Unit 5 Islamic History and Culture

Institute of Oriental Culture, The University of Tokyo

Unit Leader: HANEDA Masashi

Islamic Area Studies Unit 5 Research Office

Institute of Oriental Culture, The University of Tokyo

7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan

Tel: +81-3-3815-9565 Fax: +81-3-3815-9565

E-mail: 5jimu@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Unit 5 Research Themes and Activities

This is the third year following the reorganization of Unit 5 into three research groups. In this last year, each group will be engaged in its own research, seminars, international workshops and lectures, working toward a cumulative presentation.

Group 5-A

The ﾒIslamic Ceramics Research Groupﾓ will provide an overview of all Islamic ceramic and glass artifacts preserved in Japan. We will continue the investigation of collections in Japan and work towards making them widely known.

Organizer: MASUYA Tomoko

ﾒThe Saray Albums Research Groupﾓ will study the Saray Albums of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey. The group will approach these works of art from various viewpoints and organize the findings in a database and publications.

Organizer: YAMANLAR-MIZUNO Minako

The ﾒKnowledge and Society Research Groupﾓ will consider the relationship between knowledge and society in its multiple aspects, while investigating the roles of, and attitudes towards, knowledge in Islamic civilization. We will continue to hold research seminars about three times annually.

Organizer: MORIMOTO Kazuo

The ﾒResearch Group for Urban Space and Architectural Culture in the Middle Eastﾓ will provide a forum where researchers from various fields with an interest in Islamic architecture and urbanism may exchange ideas and find new themes for investigation. We will continue to organize research seminars four to five times annually. Organizer: FUKAMI Naoko

Group 5-B This group will compare multi-cultural interaction and exchange in the Islamic world with similar issues in Japan and Europe. The following seminars will continue to be held: ﾒThe Historical Development of International Relations in Islamic AreasﾑWith a Special Emphasis on the Ottoman Empireﾓ (organizer: KUROKI Hidemitsu), ﾒInternational Trade Historyﾓ (organizer: FUKASAWA Katsumi), and ﾒHistorical Studies on Cross-cultural Contacts and Exchangesﾓ (organizer: HANEDA Masashi). Each seminar will hold two to three sessions. We will invite scholars from overseas for the session entitled ﾒPorts, Merchants, and Cross-cultural Contactsﾓ in the international symposium in October. Here we will discuss topography and cultural exchanges in port cities of Japan, Europe, and the Middle East. Results of the session will be published as a volume of the English IAS Series. In the fall, we will also host a seminar on cultural exchange between Europe and the Islamic world with guest lecturer Jean CALMARD from France.

Group 5-C ﾒThe Potentials of Comparative Studyﾓ (organizers: MIURA Toru, KISHIMOTO Mio, SEKIMOTO Teruo) in its third year will continue with the topic of ﾒOwnership, Contracts, and Markets.ﾓ We will hold seminars on ﾒOwnership, Contracts, and Marketsﾓ in July and December. In July we will focus on topics that had been overlooked in previous sessions, and in December, the seminar will hold open discussions following the organizersﾕ keynote speeches on the above topic. These seminars will be written up in a volume of the Japanese IAS Series entitled The Potentials of Comparative Study. Furthermore, research will be conducted in China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

In the ﾒResearch Group for Chinese Muslim Intellectualsﾓ scholars of Islamic history, Islamic philosophy, and Chinese philosophy will meet to discuss the texts of Liu Zhi. We will continue to hold reading sessions, working toward the publication of the translations. (Organizer: SATO Minoru, JSPS)

Unit 5 International Exchange

Scholars to be sent abroad

- KISHIMOTO Mio, SEKIMOTO Teruo, and MIURA Toru will conduct research for ﾒThe Potentials of Comparative Study.ﾓ August 31 - September 16, 2001. Guangzhou, Jakarta, Singapore, Cairo, Aleppo, and Damascus.

Scholars invited from abroad

- Jean CALMARD (CNRS, Paris) will conduct research with the ﾒHistorical Studies on Cross-cultural Contacts and Exchangesﾓ Group. October 19 - November 3, 2001.

- Halil Ibrahim ERBAY (Graduate School, University of London) will participate in the ﾒKnowledge and Society Research Group.ﾓ October 26 - November 2, 2001.

Unit 5 From the Group Leaders

(Group 5-A) Through the activities of Group 5-A, researchers from different disciplines have worked together to discuss the development and spread of art, craft, architecture, scholarship and knowledge in the Islamic world. This year research seminars will continue to be held, while the research conducted during the last two years will be reviewed and reported to the public.

(MORIMOTO Kazuo)

(Group 5-B) Last year the members of Group 5-B held an international workshop where research themes for this year were specified after thorough discussion. We will present the results of our research at the international symposium in October, and we will also publish them as a part of the English IAS Series. We will further develop the communication with researchers outside our group, especially with scholars of Japanese history, made in the course of the last two yearsﾕ research, and try to expand and strengthen our ties.

(HANEDA Masashi)

(Group 5-C) We have arrived at the issue of heaven (justice) after two years of exploration on the issues of land (property) and people (contracts and markets). Such issues will continue to be discussed in depth at our research workshops, and our studies will be published in the Japanese IAS Series. (MIURA Toru)