Library stamp - Zoshoin

A seal that is stamped on books to prove ownership. Whereas ex-library plates were used in Europe, ex-library stamps were developed in the East. Influenced by China, their existence in Japan is known to date back to the Nara period, with Empress Komyo's "Sekizen Fujike" and "Naika Private Seal," as well as the "Todaiji Seal" and "Saidaiji Seal" being some of the oldest examples. Ex-library stamps were widely used until the early Meiji period, and are often important documents for determining the history and value of books. Seals were made of jade, stone, metals such as copper, gold, and silver, ivory, bamboo, and wood, and there was a wide variety of shapes, seal characters, and style of writing. Various colors of ink were used, including vermilion, ink, green, and brown.

[Haruhiko Asakura]

"Japanese Library Stamps" by Noriaki Ono (1977, Rinkawa Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

書籍の所有を明らかにするために、所蔵書に押捺(おうなつ)する印章をいう。蔵書票がヨーロッパで行われたのに対し、蔵書印は東洋で発達した。中国の影響を受け、わが国では奈良時代からの存在が知られており、光明(こうみょう)皇后の「積善藤家」「内家私印」や、「東大寺印」「西大寺印」が古い例である。蔵書印は明治初期まで盛んに用いられたが、書籍の伝来や価値を判定するうえで重要な資料となる場合が少なくない。印材には玉(ぎょく)・石、銅・金・銀などの金属、象牙(ぞうげ)、竹、木などが用いられたが、形態、印文、書体は多種多様である。印肉は朱、墨、緑、茶など各種のものが使われている。

［朝倉治彦］

『小野則秋著『日本の蔵書印』（1977・臨川書店）』

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