You can search catalog information of the National Archives of Japan (NAJ) holdings on the internet.

If materials have been digitized or are electronic records, you can view and download the digital content.

No, you can see a part of NAJ holdings.

These are materials that NAJ has accessioned in digital format. These records are held only in digital form.

They are description information arranged by hierarchy of government ministries or agencies.

It is a file into which a number of documents are bound.

It means a document item comprising a number of pages.

Go to the Digital Archive homepage and enter a keyword into the box.

You can also use a "layered search," which enables searching by tracking by the government ministry or agency hierarchy.

In the case of many results being found, you can also use various "refine search" options to add further search conditions.

Any phrase or keyword, such as File/Item title or the name of the creating department can be used.

We also recommended using a part of a phrase included in complete title, especially in the case of searching by law title, etc.

It enables searching without clear information of descriptions, because, in "layered search," you can search by tracking the hierarchy by government ministry or agency. And furthermore, you may be able to get the overall map of NAJ holdings or record groups.

There are some materials written in English, French, Chinese, etc., in NAJ holdings, and there is also some English in our description. So when you search these materials, you can find them by using that language in the description. If you wish to search Japanese materials then you should check language system for Japanese in your PC, and enter Japanese phrases into the keyword box.

On the Digital Archive home page, enter the Reference Code into the keyword box.

(1) Administrative Records

In the case of "Constitution of Japan," Reference Code is "御30168100," you should enter "御30168100" into the keyword box.

(2) The Cabinet Library's materials

For examples, "Azumakagami," which is an Important Cultural Property, can be found by enter following Reference Code "特103-0001" into the keyword box.

Yes, you can search using old-style kanji that are recognized by computers (up to about JIS level 2 Japanese Kanji).

Yes, you can search by the name of the author or editor.

It is a function that allows users to search multiple databases at once, including databases provided by other public archives across Japan. For more details, please also see the "Cross Search Cooperation" page.

By using the Cross Search function, you can search materials provided by JACAR along with other databases.

In addition, for materials held by NAJ that are also available through JACAR.

Information on how to search for materials is available on the NAJ website under “How to Search for Materials.” Some explanations about our holdings can also be found in the “FAQ” section of the website.

You can refine your search results by adding a keyword, or you can use another search function such as content type. Alternatively, you can return to the “Advanced Search” screen and perform a new search by adding more specific criteria.

Yes. On the search results screen, you can use the “Sort” dropdown menu at the top of the list to sort results in ascending or descending order by the following criteria:

Transferring Agency / Reference Code

Title / Subject / Book Name

Creator / Person Name

Date

Reference Code

Storage Location

These are different materials because they each have different created dates, previous holder, or editorial versions.

If image data is not directly linked to the File itself, the File will not appear in the search results—even if its Items contain image data.

The character “〓” (known as geta mark) is used to represent characters that are not included in the character encoding (UTF-8) used by this digital archive.

To access original materials, please complete and submit the Application for Use (Request Form).

Please note that some materials may not be available for viewing on the day, such as those stored outside the Main Office or those with use restrictions other than "Open" or "Partially Open". For more information, please check on our website.

On the search results screen of the Digital Archive, you can check the boxes on the left side of each catalog entry and click the “Request Selected Materials” button at the top right of the screen.

You can also print the Application from the catalog detail screen by clicking the “Print Request Form” button at the top right.

Follow the instructions on the screen that opens in a new window. If the content is correct, click the “Print” button at the top left to print the form.

For more information, please check on this page.

Please see this page.

The "browse" icon means that digital content is available and can be accessed through the Digital Archive.

Yes. From the viewer screen menu, click “Print Download” to select a page range and download the images. You can download up to 100 images at a time, and choose from JPEG, PDF, or JPEG 2000 formats.

You can download highest-definition digital images by selecting JPEG 2000 format using the download function.

If you are using a Windows PC, you need to install an image viewer or software that supports JPEG 2000 format to view the image.

When citing a document, please refer to the “Citation Example” provided on both the detailed catalog screen and the viewer screen for each item.

In some cases, the duplication reflects the condition of the original materials themselves. In other cases, two types of images—monochrome images (such as those digitized from microfilm) and color images—have been registered due to differences in the timing of digitization. In the latter case, an explanatory image titled “About This Material Image” is inserted between the two sets of images.

Due to the system update, certain URLs used in the former system (operated until March 2026) to access catalog detail pages or viewer pages—specifically those containing a 16‑digit management number beginning with “F” or “M”—have been consolidated into the URI format. Please refer to the “ID Mapping Table” to find the mapping between the former management numbers and the ID values that form the identifier component of the current URIs.

For more information about ID and URI, please also see the page “7. Glossary of Terms”