Okinawan Studies: Home

Japan Studies Collection
Resource guide to start your research on Japan

Japan Studies E-Resources
List of e-resources relevant to Japan studies and useful information for successful ILL/DD

DVD title index of the Uchinanchu Worldwide TV series
See each episode title of the 206 Uchinanchu Worldwide TV programs

2025 Spring Semester Library Hours

• Monday-Thursday: 8 am - 10 pm
• Friday: 8 am - 6 pm
• Saturday: 9 am - 5 pm
• Sunday: Noon - 10 pm

(EXCEPT FOR HOLIDAYS: PLEASE CHECK FOR SPECIAL HOURS / CLOSURES BY CLICKING ON LINK BELOW.)

Hamilton Library Hours: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/library/about/visiting-the-library/hours/

Hawai'i State Holidays http://dhrd.hawaii.gov/state-observed-holidays/

For more information about the support that the Library offers, visit our Remote Resources page or our UH Mānoa Library FAQs page.

Updated: 1/13/2025

Newest Additions to the Sakamaki Hawley Collection Digitized and Accessible Worldwide

Two rare Japanese scrolls dating back to 1819 titled 鯨魚鑬笑録 [Geigyo ranshōroku] (“A simple overview of whaling”) were gifted to the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa Library back in 2020 by Deborah Rudolph in memory of her late husband, John Harvard Hawley. These scrolls are the latest additions to the Sakamaki Hawley Collection, the collection named for John Hawley's father, Frank Hawley. The scrolls were recently digitized by the UHM Library's digitization lab using state-of-the-art equipment and made accessible worldwide.  

The scrolls can be viewed online and the direct links to the story map and viewer are below:
StoryMap -- https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/57a53951c30645ab87402ad3a8c367fb
Mirador Viewer -- https://libweb.hawaii.edu/exhibits/?manifest=https://libweb.hawaii.edu/manifests/geigyo_ranshoroku.json

Mirador viewer tips:
Upper right corner is a visual navigation, so you know where you are along the scrolls. You can also click on it to jump to areas.
Right to Left navigation between scrolls (i.e., < > bottom center menu)
In the upper left, the "hamburger" menu leads to:
"I" for descriptive metadata
"C" for rights, licensing, attribution, UH Library logo
"Dialog" bubble for Annotations (a work-in-progress). Opening the sidebar to the Annotations, activates the functionality and links between the annotations and the polygon overlays on the scrolls. 

The scrolls have been featured in the UH News as well as on a Hawaii News Now segment and you can read more about the scrolls here:
UH News announcement, 7/3/2023: https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2023/07/03/rare-scrolls-accessible-worldwide/
Hawaii News Now, 7/5/2023: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/07/05/uh-manoa-digitizes-rare-200-year-old-japanese-scrolls-worldwide-access/

Important Announcement

As of December 20, 2018, Kindai Okinawa shinbun shūsei DVD-ban (『近代沖縄新聞集成DVD版』; UH  Mānoa Library Call Number DVD ROM 1119) is unavailable. The Library is trying to find a way to make the resources available. The Library will announce when the CD-ROMs become available for use.

Photocopier and Scanner

As of April 4, 2019, Hamilton Library has 2 book scanners on the first floor for the public to use. As of April 4, 2019, there is a color photocopier near the book scanners. However, the color photocopier will be removed on July 1, 2019. 

As of end of May, 2019,  a new pay black and white photocopier became available.  It was installed in the alcove between the Sunny Alcove.  Copying is $0.10 per page, and black & white only.

The latest information on copying and printing, please read a blog post at: https://guides.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/okinawa/blog/Printing-and-Copying-in-Hamilton-Library-Updates

• Hawaii Karate Museum Collection / 布哇空手博物館コレクション: over 200 materials on Karate and martial arts collected by the Hawaii Karate Museum

• Sakamaki/Hawley Collection / サカマキ・宝玲コレクション: over 2,000 items on Ryukyu and Okinawa collected by Shunzo Sakamaki and Frank Hawley. Please note: Most items were digitized and available for viewing at the University of the Ryukyus Library. As of December 2017, the digitized items and the items with color paintings were not available for showing. Please consult Okinawa Collection Librarian for more details. 

Reading Room:

Open

Contact Us:

Reference Hours: M-F: 10am - 2pm

Email: asiaref@hawaii.edu 

Phone: (808) 956-8116

Ask Us: 

https://manoa.hawaii.edu/library/help/ask-us/