所蔵

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 所蔵 is read しょぞう and means owning and keeping materials or works in a collection.
• Basic usage: It describes holdings such as prints in an art museum or photographs in a library.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Holding and public access
  • 所蔵 concerns owning and keeping materials, while 公開 concerns making them available to the public. Not every holding is currently on public view.
• Active and passive
  • 美術館が所蔵する presents the museum as the holder.
  • 写真が所蔵されている focuses on the photographs being held in a collection.