A content management system manages an original of electronic data content and is capable of handling increases in the volume of electronic data and maintains uniqueness of the original. Serial content management or processing history is managed by an original management device, and content data alone is archived on portable media with media IDs. Therefore, increases in the volume of electronic data can be easily handled, a history of updates to the original can be managed by the system, and uniqueness of the original can be confirmed by the media IDs because the medium-specific media IDs are treated as original data.