The Kenzaburo Oe Library is a repository holding a wide variety of resources concerning the author Kenzaburo Oe (1935-2023).

The collection comprises three sections:

1)     Digital Manuscript Archive

2)     Related Materials Collection

3)     Bibliographic Database

1.     The Digital Manuscript Archive consists of hand-written manuscripts, including both autograph originals and galley proofs, entrusted to the university by the late author. The over 18,000 pages of manuscripts available for viewing encompass all of the author’s literary works, from his debut story Lavish are the Dead, first published in 1957, to his final 2013 collection In Late Style; in addition, it contains manuscripts for a wide variety of writings, including literary criticism and reviews.

2.     The Related Materials Collection holds first edition copies of the author’s works, magazines in which the works were printed, research works on the author, and other related materials. A large part of the repository consists of materials donated by Mr. Akio Mori, noted Oe researcher and editor of The Kenzaburo Oe Bibliography. Beyond Mr. Mori’s contributions, the Collection has made efforts to gather a wide variety of translations and foreign research works, creating a base for Oe studies in the broader context of world literature.

3.     The Bibliographic Database allows users to search and view updated information regarding the author’s works and related texts. Building on the strong foundation of Mr. Mori’s Kenzaburo Oe Bibliography, the database combines information on the author’s works, magazines of first publication, and autograph manuscripts, all provided through a ground-breaking variety of access methods.

Of the above resources, The Digital Manuscript Archive [1] and the Related Materials Collection [2] will be only available for viewing within the Kenzaburo Oe Library; however, the Bibliographic Database [3] is open to the public access through this website.

【The Bibliographic Database】