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Japanese Rare Books Collection: Research Resources

Rare Japanese Collection Catalog & Holdings List

Catalog front cover

“Wow, look at that!”

“The detail, the color—it’s just amazing.”

Such are the reactions—sometimes audible—as visitors explore the extraordinary Harry F. Bruning Collection of Japanese books, scrolls, maps and prints at Brigham Young University. It is an experience defined by discovery and wonder.

This book highlights some of the most outstanding items in the collection and includes a complete holdings list. It also offers an introductory essay about the why and the how of Bruning’s collecting. But this is not all—this book also shares our journey of discovery about particular moments in Japan’s past and Bruning’s past, and their wider historical and cultural contexts. This journey was possible through collaborative research as well as undergraduate student experiential learning contributions. Without our students, this project would not have come to fruition.

As you peruse its pages, we hope you ponder, as we have, “How did something so valuable make its way to BYU? What can we learn from it?” We hope you are filled with the same sense of awe and curiosity that filled us. The items may be inanimate, but their history is animated by many intriguing human lives which can be discovered and appreciated in the pages of this book.

The ePub file can be opened with a variety of e-book readers. Please note that the font, text size, pagination, and image placement and quality will vary from reader to reader. The pdf version retains the look of the print version. If you would like to order a print copy, please send an email to kent_minson*at*byu.edu.

These files are free and we encourage sharing. However, the authors and publisher retain the rights to the content and images. Any use of the content or images, whether digital or print, must be cited. The preferred citation is: Stoneman, Jack and Aaron Skabelund, Discovery & Wonder: The Harry F. Bruning Collection at Brigham Young University (BYU Academic Publishing, 2022), p. #. The citation may be altered to fit other citation styles as long as the key information is included. The authors' preferred pronouns are he/him/his or, when citing both authors, they/them/their. Thank you for your interest in Discovery & Wonder.