The Japanese Collection in Leuven – Louvain:
An unbelievable history ... comes alive for its centennial
Donations to the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan Fund
KOMA-INU, A MYTHICAL LION-DOG CREATURE, HOLDING THE CHRYSANTHEMUM SEAL OF THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN, ON THE LEUVEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BUILDING. OFTEN FOUND AS A PAIR AT THE ENTRANCE TO JAPANESE SHRINES.
“This is simply an unbelievable collection. For instance, its section on gesaku, popular narrative literature of the late Edo Period, is very likely the most exhaustive and systematic collection of its kind in the whole of Europe. It was not, like the collections of other libraries in Europe, assembled through single purchases and through the addition of smaller donations, but systematically collected by Japanese specialists in the 1920s with the objective to comprehensively represent premodern Japanese book culture. For the time from 1600 to 1868, an almost complete panorama of literature, history of ideas, scholarship, religion and history is represented.” Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamoni, Professor emeritus of Japanese Studies (Japanese literature) at Heidelberg University
“The Belgium-Japan Association and Chamber of Commerce (BJA) comprises over 650 members, including Belgian and multinational companies, as well as the leading Japanese companies based in Belgium, and individuals. The BJA contributes to Belgium-Japan related business promotions through various initiatives and publications, also offering exclusive invitations to cultural events. The BJA welcomes the exposition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Japanese donation of a wonderful collection of 14.000 books on the history and culture of Japan from 1600 to the middle of the 19th century. We are looking forward to visiting the expositions at the KU Leuven and UCLouvain. The exposition will for sure improve the understanding of the rich Japanese history and culture in the Edo Period.” Prof. Dr. Gilbert Declerck, President BJA
3
A Brief History of the 1920s Japanese Donation The Ravages of the Great War One of the greatest but most forgotten cultural heritages of KU Leuven and UCLouvain in terms of its global history is about to celebrate its 100th anniversary: the 1920s Japanese book donation. In 1926 the last shipment of, in total, over 3 100 Japansese titles, comprising almost 14 000 volumes – most of them Early Modern books of the Edo Period (1600-1868) – arrived at Leuven University. This Japanese donation is a lesserknown part of the global dimension of the international programme to rebuild the famous University Library that had been destroyed in 1914.
The Visit of Crown Prince Hirohito During the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, the Japanese delegation was asked to collaborate in the restoration of the library. As a result, a Japanese National Committee was then established in the following months. An important milestone in the Japanese donation efforts was the visit to the ruins of the Leuven University Library by the Japanese then-Crown Prince and later Shōwa Emperor Hirohito in June 1921. Upon his return to Japan, the Imperial Household Ministry of Japan announced the donation of 10 000 Yen – an immense sum at that time – to the reconstruction efforts. This led to further major donations by Japan’s most renowned business leader Shibusawa Eiichi, by influential affluent families such as the Iwasaki family (Mitsubishi), the Sumitomo family and the Mitsui family, as well as by the National Bank of Japan.
CROWN PRINCE HIROHITO VISITS THE RUINS OF THE LEUVEN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY IN 1921
4
A Time Capsule of Pre-modern Japan
VISCOUNT SHIBUSAWA EIICHI (1840-1931), THE “FATHER OF JAPANESE CAPITALISM”
The donated money was to be used to assemble a “Japan library” to give to Leuven as a representation of “Japanese Civilization” in Europe. From the very beginning, the aim was not only to contribute to the restoration but also to turn Leuven into a center for the study of Japanese culture and history, indicating Japan's new self-confidence after the First World War.
The Japanese National Committee headed by Shibusawa employed Wada Mankichi, director of the library of Tokyo Imperial University and head of the Library Association. Wada, Japan’s father of library studies and a legendary bibliophile, was to oversee the selection. Consequently the donation became the most comprehensive collection of Early Modern Japanese books – mainly from the 17th, 18th and early 19th century – in Europe in terms of the meticulously systematic way in which it was organized. The various books were carefully selected and categorized into several fields, ranging from literature, history, religion, philosophy and art to medicine, engineering and industry – turning the donation into a time capsule of culture and knowledge of premodern Japan.
DEPICTIONS OF FAMOUS ACTORS, ARTIST UTAGAWA TOYOKUNI, CA. 1863/EARLY 1860S - KOKON HAIYU NIGAO TAIZEN.
The Disastrous Earthquake of 1923 On 1 September 1923 the disastrous Great Kantō Earthquake struck the Tokyo-Yokohama region, with a death toll of more than 100 000 people and destroying large parts of Japan’s capital including its most important libraries. Many countries immediately started to collect donations for the survivors and to support the reconstruction. To the great admiration of many observers in Japan substantial contributions came from Belgium – which was itself still suffering from the ravages of the Great War – including books from Leuven University. Despite the loss of millions of rare books in Tokyo, the Japanese National Committee, in close collaboration with Belgian Ambassador Albert de Bassompierre, pushed for the continuation of the donation efforts and the first shipments started to arrive in Leuven.
5
The Second World War The new library was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1940 during heavy fighting in the surroundings of Leuven. In Japan it was assumed that nothing had survived the catastrophe, but miraculously, both the almost 14 000 Japanese books and the furniture survived the fire.
The Partition in 1968
The Japanese bookshelves
In 1968 when Leuven University split into KU Leuven and UCLouvain, the book donation was transported to Louvain-la-Neuve where it has been well-preserved to this day. But in the decades to follow it was forgotten by the world, although the bookshelves were later reused at KU Leuven when the new East Asian Library was established in the early 1980s. Despite serious attempts on both sides, the full potential of this important heritage of both universities could not be realized until now. Professor Willy Vande Walle, the founder of the Department of Japanese Studies at KU Leuven, previously already showcased a selection of the collection in 2001 with the exhibition “Orientalia”, and emphasized the importance of the donation in several international publications. Indebted to his efforts and to those of Ms. Emilie Vilcot at UCLouvain, who tirelessly improved the state of preservation of the collection in recent years, this joint fundraising campaign of KU Leuven and UCLouvain aims at finally letting the collection become fully alive.
Through the Japanese Ambassador to Belgium, Adachi Mine’ichiro, further funds were channeled for the manufacturing of bookshelves in a Japanese design. Those became the home of the Japanese donation inside the new University Library, inaugurated in 1928. Today these shelves are used in the KU Leuven University Library. They are valued as the only remaining part of the historical furniture of the library of the Interwar Period and are crucial in the layout of the newly opened (September 2019) East Asian Reading Room.
6
The Future: Co-operation to Validate the Japanese Donation The Japanese Collection In a joint effort by KU Leuven and UCLouvain, a new professorship will be established with the aim of developing the enormous potential of the Japanese 1920s donation – not only for the academic community but also for the wider public in Belgium and beyond. The full set of the 1920s bookshelves has an immense symbolic value to both universities by representing their connection to Japan, and is to be properly restored. From October 2020 to January 2021 a major exhibition on “1920s Japan in Leuven – The Japanese Book Donation and Beyond“ curated by Prof. Dr. Jan Schmidt and coordinated by Dr. Demmy Verbeke will be held by KU Leuven Libraries. As a first cornerstone to introduce the forgotten donation to the public, the exhibition catalogue published by Leuven University Press will introduce its history and 100 representative books. Part of the fundraising is intended to subsidize these efforts. These initial steps will lay the groundwork upon which the new professorship will develop the collection and also make it digitally accessible in a joint effort of UCLouvain and KU Leuven, along with Japanese project partners such as the National Museum of Japanese History in Sakura. Just in time for the upcoming 600th anniversary of our university, this fundraising effort will help to honor the centennial of the 1920s Japanese donation as an integral part of our global history.
PANORAMA’S OF MT. YOSHINO IN YAMATO PROVINCE, BY KAIBARA EKIKEN, 1713 - WASHU YOSHINOYAMA SHOKEIZU
7
The KU Leuven and UCLouvain's Co-operation Strenghtened by Japan The University of Leuven is almost six centuries old. Many of Europe’s leading scholars refined their talents in Leuven. Writing the European continent’s intellectual history, without paying due attention to great minds like Erasmus, Vesalius, Mercator and many other Lovanienses, is next to impossible. Leuven is where Georges Lemaître formulated his Big Bang theory and Christian de Duve conducted research that won him the 1974 Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 1968 the bilingual University of Leuven was split into the Dutch-speaking KU Leuven and the Frenchspeaking UCLouvain. Hailed as Europe’s most innovative university, KU Leuven offers a myriad of disciplines that all proudly belong to the top 100 in their field. Its publication record puts KU Leuven at the forefront of the global conversation. UCLouvain is one of the highest ranked universities in the francophone world. It is a European pioneer in educational technology, and was the first French-speaking university in Europe to offer open online courses on the edX platform. Fifty years after the scission, the two universities have grown very close together. They relate to each other like daughters of one and the same mother. Unity in diversity, that is the reality of today. There is intense research collaboration, the two sisters co-invest in multilingual programmes and joint research, they position themselves jointly in the capital city of Brussels and on the international forum. The two together form an academic powerhouse in Europe. They educate more than 80.000 students from over 100 nationalities. Their drive to innovate is clear: €698 million in annual research investment, hundreds of projects funded by European research programmes, and a combined portfolio of almost 200 active spin-offs. Today, the two universities are once again united in their common objective of strengthening links with Japan and Japanese universities and maximizing the value of the Japanese collection donated to the university in the 1920s. The precious collection was donated by Japan to symbolize the friendship between Japan and Belgium, after the library of Leuven was completely destroyed and burned during the First World War. Today, the collection also symbolizes the intense collaboration and intertwining of the two parts of the Universitas Lovaniensis. One hundred years after the donation, Japan reunites KU Leuven and UCLouvain again.
PROF. DR. LUC SELS, RECTOR OF KU LEUVEN AND PROF. DR. VINCENT BLONDEL, RECTOR OF UCLOUVAIN
8
Donations Donations to the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan fund If you wish to support the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan Fund, you can make a donation to the fund. Donations up to 5 000 EUR or less, can be made by a simple bank transfer to the KU Leuven IBAN account number BE45 7340 1941 7789, BIC code KREDBEBB, mentioning “1SK-FOJAPT-P3610”. For larger amounts, we ask you to sign a letter of intent prior to the bank transfer. In this case, please contact our legal advisors for further info or advice. Donations starting from 40 EUR are tax-deductible. To this end, you will receive a tax certificate.
Launching a Funding Appeal Are you interested in launching a funding appeal for the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan Fund on the occasion of a party or an activity? Please contact the KU Leuven University Fund so we can inform on how the invitees or participants can obtain a tax advantage.
Organising an Initiative or Event Please contact the KU Leuven University Fund for advice and support if you want to organise an initiative or event in favour of the KU Leuven-UCLouvain 20-21 Fund. We can also provide you with various communication channels and will actively promote the initiative or event as well.
SKETCHES OF INSECTS BY PAINTER MORI SHUNKEI, 1820 SHUNKEI GAFU.
9
Sponsorship for the KU Leuven-UCLouvain 20-21 Fund Please contact the KU Leuven University Fund if your company wants to support the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan Fund in the form of a commercial sponsorship. In return KU Leuven will mention the logo of your company on its website. Your company will receive an invoice with the applicable VAT (for Belgium 21% VAT). The legal advisors of the KU Leuven University Fund can assist you in drawing up a sponsorship agreement.
Make a Will for the KU Leuven-UCLouvain 20-21 Fund You can include the legal entity “KU Leuven” in your will and stipulate that (a part of) your inheritance is intended for the KU Leuven UCLouvain 20-21 Japan Fund. The inheritance tax for KU Leuven is only 8,5%. Please contact the legal advisors of the KU Leuven University Fund for further assistance.
More information about donations, sponsorships and bequests, you can contact the KU Leuven University Fund on the following number +32 16 32 37 39 or by email: universiteitsfonds@kuleuven.be
10
“This rich collection of Japanese books amounts to over 3 100 titles in almost 14 000 volumes and is thereby of an extraordinary size. Especially for the Edo Period it contains almost all known representative books that are academically important for its various categories such as philosophy, religion, biographies, travel literature, legal texts, economy, medicine, art and others. The preparations for the donation to Leuven - Louvain happened at a time of chaos when the 1923 earthquake laid havoc to the Tokyo-Yokohama region and the enormous efforts reflect the deep level of scholarship of librarian Wada Mankichi and those who aided him. In addition to a whole variety of genres of the Edo Period, it includes the most fundamental works of Japanese scholarship, such as edited historical documents, produced up to the 1920s. My evaluation is that this book collection is immensely valuable and fundamental for the study of Japan up to the 19th century – not only in Belgium but in the whole of Europe!” Prof. Dr. Kurushima Hiroshi, Director of the National Museum of Japanese History, Sakura
COLOPHON Text: An Descheemaeker, Eline Mennens, Charles-Henry Nyns, Isabel Penne, Jan Schmidt, Luc Sels, Diewer van der Meijden, Hilde Van Kiel. Special thanks to: Prof. Dr. Vincent Blondel, rector of UCLouvain, H.E. Charles-Louis, prince of Arenberg, Prof. Dr. Gilbert Declerck, Prof. Dr. Kurushima Hiroshi, em., Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schamoni, Dr. Demmy Verbeke, Ms. Emilie Vilcot, Prof. Dr. Willy Vande Walle. Images: Front cover: Bruno Vandermeulen – Danny Veys p. 2: Bruno Vandermeulen – KU Leuven Libraries p. 3: Photograph courtesy of the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels (ref.B1.111.113 28515). Willy Vande Walle, Japan & Belgium: An Itinerary of Mutual Inspiration, 2016. p. 4: Portrait of Shibusawa by unknown photographer (Wikimedia Commons) p. 4, 6, 8-9, 10: Bruno Vandermeulen – Danny Veys p. 5: KU Leuven University Archive / Bruno Vandermeulen – KU Leuven Libraries p. 7: Dieter Telemans Photography p. 12: Rob Stevens – KU Leuven Graphic Design: Altera Print: Van der Poorten
KU LEUVEN LIBRARIES Mgr. Ladeuzeplein 21 3000 LEUVEN, Belgium www.kuleuven.be/bibliotheken
Prince Charles-Louis d’Arenberg, patron of the KU Leuven Library Fund “Throughout its history KU Leuven/UCLouvain Libraries have seen its collections taken away during the French Revolution, destroyed twice by fire of the Wars. Donations have been a constant stronghold for our collections and a donation that precious as the Japanese Book collection that survived the fire of WWII deserves to be studied by scholars and to be put in the spotlights at its centennial to commemorate the importance of solidarity when culture and knowledge is under siege.” Mrs. Hilde Van Kiel, Director KU Leuven Libraries Mr. Charles-Henri Nyns, Chief librarian UCLouvain
r.e.: Hilde Van Kiel, KU Leuven Libraries, Mgr. Ladeuzeplein 21, 3000 Leuven
“Being the only collection that survived as a whole the second demolition of the University Library of Leuven, the value, uniqueness and importance of the Japanese Donation can never be overestimated.”