The purpose of this study is to construct an image database on multicolored woodblock-printed frontispieces (modern woodblock-printed kuchi-e) in the Meiji period and to develop a digital research environment for the database. Although this resource provides an insight into the publishing and reading culture of that time, it has been neglected by all fields of research due to its inherent difficulty in handling.
Based on the above background, this study aims to construct an image database that includes the Asahi Collection, which is one of the largest collections of modern woodblock-printed kuchi-e, as well as materials held by other institutions, and bring these materials to the attention of humanities research by reviewing their academic values. In 2020, the focus will be on: 1) completing the digitization of the Asahi Collection's kuchi-e that are still inserted into books; 2) starting to create a portal database; and 3) starting to build a Virtual Institute.