The is a research institution affiliated with the University of Tokyo that is devoted to the analysis, compilation, and publication of historical source materials concerning Japan. Since its foundation in 1869, the Institute has been a major center of Japanese historical research, and makes historical sources available through its library, publications, and databases. History The Institute finds its origin in the , founded in 1793 by the blind monk Hanawa Hokiichi. In 1869, Emperor Meiji issued an Imperial rescript which explained the importance of historiography: Historiography is a for ever immortal state ritual (taiten) and a wonderful act of our ancestors. But after the Six National Histories it was interrupted and no longer continued .... Now the evil of misrule by the warriors since the Kamakura period has been overcome and imperial government has been restored. Therefore we wish that an office of historiography (shikyoku) be established, that the good custom of our ancestors be resumed .... An office of historiography, , was set up on the site of the Wagakukōdansho and followed up on its works in the same year. The office changed a first time in 1875 to become the and was abolished and re-established in 1877 as the , which started to work on a national history, the Dai-Nihon hennenshi (Chronological History of Great Japan) in 1882, which later became part of the Dai-Nihon shiryō (described below). After several reorganizations, this office was transferred to Tokyo Imperial University in 1888; but in 1893, the Minister of Education terminated the work because of conflict between the government and the institute members over the aims and goals of history (also known as the Kume Kunitake Affair, named after the historian, Kume Kunitake, who was expelled from the Historiographical Institute for writing an article that challenged the customs of State Shinto, and was known for advocating a more "Western," scientific approach to history). In 1895, the University decided to resume the work under the name Shiryō hensan-kakari, attached to the Faculty of Letters, limiting the role of the Historiographical Institute to compilation of historical materials, rather than the creation of a national history—the role that the Institute has today. It is important to note that the compilation of works was not limited to Japanese sources, but also included the compilation and translation of Western works as well—works which have had a vital role in shaping the nature of the history