A Scholar's Unique Collection Exploring the Act of "Writing Characters"

2025/02/12

The "Century Akao Collection," donated to Keio University by the Century Cultural Foundation in 2021, includes works accompanied by records bearing the name of the "Institute of Paleography." Examples include a vibrant cinnabar "Writing Box with Carved Flower Design (Tsuishu Kamon Suzuribako)" and an "Ancient Bronze Water Dropper" decorated with colorful cloisonné (both pictured center-right). The Institute of Paleography was established by the paleography scholar Shigemi Komatsu (1925–2010). Using this institute as his base, Komatsu established and explored "paleography" (kohitsugaku) as a field that traverses calligraphy history, history, Japanese literature, and art history.

Shigemi Komatsu was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture. After graduating from a middle school under the old system, he initially worked for the Hiroshima Railway Bureau. His encounter with the "Heike Nokyo" (Lotus Sutra dedicated by the Taira family) inspired him to pursue scholarship. He moved to Tokyo and became a researcher at the Tokyo National Museum, a unique career path for a scholar. Even after retiring from the Tokyo National Museum, Komatsu served as a lecturer at various universities and devoted his passion to the research and popularization of paleography through the publication of the 30-volume "Kohitsugaku Taisei" (1989–93). He was also deeply involved in the activities of the Century Cultural Foundation, which collects materials related to language and culture.

Due to this background, the "Century Akao Collection" includes approximately 15,000 volumes from Shigemi Komatsu's former library. The greatest feature of this collection is its unparalleled breadth in collecting Japanese classical books related to the human activity of "writing characters." His approach of collecting not only rare and unusual books that are typically sought after, but even the most common books, reflects Komatsu's extraordinary passion for surveying culture and history through written materials.

Currently, a meticulous re-investigation and cataloging of this vast former collection is underway at the Keio University Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko). In March 2025, an exhibition showcasing the work-in-progress of this investigation, titled "Adventures of a Book Hunter: Records of the Shigemi Komatsu Collection Survey I," will be held at the Keio Museum Commons. The exhibition will introduce a portion of this diverse collection, ranging from the "Koan Reisetsu" (late Kamakura to Nanboku-cho period, pictured top-left), a protocol regarding the etiquette of court nobles, and a book formerly owned by Sadanobu Matsudaira with beautiful suminagashi (marbled) binding (pictured top-center), to the "Kanke Shosoku Engi" (1810), written by a calligraphy teacher said to have been initiated into the calligraphy style of Sugawara no Michizane.

(Yu Homma, Assistant Professor, Keio Museum Commons)