. Iwao Kokusho, one of the founders of the Institute and the first president of Osaka University of Economics. The lectures are held several times every spring, summer and autumn. In each lecture historians, prominent writers, and members of the business world discuss historical topics.  

Publications
Each year, the Institute publishes Keizaishi Bunken Kaidai (Bibliography of Economic History) and the journal Keizaishi Kenkyu (Study of Economic History). The Bibliography of Economic History has been published on the Institute’s website since 2005. Other publications include Nihon Keizaishi Bunken (Japanese Economic History Documents), a series of monographs, a series of historical documents, commemorative collections of historical essays, and catalogues of documents.