The Barbara Curtis Adachi Hands of Japan Collection, 1942-2003, bulk 1970-1993
Summary Information
At a Glance
- Bib ID:
- 6602506 View CLIO record
- Creator(s):
- Yoshida, Minosuke, 1933-
- Repository:
- C. V. Starr East Asian Library
- Physical Description:
- 22 Linear Feet (22 linear ft. of paper materials, 2,449 slides, 5,200 photographs, 886 strips of 35mm negatives, medium-size negatives and transparencies, 129 audio and 3 video cassettes, and several realia objects)
- Language(s):
- English , Japanese , English .
- Additional Description:
- https://www.columbia.edu/sec/cu/lweb/eresources/archives/eastasian/adachi_hands/ldpd.6602506.001.f.html
- Access:
-
This collection is available for use by readers by appointment in the Kress Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, C. V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University. Collections maintained in off-site storage will be retrieved with advance notification only; for further details, please consult the C. V. Starr East Asian Library staff.
Description
Scope and Contents
This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, notes, slides, audio and video cassettes, negatives, transparencies, articles, books, ephemera, postcards and realia objects.
Materials created and collected for the "Hands of Japan" newspaper columns (1971-1981) and The Living Treasures of Japan (1973) in Series 1 include recorded interviews on audio tapes, slides, photographs, negatives, notes and printed materials. These audiovisual materials were created by Barbara Curtis Adachi unless noted otherwise (some photographs and slides were produced by Harri Peccinotti, a photographer for Adachi's Living Treasures of Japan). Realia objects were created by artists/craftsmen and given to or collected by Adachi. The areas of Japanese arts, handicrafts and performing arts covered in this series include: bamboo crafts, basket weaving, brooms, brushes, calligraphy, carpentry, combs, embroidery, fans, furniture, gardening, homespun, kabuki theater, kettles, kites, knives, lacquers, netsuke carving, papermaking, confectioneries, pottery, puppet theaters, scissors, sieves, tatamis, textiles, umbrellas, and woodblock prints (ukiyoe).
Manuscripts in Series 2 include Adachi's published works, such as The Living Treasures of Japan, the "Hands of Japan" series, and other newspaper articles, as well as non-published works, such as lecture notes and book proposals. Printed materials in Series 4 are from kabuki performances held at Kabuki-za, the National Theatre of Japan, and other theaters and include Japanese and English programs, fliers, and synopses, dated 1971-1995.
Summary
This collection contains correspondence, manuscripts, notes, slides, audio and video cassettes, negatives, transparencies, articles, books, ephemera, postcards and realia objects. Materials created and collected for the Hands of Japan series (1971-1981) and The Living Treasures of Japan (1973) include recorded interviews on audio tapes, slides, photographs, negatives, notes and printed materials. The areas of Japanese arts, handicrafts and performing arts covered in this series include: bamboo crafts, basket weaving, brooms, brushes, calligraphy, carpentry, combs, embroidery, fans, furniture, gardening, homespun, kabuki theater, kettles, kites, knives, lacquers, netsuke carving, papermaking, confectioneries, pottery, puppet theaters, scissors, sieves, tatamis, textiles, umbrellas, and woodblock prints (ukiyoe). Manuscripts include her published works, such as The Living Treasures of Japan, the Hands of Japan series, and other newspaper articles, as well as non-published works, such as notes written for lectures and book proposals. Printed materials for Kabuki performances held at Kabuki-za, the National Theatre of Japan, and other theaters include Japanese and English programs, fliers, and synopses, dated 1971-1995.
Arrangement
The material is arranged in five series by subject: Research Notes for Hands of Japan and The Living Treasures of Japan; Manuscripts; Subject Files; Correspondence; and Kabuki Theater Programs. The first series is arranged alphabetically by artist's name, followed by subject. The second to fourth series are arranged alphabetically by subject or correspondent. The fifth series is arranged chronologically by performance date.
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
This collection is available for use by readers by appointment in the Kress Rare Book and Special Collections Reading Room, C. V. Starr East Asian Library at Columbia University. Collections maintained in off-site storage will be retrieved with advance notification only; for further details, please consult the C. V. Starr East Asian Library staff.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Columbia University is providing access to the materials in the Library's collections solely for noncommercial educational and research purposes. The unauthorized use, including, but not limited to, publication of the materials without the prior written permission of Columbia University is strictly prohibited. All inquiries regarding permission to publish should be submitted in writing to the Director, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University. In addition to permission from Columbia University, permission of the copyright owner (if not Columbia University) and/or any holder of other rights (such as publicity and/or privacy rights) may also be required for reproduction, publication, distributions, and other uses. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of any item and securing any necessary permissions rests with the persons desiring to publish the item. Columbia University makes no warranties as to the accuracy of the materials or their fitness for a particular purpose..
Preferred Citation
Folder #, Box #, Barbara Curtis Adachi Hands of Japan Collection, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University.
Related Archival Materials
Materials related to Bunraku puppet theater are included in the Barbara Curtis Adachi Bunraku Collection, 1964-2003. Monographs and journals without any extensive writings by Adachi were also separated from the collection and individually catalogued in the Columbia University Libraries' Online Catalog.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Barbara Curtis Adachi, 2000.
About the Finding Aid / Processing Information
Columbia University Libraries, C. V. Starr East Asian Library
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid prepared by Maiko Ota Cagno, 2007.
Biographical / Historical
Barbara Curtis Adachi (1924-2004) was born in Harbin, China, in 1924, to American parents. While her father headed Citibank's operation in Japan and China, she moved back and forth between Japan and the United States, attending an American school in Tokyo and Chatham Hall in Virginia, and graduated from Smith College in 1945. She then returned to Japan to work as a civilian with the Allied Occupation Forces in 1946 and married an American attorney of Japanese descent in 1949. Adachi lived in Tokyo until 1986 when she moved back to the United States, but often visited Japan for the rest of her life. She was a columnist for two Tokyo newspapers, Asahi Evening News and Mainichi Daily News. In the latter newspaper, she wrote a series of half-page feature articles called "Hands of Japan" from 1971 to 1981, based on her interviews with Japanese craftsmen and performing artists. Her book, The Living Treasures of Japan, published in 1973, also treated Japanese craftsmanship, in which fourteen Living National Treasures (holders of Intangible Cultural Properties) were portrayed. She regularly wrote newspaper reviews on Bunraku and kabuki performances, museums and traditional craft exhibits. Her professional knowledge of Bunraku was especially well known and represented in two of her publications, The Voices and Hands of Bunraku (1978) and Backstage at Bunraku (1985).
Barbara Curtis Adachi (1924-2004), who lived most of her life in Tokyo, witnessed her first Bunraku performance in 1935, at the age of eleven. Her extensive involvement with the troupe began in the 1960s and continued throughout the rest of her life. She attended over four decades of Bunraku and kabuki performances, conducted over one hundred interviews of performers and craftsmen, and took thousands of photographs of both traditional Japanese theater and crafts. Adachi toured with the National Bunraku Troupe both in Japan and in the United States, appearing with them for demonstrations, lectures, and television performances. Adachi, a former columnist for two Tokyo newspapers, lectured widely on Japanese crafts and theater, and wrote several books including "The Voices and Hands of Bunraku" (1978) and "Backstage at Bunraku" (1985).
Adachi was a member of many organizations including the Japan-America Women's Club, the Asiatic Society of Japan, Nadeshiko Kai, food organizations and writers' associations. She served as president and was a member of the College Women's Association of Japan (CWAJ) and gave lectures on Bunraku and Japanese handicrafts at its annual lecture series as well as at other organizations such as the Tokyo American Club.
Subject Headings
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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