Collection

Kambara

The Kambara Bunko is the collection of Kambara Jinzo（神原甚造）(1884-1954), the first president of (former) Kagawa University, consisting of approximately 12,000 books and other materials in 16,560 volumes (15,890 Japanese and Chinese books and 670 Western books).

After graduating from Kyoto Imperial University, he became a judicial officer and served as a judge in Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Tokyo before retiring as a judge of the Supreme Court in 1945. During this period, he taught criminal law and civil law at Kyoto Imperial University, Waseda University, and Chuo University, and also became famous as a poet under the name of Kambara Ayaha（神原彩翅）. After retiring from the bar, he practiced law, but in 1949, when Kagawa University opened its doors, he became its first president.

This collection consists of a wide range of items, including published books, manuscripts, official documents, archives, paintings, maps, and magazines, which he collected over many years while working as a lawyer and poet. 

From the Meiji period to the early Showa period, a large number of cultural properties such as documents and classic books flowed into the market and overseas, and these were collected by intellectuals from various backgrounds such as politics, finance, academia, and thought, and Kambara's collection can be positioned as one of them.