Original Merchandise and Pictorial Records
Tohoku University Library developed original themed merchandise based on the Kano and Soseki Collections and other rare materials. They are sold at the Tohoku University Co-op stores.
Take a look if you are looking for souvenirs or memorabilia from Tohoku University.
Kano Collection Series
The Kano Collection is the collection of Kano Kokichi (1865-1942), who is known as a Meiji period philosopher and educator. With 108,000 items, the collection is known to the world as "an encyclopedia of classics, a repository of Edo studies". Some of the items are national treasures.
» Go to the "Introduction to Major Special Collections" page
A colorful set of eight postcards depicting land and sea lives based on the illustrated haiku books, Uminosachi and Yamanosachi.
Top (from the left): "Oriental Lady's Thumb and Dragon Fly", "Cotton Flower and Lizard", "Afternoon Flower", and "Gourd and Bagworm". Bottom (from the left): "Octopus", " Anglerfish", "Ocean Perch", "Turtle", and a cover.
JPY 500
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Postcard-size clear folders depicting land and sea lives based on the illustrated haiku books, Uminosachi and Yamanosachi.
From the left: "Gourd and Dragon Fly", "Puffer Fish", "Seven Autumn Flowers", and "Mola".
JPY 250 each
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Short letter pads based on the illustrated haiku books, Uminosachi and Yamanosachi.
From the left: "Afternoon Flower", "Globeflower and Frog", and "Anglerfish.
JPY 400 each
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Mobile phone strap of a monster, "the creature in Aonuma of Shinano" from Kikoku Sangairoku, an Edo period book on monsters. The "creature" supposedly resembles a frog and stands erect like humans.
JPY 900
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Art stickers of monsters from Kikoku Sangairoku, an Edo period book on monsters.
Monsters include "the creature in Aonuma of Shinano", "the creature of Kenchoji temple", "the fish of Kaga", "the creature of Tamba Sasayama", "the monster of Ochanomizu", "the creature of Mt. Kurama", "the creature of Tsugaru", "the monster of Chikugo", and "the snake from the Tsuchiya family".
JPY 300
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Soseki Collection Series
Some 3,000 books that Natsume Soseki loved and kept in his library are now available as the Soseki Collection at the Tohoku University Library. Almost all of his books as well as his private journals, manuscripts, and paintings are included in the collection. The collection even reveals various personal materials including the exam papers and English essays that he wrote as a student, and the English exams he gave as a teacher.
A set of eight elegant postcards designed after Natsume Soseki's manuscripts and paintings.
Top (from the left): "Manuscript of Michikusa (Grass on the Wayside)", "School notebook", "Soseki's review of Masaoka Shiki's Nanakusashu", Soseki's paintings, "Moon and Silver Grass" and "Grass and Flower". Bottom (from the left): "Postcard with his portrait addressed to Doi Bansui", "Manuscript of introduction for Wagahai wa Neko de Aru (I Am a Cat) Volume 1", "Poetry sent from Soseki to Shiki", "Chinese poetry notebook", and a cover (the front cover of the 1st edition of Kokoro).
JPY 500
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
A4 size clear folders designed with Soseki's paintings, "Grass and Flower" and "Grass and Flower Sketch". Left: "Grass and Flower" (water color). Right: "Grass and Flower Sketch"
JPY 250 each
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Short letter pads designed with Soseki's ownership marks and his watercolor painting "Moon and Silver Grass".
Left: Letter pad designed with Soseki's watercolor painting. Right: Letter pad designed with Soseki's ownership mark.
JPY 400 each
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
A set consisting of a pen and postcard designed after a Soseki manuscript and painting. Soseki's autograph is printed on the pen. Left: Manuscript of Sosakuka no Taido. Right: Soseki's painting, "Magdalene Tower, Oxford University"
JPY 350 each
* Click on a thumbnail to see a sample.
Pictorial Records
The Tohoku University Library owns a number of materials which have high cultural and academic value.
The Main Library hosts special exhibitions every year to display these rare collections to the general public.
Pictorial record of the special exhibition, "Edo Play - Eco-Leisure Fun!" hosted by the Tohoku University Library and Miyagi Prefectural Library in 2006.
It introduces playing activities in the Edo period from an ecological perspective. 126 pages (color)
JPY 1,200
A pictorial record of the special exhibition, "Time Travel with Picture Postcards - from the Picture Postcard Collection of the Kano Collection" hosted by the Tohoku University Library in 2007.
The postcards, which were published during the Meiji, Taisho and early Showa periods, are presented in 3 parts: "Research techniques of days gone by", "Daily lives in the past", and "Historic scenes in distant days". 36 pages (color)
JPY 500
A pictorial record with a description of the exhibition, "Tohoku University Treasures - The Legacy of a Century" held at the Edo Tokyo Museum and the Sendai City Museum in 2007.
The historical legacy of Tohoku University collected over the last 100 years is displayed in a single publication. 117 pages (color)
JPY 1,000
A pictorial record of the special exhibition, "Happy Math - Welcome to the World of Wasan, Japanese Mathematics!" hosted by the Tohoku University Library and Miyagi Prefectural Library in 2008.
Wasan, which was developed uniquely in Edo Japan, is presented in 3 parts: "Try wasan math problems", "Take a glimpse at the world of Jinkoki" and "Learn about the lives of wasan mathematicians". 43 pages (color)
JPY 500
A pictorial record of the special exhibition, "Edo Science - When "Warm" Science was Born" hosted by the Tohoku University Library in 2009.
The "warm" world of karakuri, astronomy, erekiteru, maps, natural history, Western studies, and medicine from the Edo period is presented in three parts: "Science for fun", "Science for curiosity" and "Science on the body". 37 pages (color)
JPY 500
Where to Buy
Tohoku University Co-op, Kawauchi Store
The Tohoku University Library's original merchandise and pictorial records are available at the Tohoku University Co-op, Kawauchi Store.