List of Databases

Databases Available Only Inside the Museum [In jpn] 　▶ Lists

Databases by Collection

Artifacts

• Artifact Catalog [In jpn]
  Basic information on the artifacts related to economic activities, everyday life, rituals, and manufacturing tools held in the Museum. Data includes objects’ names, images, dimensions and weight, place, culture, and the year of acquisition.
• Detailed Information on Artifacts in the Catalog [In jpn]
  Details about the artifacts held in the Museum, such as their local names and translation, images, materials used in their construction, dimensions and weight, when, where and how they are created or used and by whom, and the place and date of collection.
• Published References to Artifacts in the Museum [In jpn]
  Bibliographic information on published references to artifacts held in the Museum.

Library Materials

• Book and Periodical Catalog (OPAC)
  Bibliographic and holdings information about the books (including microfilms, etc.) and periodicals held in the Museum Library.
• UMESAO Tadao: Written Works (1934 — ) [In jpn]
  Comprehensive catalog of written works from articles and books to endorsers on the belly bands since 1934 by UMESAO Tadao, the first director general of the National Museum of Ethnology.

Audio-Visual Materials

• Visual Materials Catalog [In jpn]
  Information on our collections of movie films, videotapes and DVDs (photographs excluded).
• Videotheque [In jpn]
  Information on visual contents provided by the Videotheque System in the main exhibition hall of the Museum. It is searchable by keywords as well as by the menu of a Videotheque booth.
• Audio Materials Catalog [In jpn]
  Information on our collection of records, CDs and audio tapes.
• Itemized Information on Audio Records in the Catalog [In jpn]
  Piece-by-piece information on music, and episode-by-episode information on traditional folktale records in our collection of audio materials.

Research Archives

• Research Archives [In jpn]
  The Archives contains manuscripts, photographs, audio and visual recordings and others relating to prominent researchers of the past.

Databases by Research Topic

Artifacts

• Korean Daily Commodities Collection [In jpn]
  Information (including images) on all daily commodities owned and used by a family in Seoul, South Korea. For each item, its location in their apartment, manner of acquisition, and the family’s memories about it are recorded.
• The George Brown Collection
  Basic collection information (including images) for materials collected by George Brown, a missionary and ethnographer who worked in the Pacific Islands from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, and now held in the Museum.
• The Minpaku Collection of Tibetan Icons and Amulets [In jpn]
  Basic information about a wooden religious image of a white cat included in the Tibetan Buddhist painting collection stored by Minpaku and protective charms of traditional Tibetan Buddhism and Bon.
• Database of Mao Zedong’s Badge
  This database contains information (characters and patterns) of 98 Mao Zedong badges created in various parts of mainland China in 1966-1969, which are owned by the Museum, and are in Japanese, English, and Chinese. It is explained in 3 languages.

Audio-Visual Materials

• Performing Arts Film [In jpn]
  Information (including videos) on film records of music, dance and theater that the Museum has made at various places in the world since 1982. Videos are available only inside the Museum.
• Nepal Photo Database
  Photographs taken by TAKAYAMA Ryuzo, a graduate student of Osaka City University at that time, and other members of the Japanese Scientific Expedition for Northwestern Nepal in 1958, and information (including images) on artifacts collected by the expedition and now held in the Museum.
• The MATSUO Minori Postcard Collection [In jpn]
  Information (including images) on picture postcards bought by MATSUO Minori in places visited during his service in the Japanese Navy from 1919–1923.
• Photograph Collection of the Kyoto University Scientific Expeditions [In jpn]
  Photographs taken by the Kyoto University Scientific Expedition to the Karakoram and Hindukush in 1955, by the Tonga Expedition of Kyoto University in 1960, by the Kyoto University African Scientific Expedition from 1961–1967, and by the Second Kyoto University Europe Scientific Expedition in 1969.
• Morihiro OKI’s Photographs of India
  Photographs taken by a photographer OKI Morihiro in various places in India and Nepal from 1977–1996. The database includes photographs focused on rituals, festivals, folk paintings, performing arts, artifacts, and everyday life.
• Photographs of Cameroon, Africa: The HATA Nobuyuki Collection [In jpn]
  Photographs taken by HATA Nobuyuki, Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology, during his fieldwork mainly in the Republic of Cameroon from 1969 to early 1990s.
• Photographs of Maritime Peoples of Indian and Western Pacific Ocean: The OHSHIMA George Collection [In jpn]
  Photographs taken by OHSHIMA George, during his fieldwork in Asia and Oceania from 1967-1991.
• Slash-and-burn agriculture: Komei Sasaki’s eyes [In jpn]
  Photographs on swidden agriculture in Japan taken by SASAKI Komei, former director general of the National Museum of Ethnology, during his fieldwork.
• Farmers World – The IWATA Keiji collection [In jpn] 【New】
  Photographs taken by IWATA Keiji during his fieldwork in Laos and Thailand during 1957 to 1962.

Languages

• The NAKANISHI Collection: World Literary Materials [In jpn]
  Information (with images of letter samples) on books, newspapers, manuscripts, and artifacts written in various languages and writing systems collected from all over the world by the late NAKANISHI Akira, former president of Nakanishi Printing Co., Ltd.
• The YOSHIKAWA Database of Materials for a Sumerian Lexicon
  Digitized notebooks with keywords for Sumerian language studies compiled by YOSHIKAWA Mamoru, Professor Emeritus, Hiroshima University.
• Talking Dictionary of Khinina-ang Bontok
  An electronic dictionary of the Khinina-ang Bontok language spoken in Mountain Province, the Philippines, compiled by Lawrence A. Reid, Researcher Emeritus, University of Hawai‘i. It contains image and sound data, as well as information typically found in a printed dictionary.
• Japanese Traditional Folktales: The INADA Koji Collection [In jpn]
  Information (including sound data) on Japanese traditional folktales, documented by Inada Koji at Kyoto Women’s University and his group in 29 prefectures of Japan from 1967-1978 (446 tapes, about 190 hours recording). Sound data is only available inside the Museum.
• rGyalrongic Languages [In eng and chi]
  Database of rGyalrongic Languages, spoken in the northwestern part of Sichuan Province of China, compiled by NAGANO Yasuhiko, Professor Emeritus, National Museum of Ethnology and Dr. PRINS, Marielle. It contains 425/1200 lexical items and 200 sentences for 81 dialects/languages with sound data.

Clothing Culture

• Clothing and Accessory Collection
  Detailed information and images of clothing materials and accessory artifacts held in the Museum, and field photographs.
• Publications Concerning Clothing Culture
  Index of periodical articles and books that concern the culture of costumes and clothing. This database contains the following items: 1) Japanese periodical articles (current), 2) Japanese periodical articles (before the end of World War II), 3) Foreign language periodical articles, 4) Japanese books, 5) Foreign language ethnographies.
• Chronology of Clothing Culture in Japan 1868–1945
  A digital chronology on clothing culture in Japan from 1868-1945 when western style clothing was not yet common. It consists of information on events, contemporary conditions, illustrations, and memoirs which were collected from newspapers and clothing magazines in that period.
• Image Database of Japanese Clothing Culture in the Modern Age
  Image database on acculturation of clothing culture in Japan from1868-1945 when Japanese style clothing was as popular as western style one. It includes images found in illustrations of newspaper novels and books, photographs, and posters in that period.

Facts, etc

• Cultural Heritage Recording Memories of Tsunami: Database of Temples, Shrines and Stone Monuments [In jpn]
  Information (including images and maps) on temples, shrines, stone monuments and tablets conveying memories of tsunam in coastal area of Japan.
• Indigenous Architecture Restored by 3DCG: Wooden Buildings in Insular Southeast Asia [In jpn]
  Information on wooden buildings which has been investigated by SATO Koji, Former Associate Professor, National Museum of Ethnology, at various places in Southeast Asia since 1981. GIF animations derived from three-dimensional computer graphics takes us around the inside and outside of buildings.
• The Heisei Hyakko-Hisho Collection [In jpn]
  Information about“the Heisei Hyakko-Hisho,”a compilation of samples prepared by the Kanazawa municipal government and Kanazawa College of Art by collecting and organizing samples showing the processes and techniques, product samples, production tools, and materials for crafts from regions across Japan (image included).
• Dyeing Sample by Yanagi Sensyoku Kakosyo [In jpn]
  Information was shared by dyer Mr. YANAGI Seiichi for approximately 200 sample cloth pieces produced at Yanagi Sensyoku Kakosyo, including the names, origins, processes, techniques of dyeing and weaving, tools and dyes used, and points of ingenuity (image included).

Info-Forum Museum Project Database

• Info-Forum Museum Project Database
  These are the digital archives featuring a forum function that encompasses various cultural resources from the Museum and partner organizations.

National Institutes for the Humanities Database

• nihuBridge
  This is a portal site for sharing and utilizing various research resources from the National Institutes for the Humanities and partner institutions.
• National Museum of Japanese History Database
• National Institute of Japanese Literature Database
• National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics Database
• International Research Center for Japanese Studies Database
• Research Institute for Humanity and Nature Database