Waseda University Cultural Resource Databases

About the Databases

Waseda University Cultural Resource Databases (CRD) is an online digital archive portal maintained by Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. The portal aggregates digitized collections from several of Waseda's cultural institutions, including the Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum, the Aizu Museum, the Waseda University Archives (History Museum), and the Waseda University Library. The platform provides unified online access to arts, crafts, documents, theatrical materials, and other objects held across these institutions.

Collections and Holdings

The portal encompasses a wide range of cultural resources. The Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum's digital archive includes materials related to Japanese performing arts — kabuki, noh, and contemporary theater — and is one of the most comprehensive theater archives in Japan, including rare woodblock prints, photographs, playbills, and scripts. The Aizu Museum holds materials related to Japanese and East Asian art history. The Waseda University Archives (History Museum) holds records, photographs, and documentary materials related to the history of Waseda University since its founding in 1882, including photographs of university founder Shigenobu Okuma (1838–1922) and campus scenes from the Tokyo Senmon Gakko era. The Waseda University Library's classical Japanese literature database (Kotenseki Sogo Database) contains some 300,000 items including National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties.

Notable Materials

For researchers interested in media and communication history, the databases include the digitized run of the Waseda Gakuho (Waseda University alumni magazine) from its first issue, including issues from the Meiji and Taisho eras. The portal also hosts the Waseda International House of Literature (Haruki Murakami Library) collections and supports access to research databases for Waseda scholars.

Access and Usage

The databases are accessible online and free to use at archive.waseda.jp. Some restricted collections require university affiliation or reader registration. The portal supports both English and Japanese interfaces.