National Archives of Japan

The National Archives of Japan in the Chiyoda government district preserve about 545,000 volumes of official records transferred for permanent retention. Founded in 1971, the institution appraises, classifies and processes files from ministries, courts and imperial agencies. Particularly notable are the Edo-period holdings, including the red-seal letters of the shoguns and documents from the Meiji Restoration that map Japan's abrupt shift from feudal state to industrial power. The original text of the 1946 constitution is also held here. Visitors can use the reading room free of charge and request copies; rotating special exhibitions display selected items from the vaults, from calligraphed parchment to typewritten cabinet minutes. For anyone interested in Japanese administrative history, it offers a quiet, almost meditative environment in the middle of Tokyo's bureaucratic quarter.