Contextualising the Paul Lemerle Collection at Rikkyo Library in Postwar Japanese Byzantine Studies

The Niiza Preservation Library of Rikkyo University houses the personal library of Professor Paul Lemerle of the Collège de France. Immediately following Lemerle’s death in 1989, the collection was acquired by Rikkyo University with special funding, in accordance with his wishes. It comprises a vast array of materials, including 2,203 books, 1,129 journal issues, and 5,867 offprints. It contains rare materials, some of which are available only in this collection in Japan. Not only does it constitute one of the richest repositories of Byzantine literature in the country, but it also offers valuable insights into Lemerle’s intellectual footsteps, including his annotations and marginalia. This presentation will proceed in three parts. First, it reconstructs the process of acquisition using internal, previously unpublished documents from Rikkyo University. Second, it situates the collection within the broader history of the university library’s holdings. Third, it contextualizes the acquisition within the postwar history of Byzantine Studies in Japan. Through this multifaceted analysis of the Lemerle Collection, the presentation aims to shed light on how Byzantium has been situated within the intellectual history of Medieval Studies in postwar Japan.