Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian): Japan's Oldest Dated Manuscript of China's Greatest Historical Work

Deep within the climate-controlled vaults of Tohoku University Library in Sendai lies one of Japan's most extraordinary National Treasures: a handscroll copy of the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian), Volume 10 — the "Basic Annals of Emperor Wen" (Kobun Hongi). Transcribed in 1073 during the Heian period by the court scholar Ōe no Iekuni, this nearly one-thousand-year-old manuscript is the oldest dated copy of the Shiji in existence anywhere in the world. It is not merely a copy of a Chinese historical text; it is a living record of how Japan absorbed, interpreted, and transformed the intellectual heritage of the Asian continent.

What Is the Shiji?

The Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, is widely regarded as the most important historical work in Chinese civilization. Written by Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BCE) during the Western Han dynasty, this monumental 130-volume work covers over two thousand years of Chinese history, from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. It established the "biographical" (kidentai) style of historical writing that would become the standard for Chinese official histories for the next two millennia.

The text reached Japan by the Nara period (710–794) and profoundly influenced Japanese scholarship, literature, and governance. The Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), compiled in 720 CE, drew heavily on the Shiji as a model. Even works of classical literature such as The Tale of Genji and The Pillow Book show the text's far-reaching influence on Japanese intellectual culture.

The Manuscript: A Treasure of the Ōe Clan

The Tohoku University manuscript is a single handscroll (kansubon) measuring 28.5 cm in height and an impressive 972.7 cm in length, made by joining approximately 16 sheets of paper, each roughly 50 cm wide. It contains Volume 10 of the Shiji, the "Basic Annals of Emperor Wen," which records the political achievements and governance of the fifth emperor of the Han dynasty — a ruler celebrated for his benevolent and frugal administration.

The manuscript was copied by Ōe no Iekuni, a scholar of the distinguished Ōe clan, in the fifth year of the Enkyū era (1073 CE). Ōe no Iekuni was a descendant of the great court poet Ōe no Asatsuna and served as a monjo hakase (Doctor of Letters) — a scholar-official responsible for teaching Chinese history and literature at the imperial university. The text is based on the Shiki Shikkai (Collected Explanations of the Shiji), an annotated edition compiled by Pei Yin of the Liu Song dynasty in the 5th century.

What makes this manuscript exceptionally valuable is the colophon (postscript) at the end of the scroll, which clearly records the date of transcription and the name of the scribe. After the initial copying in 1073, the manuscript received additional scholarly annotations (katen) on at least three subsequent occasions — in 1101 (Kōwa 3), 1196 (Kenkyū 7), and 1202 (Kennin 2) — as successive generations of Ōe scholars used, studied, and annotated the text.

Why Is It a National Treasure?

This manuscript was designated a National Treasure (Kokuhō) on November 22, 1952, and its significance can be understood from several perspectives:

• The Oldest Dated Copy of the Shiji: Among all surviving manuscripts of the Shiji, this is the earliest one with a clearly documented date of transcription. This makes it an invaluable resource for understanding how the text was transmitted from China to Japan.
• A Key Document in the History of the Japanese Language: The manuscript contains kunten — reading marks added to Chinese text so that it could be read aloud in Japanese. These include okototen (diacritical marks indicating Japanese grammatical particles), glosses written between the lines, and marginal notes. These annotations are among the oldest surviving examples of the kanbun kundoku system — the uniquely Japanese method of reading Chinese texts in Japanese word order. This system was instrumental in the development of katakana, one of the two Japanese syllabaries.
• Evidence of Ōe Clan Scholarship: The successive layers of annotation show how the Ōe family passed down their scholarly tradition of kidendō (the study of Chinese history and literature) over generations. This manuscript is a rare, tangible artifact of that intellectual lineage.
• Sister Scrolls as National Treasures: Two companion volumes from the same transcription project also survive — Volume 9 "Basic Annals of Empress Lü" (held by the Mōri Museum in Hōfu, Yamaguchi Prefecture) and Volume 11 "Basic Annals of Emperor Jing" (held by the Gotoh Museum / Daitōkyū Memorial Library in Tokyo). All three are individually designated as National Treasures.

The Kunten System: Where Chinese and Japanese Meet

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this manuscript for linguists and cultural historians is its kunten annotations. When Chinese texts first arrived in Japan, they were read as a foreign language. Over centuries, Japanese scholars developed an ingenious system to read Chinese directly as Japanese: they added small marks and notes to indicate how sentences should be reordered, which Japanese readings should be applied to Chinese characters, and which grammatical particles should be inserted.

The annotations on this manuscript — written in red ink (shuhitsu) and black ink (bokuten) — preserve snapshots of how Japanese was spoken and read at specific moments in the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. Unlike literary works such as The Tale of Genji, which were repeatedly copied and potentially altered over time, kunten manuscripts retain the exact language of their time because they were created for scholarly use and preserved as authoritative reference texts within a single family's library.

The Journey to Tohoku University: The Kanō Collection

The manuscript's modern history is itself a remarkable story. It came to Tohoku University as part of the Kanō Collection (Kanō Bunko), amassed by Kanō Kōkichi (1865–1942), a philosopher and educator who served as president of the First Higher School and later as dean of the Faculty of Letters at Kyoto Imperial University. Kanō assembled approximately 108,000 volumes of classical Japanese and Chinese texts — a collection so vast and comprehensive that it has been called "an encyclopedia of classics" and "a treasure house of Edo studies."

Kanō's close friend Sawyanagi Masatarō (1865–1927), the first president of Tohoku Imperial University, arranged for the collection to be transferred to the university. Kanō agreed on two conditions: that the collection remain intact and that it be kept at Tohoku University permanently. The Shiji manuscript and one other item from the Kanō Collection — a late Heian-period copy of the Ruijū Kokushi (Classified National History), Volume 25 — are together the two National Treasures held by Tohoku University.

Visiting and Viewing

As a fragile manuscript nearly a millennium old, the original Shiji scroll is kept under strict climate-controlled conditions and is not on permanent public display. However, Tohoku University periodically exhibits this National Treasure during special exhibitions at the university library and related venues.

For visitors interested in experiencing this treasure:

• Tohoku University Digital Archive (ToUDA): High-resolution digital images of the manuscript are available online through the Tohoku University Digital Archive Collection Database, allowing anyone in the world to examine the text and its annotations in detail.
• Tohoku University Library (Main Library): The library, located on the Kawauchi Campus, occasionally hosts exhibitions featuring rare materials from the Kanō Collection and other special collections. Check the library website for exhibition schedules.
• Tohoku University Museum: The university's comprehensive museum on the Aobayama Campus showcases academic collections and may include related cultural heritage materials in rotating exhibitions.
• Digital Museum "Masterpieces Reflecting History": Tohoku University's Faculty of Arts and Letters maintains an online digital museum with scholarly commentary on the manuscript, accessible in Japanese.

Exploring Sendai: The City of Trees

A visit to learn about this National Treasure is also an opportunity to explore Sendai, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. Known as the "City of Trees" (Mori no Miyako) for its lush zelkova-lined avenues, Sendai offers a wealth of cultural and historical attractions:

• Sendai City Museum: Located near the ruins of Sendai Castle (Aoba Castle), this museum houses collections related to the Date clan and features exhibitions on regional history and art.
• Zuihōden Mausoleum: The ornate mausoleum of Date Masamune, the legendary one-eyed lord who founded Sendai, is a masterpiece of Momoyama-period decorative architecture.
• Ōsaki Hachimangū Shrine: A designated National Treasure, this shrine was built by Date Masamune in 1607 and showcases brilliant Momoyama-era lacquer and gold-leaf ornamentation.
• Tohoku University Katahira Campus: The registered address of the National Treasure, the historic Katahira Campus features the Tohoku University Archives (former library building), a registered tangible cultural property.