National Institute of Japanese Literature

In 1966, the Convention of Japanese Scholarship advised the government of Japan to found what at the time was referred to as 'Center for Japanese studies and Japanese Literature'. Appropriations were approved by the Ministry of Education in 1970, and the National Institute of Japanese Literature was built in 1972. The Ministry of Education Historical Archives which already existed at the site were incorporated into the Institution. In 1987, a microfilm and electronic database search system was made available. In 1992, Japanese Literature Essay Online Database was first created, the institute is continually working to expand these databases.

The NIJL's primary purposes are to perform and publish research on Japanese literature. Its research is divided into four main areas of interest: (1) research on original copies of Japanese literary materials; (2) research on the creation, reception and expression of Japanese literature; (3) interdisciplinary research linking Japanese literary studies to other disciplines in order to introduce new ideas and techniques into Japanese scholarship; and (4) research on archiving and preservation of historical documents.

The NIJL also is in the process of creating electronic archives of historical documents. It runs a graduate research facility called "The Graduate University for Advanced Studies." It publishes several series of scholarly journals, copies of its microfilm archives, and many multi-volume compendiums of historical and contemporary Japanese literature, such as the Nihon koten bungaku taikei or NKBT. It also gathers historical documents from all over Japan to make microfilm and digital copies to add to its archives.