The Gordon W. Prange Collection and the Terasaki Research Travel Grant

The UCLA Library is now the proud, and only West Coast, owner of a microform set of magazines and newspapers from the Prange Collection, the premier archive of Japanese print media from the Allied Occupation.

The Gordon W. Prange Collection at UCLA

The Gordon W. Prange Collection, housed at the University of Maryland Libraries, is the premier archive for Japanese print media during the Allied Occupation for the years 1945-1949. During these years, all publications – books, newspapers, journals, magazines, photos, newsletters, screenplays, press releases, and the like – were submitted for pre-publication approval by the Occupation's censors in the Civil Censorship Detachment.

This massive collection is their complete files – the original publications, often with censor markings, comments and revisions, English translations and paraphrases, and reports by the censors – giving unique access to both the print materials and to the censorship processes. In addition to the historical value of the division's records and procedures, many of the publications themselves are only preserved in this collection. Materials in the collection also include works produced by political parties and movements, schools, scientific organizations, labor unions, farm cooperatives, minority communities, youth organizations, and literary/cultural societies. They range from the sophisticated to the popular, from technical works to children's media, from highbrow to the scandalous. The collection thus provides an unparalleled, broad picture of Japanese society in the period, much more complete than the fragmented and filtered record offered by the more frequently collected print media. This was a private collection, amassed during the Occupation, and given to the University of Maryland, where it has become an important research archive for scholars in Japanese Studies as well as students of U.S. foreign policy. Several years ago, the collection was reproduced in microfilms and microfiches, and then put on sale.

Lists of titles and the usage guides are available at the East Asian Library’s site.

Terasaki Research Travel Grant

Since January, 2010, the Collection has been available for use on an appointment basis. The Terasaki Center hereby announces the creation of the Terasaki Research Travel Grant Program to support scholars who wish to come to UCLA to use the Collection for trips of one to four weeks in duration, in amounts ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. The Center grant may be used for travel, lodging, and related expenses, and the size of the grant will vary with the length of stay and the cost of airfare. Local scholars are invited to make appointments to come to UCLA at any time to use the Collection, but are not eligible for the Terasaki Center Grant. However, local scholars may arrange before their trips to have their mileage and parking at UCLA covered by the Terasaki Center. International scholars, to qualify for Center support, must hold a J-1 visa for trips lasting longer than nine days, so substantial lead time is necessary if the visa must be obtained for this purpose.

Applications are being accepted year round on an ongoing basis. Applicants must provide a research proposal of no more than 750 words, a proposed budget, a CV, and in the case of graduate students, a letter of recommendation from a dissertation committee chair or other academic advisor. Please download the application from the link provided below and e-mail it to Ms. Noël Shimizu, Assistant Director, at shimizu@international.ucla.edu together with supporting materials. Please contact Ms. Shimizu at 310-825-4500 or above e-mail address if you have any questions regarding eligibility or logistics.

Past recipients

Download file: Prange_App_Blank-0g-bjc.doc