In Japanese, encyclopedias are known as hyakka jiten (百科事典), which literally means "book of a hundred subjects," and can trace their origins to the early Heian period, in the ninth century.
Encyclopedic books were imported from China from an early date, but the first proto-encyclopedia produced in Japan was the 1000-scroll Hifuryaku (秘府略), compiled in 831 upon the emperor's orders by Shigeno no Sadanushi (滋野貞主) and others, only fragments of which survive today.
The first truly Japanese-style encyclopedia is said to be Minamoto no Shitagō's 10-scroll work, Wamyō Ruijushō, which was written in the ancient Japanese syllabary system of man'yōgana and contained entries arranged by category.
During the 13th century, an 11-scroll book appeared on the origins of things, Chiribukuro (塵袋) (literally, “rubbish bag”), and its innovative question-and-answer format was much imitated throughout the medieval period.
Beginning in 1873, the Ministry of Education sponsored the translation of Chambers' Information for the People into Japanese under the name Hyakka Zensho (百科全書, the "Comprehensive Encyclopedia"), which was completed in the 1880s.
Later, the Ministry of Temples and Shrines sponsored the compilation by Nishimura Shigeki (西村茂樹) and others of another encyclopedic work, the Koji ruien (古事類苑), which was finally completed in 1914.
Heibonsha has also compiled a smaller encyclopedia called the Mypedia (マイペディア, Maipedia), published in five formats: a single-volume book form, CD-ROM, electronic dictionary, memory card for PDAs, and Internet.