Since the time the second lord of the Mito Domain Mitsukuni TOKUGAWA started compilation of Dainihonshi (Great history of Japan) in Shoko-kan (a place for compilation of history books) until when Kuniyuki TOKUGAWA, the grandson of the tenth lord Yoshiatsu TOKUGAWA, completed it in 1906, many feudal retainers of the domain were engaged in this project for generations.
水戸藩藩主第2代徳川光圀が彰考館において大日本史の編纂を始めて以来、第10代徳川慶篤の孫徳川圀順が1906年（明治39年）に完成させるまで、代々多くの藩士が事業に携わることとなった。