Translating, Digitizing, and Publicizing Medieval Japanese Documents

Collaborative Research Project

Translating, Digitizing, and Publicizing Medieval Japanese Documents

Research Term August 2025 - 
Principal Investigator Toshiaki Yanagihara (Professor, Graduate School of Arts & Letters)

Overview

　In the past, both the primary and collaborative researchers for this project taught a course together for the English translation of the Documents of Hōzawa held at the Department of Japanese History in the Faculty of Arts of Letters, and supervised the compilation of a full translation of the materials. Based on this previous work, this project will accomplish the following goals.

　a. the construction of a digital database on ToUDA hosting manuscript images, transcriptions, and English translations, as well as explanations, of the Hōzawa documents 
　b. the publication of these translations and transcriptions in the Kokushi danwakai journal of the Department of Japanese History 
　c. the creation of a week-long exhibition at Tohoku University Library on the Hōzawa documents, to be held between September 29 and October 5, 2025

　While there have been several English translations of Japanese medieval documents, very few translations of full document collections exist, making the digital and physical publicization of these documents in Japanese and English a worthy contribution to research in Japanese studies both inside and outside of Japan.

▲Kanto Gechijo（関東下知状）, a component of  the Documents of Hōzawa

Researchers

Toshiaki YANAGIHARA

Principal Investigator
Professor, Graduate School of Arts & Letters, Tohoku University

Field of research: Japanese History

John D’AMICO

Assistant Professor, Center for Integrated Japanese Studies, Tohoku University

Field of research: Japanese History

Collaborators

・Mitsutoshi ISHIKAWA
（Research Fellow, Center for Northeast Asian Studies Endowed Research Division, Tohoku University）

Research Results

■ Exhibition ■
"Translating Japan’s Premodern History: new research on the Ruijū Sandaikyaku and a full translation of the Documents of Hōzawa"
　September 29 - October 5, 2025 (Tohoku University Library)

　While showcasing medieval documents related to the Sendai area in one place was noteworthy, the most significant feature of the exhibit was the provision of English translations for all of the historical documents as well as their accompanying explanatory captions. The translations were based on student reports from a seminar in the Graduate School of Arts and Letters and supervised by CIJS Assistant Professor John Damico. Over the week, 174 visitors attended. Attendees included Japanese students, international students, and members of the general public. 

・Announcement: https://cijs.oii.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/detail---id-74.html
・Report: https://cijs.oii.tohoku.ac.jp/en/news/detail---id-82.html


　　

 

■ Journal Publication ■
“The Documents of Hōzawa” （「英訳朴沢文書」）
　Kokushi Danwakai Zasshi (The Journal of the Society for National History), No. 66 (January 2026)

　The article "The Documents of Hōzawa" has been published in Kokushi Danwakai Zasshi No. 66. This is an outcome of the collaborative research project "Translating, Digitizing, and Publicizing Medieval Japanese Documents," led by Professor Toshiaki Yanagihara (Graduate School of Arts and Letters) and Assistant Professor John D’Amico.
　This publication provides English translations, detailed annotations, and commentaries for 16 medieval documents from the Hōzawa Documents collection, held by the Department of Japanese History at the Graduate School of Arts and Letters. The translations were produced by students during seminars at the Graduate School and supervised by Assistant Professor D’Amico. It is expected to serve as a valuable resource and textbook for Japanese Studies and pre-modern Japanese history research conducted in English.
　Bibliographic Information: https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I034567439

 

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