East Asian manuscripts from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek collection

The East Asian collection at the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek comprises some 3,250 manuscripts in Korean, Japanese, Nachi and Chinese.

Japanese manuscripts

The codices japonici are mainly bibliophile manuscripts and also prints that are sometimes difficult to distinguish from manuscripts. These pieces date from the 12th to 19th century. One famous Japanese novel is the Genji monogatari, the story of Hikaru Genji, the son of the Japanese emperor, who is relegated to the status of a commoner for political reasons and has to start a career as an imperial civil servant. The richly illustrated Genji kokagami, an abridged version of the Genji monogatari, written between 1673 and 1681, is elaborately and carefully executed (Cod.jap. 14).

• The East Asian manuscripts from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek collection available on bavarikon

>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library).

To the collections by signature group of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek