Yale University Library Research Guides: Japanese bibliography 書誌学: Handling 資料の取り扱い

General precautions for reading

取り扱い方の全般的な注意点

Remove metal items (rings, wrist watch, etc.) on hands so as not to damage the materials.
Wash your hands if they are specifically dirty (you just ate, you came from art class, etc), so as not to damage the document with sebum or dirt adhering to your hands
When handling historical materials, be careful not to touch parts of paintings and letters directly with hands.
When putting a paperweight on a document for taking photos or transcribing, place it so that it does not overlie the texts or images.

1) Ancient and medieval documents and furniture 古代・中世文書および調度品

e.g. YAJ 7b1 Hyakumantō darani　　百万塔陀羅尼

Depending on the state of historical materials, glove use is desirable as to protect the cultural artifacts.

e.g YAJ Ac4 Kōfukuji Monjo　興福寺文書

/ EAL J1748 Ōmi no Kuni ezu　近江国絵図

When reading folded documents, spread them carefully while checking the shape and folding method so as not to mistake the original folding method. After finishing viewing the document, fold it according to the original manner.
When dealing with large folding materials, please fold with the assistance of two or more people because it is too difficult to equally hold historical materials when folding alone which could risk damaging the documents.

e.g.Japanese Mss C22 Narasaki-ke kiroku　楢崎家記録

Pay attention to the handling of binding points such as gluing parts and binding threads. Do not apply unnecessary force to the binding when reading or photographing historical materials.
When opening the page, open lightly by pinching and do not bend the paper with your thumb.
Open materials that have weakened paper, such as those damaged by insect bites, with care. Do not open materials forcibly because there is a risk of damaging the historical material. Later tell the staff member about the damaged historical material and its place.

綴じ糸・糊付け部分の取扱いに十分注意する。史料の閲覧・撮影の際、綴じ目へ余計な力をかけない。
ページを開くときは紙を親指でたわませず、軽くつまんで開く。
虫損しているものなど、紙が弱くなっている史料は十分に注意して開く。無理に開くと史料を破損する恐れがある場合は開かない。あとで所員に痛んだ史料とその箇所を伝える。

e.g.YAJ 9a5 Nikkō Tōshōgū sairei emaki 日光東照宮祭礼絵巻

When viewing scrolls, bundle winding strings and place it up with the cover part lightly, then expand it to the shoulder width. Avoid winding straps in the cover so as not to hurt historical materials. When viewing the rest of the scroll, take the lightly wrapped part, hold it with both hands and extend a little from the desk, then expand it again to the shoulder width to view. Do not spread like scraping scrolls on a desk.
After finishing reading the scroll, do not roll it tightly. Roll up naturally while arranging edges. Avoid winding too tightly because it leads to letters and paintings starting to peel. The winding string winds so that the strings do not overlap.

巻物を見る際は巻き紐を結ってまとめ、表紙の部分を軽く巻き取り、肩幅程度に広げながら見る。続きを見るときは読み終わった部分を軽く巻きとり、両手に持って少し机から浮かせながら、ふたたび肩幅程度に広げて見る。机の上で巻物を擦るような広げ方・巻き方は慎む。
読み終わった後、巻物を巻き戻す際はきつく巻かず、小口を整えながら自然のままに巻く。きつく巻きすぎると文書の痛みや文字・絵画の剥落につながるので避ける。巻き紐は紐が重ならないように巻く。

e.g.YAJ 5b0 Tekagamijō 手鑑帖 / YAJ 1.1 Rekidai goshinʼei 歴代御宸影

Expand slowly when widening general folding such as scriptures. Be careful in handling folds so that cracks cannot be made.
When dealing with large folding books using heavy paper such as tekagamijō, place it on the desk and take the edge of the binding and open one page at a time so as not to touch the books. Also, to prevent the creases from being distressed, use a base to adjust the open surfaces to be parallel while watching.
Avoid touching the painted parts of picture books (gajōsō), and instead open the pages by inserting your finger on the back side of the screen binding form.

経典類など、一般的な折本を広げる際はゆっくりと広げる。裂け目ができないよう、折り目の取り扱いには十分注意すること。
手鑑帖など厚手の紙を使った大型の折本を扱う場合、机の上に置き、書画本紙に触れないよう装丁の端をとって1ページずつ開く。また折り目に負担をかけないように、置き台を使って開いた面が平行になるよう調整しながら見る。
画帖装のものは画面の隅を触ることは避け、袋綴じ状になった画面の裏側に指を差し込んで開く。