A century ago, in the aftermath of the First World War, Japan donated a large collection of books to the KU Leuven. A new exhibition at the university library highlights this precious collection, which the press was able to discover on Wednesday.
In August 1914, German troops set fire to the library of the KU Leuven. This fire caused a wave of indignation throughout the world. Several countries showed their solidarity by sending money and books to rebuild the library. From 1922 onwards, Japan also donated about 14,000 books to the university.
The entire collection is kept at the UCLouvain, but part of it was transferred to the KU Leuven for this exhibition. It is the largest collection of books about Japan outside of the country.
The collection includes works from the 14th to the 19th century, covering a wide range of disciplines such as geography, biology, medicine, religion and economics. The collection includes, for example, a travel guide from 1780 and a book on the different types of jobs in Japan.
Through film fragments, musical excerpts and period objects, visitors can immerse themselves in 1920s Japan to discover the historical context in which these gifts were donated.
The exhibition opened to the public on 28 October and will run until 15 January 2023. From December onwards, new books from this collection will be on display.
