The aim of this study is to expand and deepen our knowledge of Braille libraries in Japan. This study begins with a different viewpoint than previous ones. It does not view Braille libraries solely from the institutions themselves but it locates them within the historical context of Japanese society and both Braille and public libraries. It finds that although Braille and public libraries began with similar purposes, they drastically diverged after 1949 when the former’s welfare center-like function for the blind became more apparent. But by the 1970s, Braille libraries shifted in the direction of its original library function at the impetus of the Blind Reading Rights Movement.