The Silk Roads as
a World Heritage Site
Tracing the Origins of Japan’s International
Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

The Silk Roads as
a World Heritage Site
Tracing the Origins of Japan’s International
Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

Foreword
At its meeting in Doha, Qatar in June 2014, the World Heritage Committee
made a decision on a historic serial nomination. Put forth by the three countriesof China, the Kyrgyz Republic, and Kazakhstan, the nomination for the “SilkRoads: the Routes Network of Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor” was accepted forinscription on the World Heritage List, along with Japan’s Tomioka Silk Mill, asite of modern industrial heritage.
This move was advocated by the first chairperson of the Japan Consortiumfor International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage, Ikuo Hirayama. It is mostpleasing that the decision for the comprehensive transnational inscription of thegreat Silk Roads network went part of the way to realizing the sizable dream ofbuilding a foundation for peace in Central Asia. At the same time, the decision
posed a major challenge: How should Japan cope with this trend?
Between the 1960s and 1970s, Central Asia enjoyed a period of longstanding
peace. Interest in the Silk Roads swept the world, inspiring many to hit the trail.
At the same time, numerous publications on the Silk Roads, both academic andpopular, filled the bookstands.
When Central Asia became politically unstable in the late 1970s, however,particularly with the outbreak of war in Afghanistan, the boom ground to a halt.
The war drew an impenetrable curtain across shared human memories and historical heritage, cutting off the supply of spiritual food on which mankind had
been feasting.
Nearly half a century has passed since then. Central Asian countries are now
gaining independence under new political systems and marking a new chapter
in world history. At this significant turning point, each of these countries is aggressively searching for a new national identity, revisiting its past culture, andpassing on its traditions to the next generation.
The idea of the transnational and serial nomination of the Silk Roads network
as a World Heritage Site was first raised following the UNESCO International
Symposium on the Silk Roads 2002 in Xi’an. The momentum grew as the
new century unfolded. As a result, in 2006 and 2007, the basic concept of the
Silk Roads as an invaluable aspect of a cultural heritage having Outstanding
Universal Value was developed for the inscription on the World Heritage List.
During the years since then, Japan has participated in a series of meetingshosted by China and five Central Asian countries. As the movement developed,
the Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of World Cultural Heritage
established within UNESCO provided support in two Central Asian countries(Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic) in the areas of archaeology and humanresource development. In particular, excavation work at the historic site of Ak
Beshim beside the Chu River in the Kyrgyz Republic was continued as one of
the core projects supported by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, greatly helping Kyrgyz’s inscription on the World Heritage List.
Japanese scholarship on the cultural study of the Silk Roads prides itself inthe continuous contribution to the accumulation of knowledge on the Silk Roads
now being pursued on a global scale. This notwithstanding, Japan’s academic
contribution to our understanding of the culture of the Silk Roads has not necessarily been widely publicized.
Now that the inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List has
triggered discussions on inscribing the eastern Silk Roads, we should not missthe opportunity to develop a new and more comprehensive understanding of the
trade routes. That is, we should understand the Silk Roads as a cultural sphereinvolving: (1) a transnational culture, (2) a culture that embraces different subcultures, (3) a field of multiple, interactive and dynamic cultural exchange, and(4) “culturem,” or a cultural element indispensable to the development of thebroader cultures of Asia, including Japan. We should expand our understandingof the concept and history of the “Silk Roads”, which is both a historic as well as
an elegant symbolic name. I hope to make Japanese people broadly aware of thevarious contributions Japan has made to the inscription of the Silk Roads and,furthermore, to convince the world that the culture of the Silk Roads can servea new matrix for building peace.
This record of the symposium was created not only to commemorate the comprehensive inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List, but also toreflect upon its significance and future vision.

Kosaku Maeda
Vice-Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage

Preface
This book is the proceedings of the international symposium, “The Silk Roads
as a World Heritage Site: Tracing the Origins of Japan’s International Cooperationin Cultural Heritage”, held on 27 September 2014 by Japan Consortium forInternational Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCIC-Heritage) and Agency of
Cultural Affairs of Japan.
Lectures 1 and 2 were transcribed from recordings and edited by the editors
where appropriate. The English translations of the foreword, the keynote lecture
and panel discussion were prepared under the responsibility of the editors.

Contents
Foreword …………………………………………………………………………………………… 2
Keynote Lecture “Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of
the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List” ……………………………………… 6
Kazuya Yamauchi
Head, Regional Environment Section, Japan Center for International Cooperation inConservation, National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo

Lecture 1 “Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads” ……… 17
Xiaofei Wang
Director, Cultural Heritage Bureau at Turpan City, China

Lecture 2 “Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation” …………… 25
Dmitriy Voyakin
Director General, Archaeological Expertise LLP, Kazakhstan

Panel Discussion Silk Roads and Japan ………………………………………… 33
Chair
Vice-Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/
Kosaku Maeda
Professor Emeritus, Wako University

Panelists

Shinobu Kuranaka

Professor, Faculty of Foreign Language,
Daitobunka University

Kiyohide Saito

Technical Advisor, Archaeological Institute ofKashihara, Nara

Kosei Morimoto
Yutaka Yoshida

Abbot Emeritus, Todaiji Temple
Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University

Keynote Lecture

Japan’s Contribution
to the Inscription of
the Silk Roads on
the World
Heritage List
Kazuya Yamauchi
Head, Regional Environment Section, Japan Center forInternational Cooperation in Conservation,
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo

Good afternoon. My name is Kazuya Yamauchi
and I’m from the National Research Institute forCultural Properties, Tokyo. Today, I would liketo speak on the topic of “Japan’s Contribution to
the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World
Heritage List” (Fig. 1).
The term “Silk Road” has stimulated curiosity
and inquiry among people in Japan and aroundthe world. Japan, a country located at the eastend of the Silk Roads, and the Japanese people
have long looked upon the Silk Roads admiringly(Fig. 2). In China, Central Asia, Western Asia, andthe Mediterranean coasts, or the regions along
the Silk Roads, many civilizations were born andnumerous dynasties rose and fell, earning theirplace in history (Fig. 3). People in these regions
have not just adapted themselves to a variety
of different environments but also taken advantage of these environments to survive and create
diverse cultures. These regions have been thearenas in which people have pursued agriculture,  ("  
     

6

$!# !

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

& " &"& !!! & #   #")         &   (   ""  *   "   ""  %#""  -&/,''+1&,,''%" #.2%.,-0 % #

Fig. 1    

Mr. Yamauchi obtained his BA from Waseda University in 1984 in
Asian History, followed by an MA from Waseda University in 1988
and University of Tehran in 1992. He joined the Silk Road ResearchCenter in 1996, and serves his current position since 2003. Hespecializes in the cultural history and archaeology of Iran andCentral Asia, extensively affiliated with a range of cultural heritage
in the area including those in Afghanistan (Bamiyan Valley), India(Ajanta Caves), Kyrgyz (Ak Beshim), Tajikistan, Egypt, and Jordan.

Fig. 2

Keynote Lecture

livestock farming, and hunting for thousands ofyears. What we now call the Silk Roads is the result of a series of “paths” originally beaten out tophysically link these arenas of life.
The name, “Silk Roads,” is an English translation of a German word, “Seidenstraßen,” which
the 19th-century German geographer Richthofencoined in his report, China (Fig. 4). Later, a booktitled Sidenvägen was published by the Swedish
geographer Hedin as one of the series of books
on his explorations in Central Asia. When the
English translation of the book was publishedunder the title of The Silk Road in 1938, the word
came into widespread use all over the world.
Probably because silk was an important item
traded along the trade routes network, the namewas readily adopted. But it seems to place a disproportionate emphasis on the textile (Fig. 5). In
fact, silk was not the only item of trade along the
Silk Roads. Trade routes existed long before thestart of silk production. People transported a wide      
          

Fig. 3Fig. 5     
      
          

      

     

Fig. 4

Fig. 6



7
Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List      

variety of goods besides silk between East andWest along these routes, which were later called
the Silk Roads.
Religions such as Zoroastrianism, Buddhism,
Christianity, Manichaeism, and Islam were passed
on and spread along the routes (Fig. 6). Needlessto say, manmade technologies, including bronze
and iron artifacts in ancient times and scientifictechnologies in such fields as astronomy, pharmacy, and medicine, have also been passed along theroutes and became common assets of mankind.
I would like to add that the name “Silk Roads”
often tends to give the rather strong impressionthat trade existed before anything else, as if itwere trading activities that resulted in the formation of towns, which overlooks the existence ofearlier inhabitants in areas along the routes.
It is more appropriate to think of it like this:people were surviving in a wide variety of natural environments across the Eurasian continent;
to link their settlements, tracks were beaten; theKeynote Lecture

8

end-to-end connection of such short-distancetracks resulted in routes of many thousands ofkilometers connecting East and West, collectively
called the Silk Roads (Fig. 7). It can be said thatpeople living along the routes transported thegoods and made the Silk Roads prosper.
The people of Japan became broadly familiar
with and deeply interested in the Silk Roads due
to an NHK TV program titled, “Silk Roads” (Fig.
8). First broadcast in 1980 and followed by a second series between 1983 and 1984, the program
undoubtedly sparked the “Silk Roads boom” inJapan in the late 1980s. For the Japanese people,
the Silk Roads had been something very distant,something that could only be imagined based ona few words and pictures. The TV series provided
the Japanese people with direct visual exposure to
the Silk Roads for the first time.
That is, while we may have once conjured up
images of the Silk Roads from reading Great Tang
Records on the Western Regions by the Chinese

Buddhist monk Xuan Zhang or Journey to theWest written during the Ming dynasty (Fig. 9),
the NHK program allowed us to see video imagery of the Silk Roads, helping us become familiar
with it.
I was one of those who yearned for the Silk
Roads. After studying Asian history and archaeology at university, I studied in Iran, which isone of the countries along the Silk Roads. In
those days, however, the idea of visiting Xinjiang
in China or Central Asia in the former U.S.S.R.
was undreamed of. The recent inscription of the
Silk Roads on the World Heritage List, as well asJapan’s assistance in achieving this, is like crossing a bridge made of rainbows. I personally feel astrange connection to the Silk Roads.
Back to the inscription of the Silk Roads on theWorld Heritage List. It was Mr. Ikuo Hirayama
who got the ball rolling for the inscription. In
November 2002, the UNESCO International
Symposium on the Silk Roads 2002 was held in           

           The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 7

Fig. 9   #""  #" "!Fig. 8      

Fig. 10

Keynote Lecture

Xi’an. It closed with the adoption of the Xi’an
Declaration (Fig. 10). In conjunction with the Xi’an
Declaration, Mr. Hirayama and then President of
UNESCO’s General Conference, Mr. Ahmad Jalali,jointly submitted a letter to UN Secretary-General
Annan and UNESCO Director-General Matsuura,
which concluded as follows:
In particular, we would like to request
UNESCO and the relevant Member States
to consider inscribing the Silk Roads on theWorld Heritage List. This would be the firsttime that a designated World Heritage site
crosses the boundaries of many nations. The
cooperation between Member States necessary to put forward this proposal would in
itself be a manifestation of international cooperation and a contribution to dialogue between peoples.
The letter reflected Mr. Hirayama’s strong hopeand enthusiasm for making the Silk Roads a conduit for peace and dialogue today by getting it
inscribed on the World Heritage List throughtransnational cooperation among the countries
concerned.
Thirteen years after the Symposium, the Silk
Roads was inscribed on the World Heritage List inJune 2014 (Fig. 11). Originally, a total of six countries, namely, China and the five Central Asian
countries of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan planned
to jointly apply for nomination. After a few twists
and turns, however, only the serial nominationof the Chang’an-Tian-shan Corridor, submitted
by the three countries of China, Kazakhstan, andKyrgyz, was inscribed at that time.
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan jointly submitted a nomination proposal titled, “Silk Roads:
Penjikent-Samarkand-Poykent Corridor,” which
regrettably was subject to an additional information request and therefore the corridor failed to be  & % ( (  '$   ! $ "  $
 !!"          #
     #    #
#&   $  
    !         $     #&#&    '(#                  $           #   #    #          %'                ($  &(    (! $'   !"      

Fig. 11 $  # ) &  & %
   " !  "   !  
'+,  (   

     

Fig. 13       
      
 


   
 

Fig. 12Fig. 14

9
Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List       

Keynote Lecture

inscribed. Turkmenistan did not take part in the
joint application.
The recently inscribed Chang’an-Tian-shan
Corridor is just a section of the Silk Roads thatconnects East and West. Nonetheless, the dreamof Mr. Ikuo Hirayama, who is also the father of
JCIC-Heritage, the organizer of today’s symposium, came true.
In June this year, at the 38th World Heritage
Committee held at Doha, Qatar, “Silk Roads: theRoutes Network of Chang'an-Tian-shan Corridor,”
serial nomination by the three countries of China,
Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyz, was inscribed on theWorld Heritage List (Fig. 12). The corridor met
the four selection criteria of 2, 3, 5, and 6 required
for the inscription (Fig. 13).
Now, let me outline the recently inscribed section of the Silk Roads according to the nomination
dossier.
“The Silk Roads” refers to a web of routes
linking the ancient societies of Asia, the Indian      "!       !10

subcontinent, Central Asia, and West Asia. It encompasses an area stretching around 7,500 km
across and a distance of over 35,000 km of theroutes combined (Fig. 14). Some of these routes
have been in use for thousands of years. Alongthem, precious items have been transported for
trade purposes. The movement of people andgoods had tremendous political, social, and cultural impacts on countries along the routes. Amongthe items transported along the routes, the most
famous is silk from China, which was taken to
as far away as the Eastern Mediterranean world.
That is why the routes were later collectively
called “the Silk Roads.”
The Chang’an-Tian-shan Corridor is one section of the Silk Roads covering an area stretching
5,000 km across or about 8,700 km when all routes
are combined. It connects Xi’an or Chang’an inCentral China with Central Asia (Fig. 15). The
routes of this corridor were developed between
the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD as           The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site         !        

 

 

!
 

   

 #"!
 




"# 

$" $#    

Fig. 15

Fig. 17      
                       
Weiyang Palace in Chang’an City
Luoyang City from the Eastern

2 Han to Northern Wei Dynasty
Damimg Palace in Chang’an

3 City of Tang Dynasty       

17

Site of Kostobe

7 Bashbaliq City

18

9 Ak-Beshim (Suyab)
10 Krasnaya Rechka (Nevaket)

China

Fig. 18

Kyrgyz19

Site of Karamergen

Cave-Temple
14 KizilComplex

Site of Han’gu Pass of Han
Dynasty in Xin’an County
Site of Shihao Section of
Xiaohan Ancient Route

20 Site of Suoyang City

15 Subash Buddhist Ruins
Bingling Cave-Temple
Complex
Maijishan Cave-Temple
17 Complex

16

18 Bin County Cave Temple
19 Great wild Goose Pagota
20 Small Wild Goose pagota

Sity of Xuanquan
Posthouse

21 Xingjiaosi Pagotas

22 Site of Yumen Pass

22 Tomb of Zhang Qian

21

Kazakhstan 
 

11 Kayalyk

Fig. 1615 Site of Ornek

6 Yar City

8 Burana (Balasagun)

13

14 Site of Kulan

Site of Akyrtas        

Site of Aktobe

16

5 Qocho City

12 Kizilgaha Beacon
Tower

12 Site of Talgar13   

Dingding Gate, Luoyang City

4 of Sui and Tang Dynasties     1 of the Western Han Dynasty

Keynote Lecture

trade routes connecting the Han dynasty in China
and the Roman Empire. The corridor was mostprosperous between the 6th century and the 14th
century, and served as a major trade route until
the 16th century.
Geographically, the corridor extends across different regions, falling to 154 m below sea level
and rising to 7,400 m above sea level, crossing
many mighty rivers, and encompassing a wide
variety of geographical areas ranging from desert
to snow-covered highlands (Fig. 16). The climate
also varies from extreme drought to semi-humid.
The Chang’an-Tian-shan Corridor started from
Chang’an on the Loess Plateau, the capital city of
the Han and Tang dynasties, and extended westward through the Hosi Corridor to the Yumen
Pass. The corridor then divided into two routes,
one continuing along the northern flank of the
Tian-shan Mountain range and the other along
the southern flank (Fig. 17), or so-called “Tianshan Northern Route” and “Tian-shan Southern                 

Route.” The Tian-shan Northern Route passes through the Ili region to reach the region ofZhetysu, or “Smirechie” in the Russian language,
meaning “seven rivers.” The Tian-shan Southern
Route passed through the Bedel pass to enter the
Pamir, continued to the lakeside of Issyk Kul andreached the Chu Valley, created by the Chu River.
These two routes met again at the west end of thepreviously mentioned Zhetysu region.
A total of 33 sites, or “components” in thetechnical World Heritage terms, were inscribed
this time (Fig. 18). I cannot begin to imagine
the amount of effort required for the collective
inscription of so many components. The 33 components are grouped into five categories of central
towns, trading cities or settlements, transportationand defense facilities, religious sites, and others.
Central towns include Luoyang and Chang’an
in China, and Qocho City in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region, Ak-Beshim in the Kyrgyz
Republic, and Kayalyk in Kazakhstan (Fig. 19).
           
     
     

Fig. 19

Fig. 21     
               
 

        
 
  
%!"%$#  

Fig. 20

Fig. 22

11
Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List  

Keynote Lecture

Currently, we are conducting an excavation of theSite of Ak-Beshim, which was once called “Suyab”(Fig. 20). The city was the Tang dynasty’s outpost
for control over the Western Regions and supposedly the birthplace of Li Bo, the great poet of theTang dynasty.
Trading settlements include caravanserai in the
Zhetysu region in Kazakhstan (Fig. 21). The transport and defense facilities inscribed are mostly
sites in China. They include passes of the Han’gu
Pass, which is also famous in Japan because of theJapanese song, “Hakone Hachiri,” and the Yumen
Pass, as well as the Kizilgaha Beacon Tower (Fig.
22). These facilities were built to ensure the safety
and management of trading routes between major
cities and trading cities.
As religious sites, eight Buddhist sites in China
were inscribed (Fig. 23), including the Kizil CaveTemple Complex, the Maijishan Cave-Temple
Complex, the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, whichhouses the Buddhist texts brought from India

by Xuan Zhang, and the Xingjiaosi Pagodas,
which preserves the cremains of Xuan Zhang.
Buddhism seems dominant, but there was achurch of Nestorian Christianity in Ak-Beshim in
the Kyrgyz Republic. Traces of diverse religions
have been identified along the Silk Roads, such
as Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, and Christianity.
From the inscribed sites, we can see that a wide
variety of religions were practiced along the Silk
Roads.
The only thing inscribed as the associated siteis the Tomb of Zhang Qian, who was dispatchedto the Western Regions by Wu Ti of the Han dynasty (Fig. 24).
As we see these sites, we find that many of themare quite familiar to us. Some of them are very
famous, and it is surprising to know that they had
not been inscribed. More than a few sites seem tohave value as world heritage and are worthy of
being nominated as a single site rather than partof a serial nomination.

          

12
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site                             
    
  $##%!



Fig. 23

Fig. 25         !                   

Fig. 24

Fig. 26

Keynote Lecture

China, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,
Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan have held meetingson and off since 2002 and carried out activities
for the inscription of the Silk Roads on the World
Heritage List, although the latter two countries are
not selected this time. As I recall, the full-fledged
efforts for the inscription started in 2006 (Fig. 25).
In 2006, “the Sub-regional Workshop on Serial
Nomination for the Central Asian Silk Roads” washeld in Turpan, China, followed by Samarkand in
Uzbekistan, to adopt the overall strategy.
Based on the strategy, a meeting was held in
Dushanbe in Tajikistan in 2007 to develop theconcept paper. I became directly involved in the
movement for the inscription of the Silk Roads on
the World Heritage List at the Dushanbe meeting.
I happened to be visiting Dushanbe for anotherproject and heard about the meeting for the inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage
List (Fig. 26). At first, I had no information so
I had no idea about the meeting. But I decided       to participate in it at any rate and did so as anobserver.
Surprisingly, the meeting was discussing the
adoption of the “concept paper”, which serves asa basic document for the inscription of the Silk
Roads on the World Heritage List. Moreover, the“concept paper” left out east of Xi’an, namely,
Japan, in the geographical scope for the nomination (Fig. 27). The same went for the map
prepared for the nomination. There was no signof Japan on the map. As an observer, I was notallowed to voice my opinion at the meeting. But
I was strongly alarmed. I remember that I became
anxious that Japan would be excluded from theconcept of the Silk Roads; that Japan, as a country
at the east end of the Silk Roads, would not be
regarded as part of it.
I thought this was something I should not letgo, so as soon as I returned to Japan I discussed
possible measures with related people and organizations. Consequently, it was decided that “we   !#'#//"'#$ "$ "#"(%   "'$'""$- '!! "$ " '$% #$"#!" '"# $ 
# ""$ ""#%  % $"#.
("() $!" $

1,$   !#'#//"'#$ "$ "#"(%   "'$'"
"$- '!! "$ " '$% #$"#!" '"# $ 
# ""$ ""#%  % $"#.

2, '"! #  #'!! "$%(%#*( '$"#$"#$$#"!%  $ 3,"Fig. 27

# $ ""$#$

3*"#20112014

Fig. 29        

      %& !"% #  &         %""#&       
    %  & % #  &

Fig. 28

Fig. 30

13
Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List•

Keynote Lecture

should ask for a modification to include not only
Japan but also the Far East in the geographicalscope of the Silk Roads,” at least in the concept
paper.
In the following year of 2008, an international conference on the World Heritage nominationof the Silk Roads was held in Xi’an. Japan wasable to take part in the conference not as an observer but as an official member state (Fig. 28).
Fortunately, with the help of Japan’s Ministry ofForeign Affairs (MOFA), support from Central
Asian experts who were participating in the same
conference, and China’s understanding, modification of the concept paper and map was accepted.
Some may think that it is not an academic issue
but a mere issue on paper for the World Heritage
nomination. But that is how Japan came to be included in the concept of “the Silk Roads as World
Heritage.”
The sequel or punch line to the event is thatwhat was attached to the official nomination       

documents submitted was the concept paper before the modification, not the modified version.
I also noticed, as I participated in regional
meetings between Central Asia and China andinternational conferences, that not all countries
were keeping pace. Although they aimed at serial
nomination, there were gaps between countries interms of national strength, existence of experts,
and motivation. They seemed to have a rockyroad ahead of them. So I consulted MOFA as tothe possibility of extending direct cooperation toCentral Asian countries with regard to the inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage
List (Fig. 29). Fortunately, MOFA recognized thesignificance and helped launch a project for developing experts and technology transfer in Central
Asian countries in 2010 using the Japanese Fundsin-Trust for the Preservation of World Cultural
Heritage established within UNESCO.
That is the project titled “Support for documentation standards and procedures of the Silk

    

14
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site   

Fig. 31       Fig. 33#!%  %#$,   " $( $0 0#($%!#%
#$#)&! !!#(%(##%
"

" 

""" $!"& 

4::604::9

#&! !"#$#)&! $%#" /"#) %&)
$(#$ $%#!$!  !"$!%$/
(&)&! !( #$!(#$ 
 

4::705336

#&! !"#$#)&! $%#" /#"#*!#/#&! !"(%,%#$

$"$ $!$%!
 

53340533:

%!&! / )$&&! $ +"# %$/$%$ %!$%#"  " $!#"#$#)&!  #! 

53340533:

%!&! / )$&&! $ +"# %$/(&)&! !( #$!(#$

&'$!" !
-$% 533305338

#$#)&! %#% %!#%# $/$%$ %!
"#&#!!!)# $/#"#$%!%$%(""   -$% 

533405337

%!&! /(&)&! !( #$!(#$/
$%$ %!$%#" /"#$#)&! *!#!& ()!($  533605338
 ,#,-

%!&! / )$&&! $/$%$ %!"#$#)&! " $/# ,"#$#)&! $(#$$!)
$%  & )$&&! $/$%#"$%("

Fig. 32  

533705339

 /"#$#)&! !%$)""$"#"$"% "%$#"(%'$'"
"$ "$$"#644806454#"(% %"$#$%$ % '#'%!'%##$•("()$ "$–  "$)$$#%$'$
#$"+-"+
$" +-+-#$/– '"#'"( $1$+$"#".$"#"(%* "$##$–"#"(%"#$"%$"$#) %#$7$054$$'"+$
% '#'%!'%##$-)"$# +$$'#'– (#%%'$'"#$"+-%$!'#
$"#

Fig. 34

Keynote Lecture

Roads World Heritage Serial and Transnational
Nomination in Central Asia” (Fig. 30). Throughthis project, we were able to provide the assistancerequired for preparing nomination documents
and, accordingly, made a substantial contribution
to the recent inscription. The project has virtually completed its activities, but a second phase of
the project is now being contemplated to support
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, countries that were not selected this time.
I heard that something happened which is considered unusual, that is, after the World Heritage
Committee, which met in Doha (Fig. 31), agreed tothe inscription, a representative from Kazakhstan
expressed his gratitude to Japan, recognizing thetremendous cooperation extended from Japan for
the inscription. I was very happy to know that our
cooperation had been of any help at all.
Besides such project providing direct support
for the inscription, Japan has proactively provided assistance to protect cultural heritage sites
$) " "$"# "$"%  !"% $ #"(%  
'$'""$ " $$"#534425346
0" "# ! "$ " $%  '$'""$$"#1•*(% $""$ #"(%  $"%$#

Fig. 35          

Fig. 36

15
Japanʼs Contribution to the Inscription of the Silk Roads on the World Heritage List

("() $!" $– !" $)$$#%$'$ #$ "+'$'""$$ % +  $ +"+, !'/– #"# '"# '"( !$) "# !  '$% .*(% .
 #"(% .#$$
 '$)$ '# $($+ 2# $' ("$ +"+, !'/

located along the Silk Roads. The previously mentioned UNESCO Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the
Preservation of World Cultural Heritage has contributed to protecting cultural sites in China andCentral Asian countries (Fig. 32). In China, forexample, the fund supported the protection of Yar
City and Daming Palace, which were inscribed on
the World Heritage List this time, the Kumtura
Thousand Buddha Caves, and the already-inscribed Longmen Grottoes.
Looking at Central Asia, the fund also assisted
the protection of Fayaz Tepa in Uzbekistan, Otrar
Tobe in Kazakhstan, and Krasnaya Rechka, AkBeshim, and Burana in the Kyrgyz Republic (Fig.
33). The three sites in Kyrgyz Republic were
inscribed on the World Heritage List this time.
The map used for the nomination was preparedthrough the Japanese Funds-in-trust project. The
Funds-in-trust has also cooperated for the protection of Ajina Tepa in Tajikistan.
Not only MOFA but also the Agency for Cultural
Affairs of Japan has proactively cooperated forthe protection of cultural sites in Central Asia.
With a commission from the Agency, the National
Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Tokyo
has conducted Networking Core Centers forInternational Cooperation in the Conservation ofCultural Heritage Project in Central Asia (Fig.
34). In Tajikistan, we restored mural painting unearthed in the country. Tajikistan keeps many excavated or stripped mural paintings in the storage.
We restored and exhibited them in a museum. In
the Kyrgyz Republic, we conducted a comprehensive project for cultural heritage protection(Fig. 35). At Ak-Beshim, we carried out a seriesof activities from research to public exhibition,
including documentation of the site, excavation,
protection of sites, and exhibition.
Workshops we organized under these projects
may not directly contribute to the World Heritage
nomination, but they were participated in by experts from five Central Asian countries, and fromas far as Armenia in the Caucasus, as well as
young local experts. Through these workshops,
we assisted with extensive human resource development and technology transfer, and contributed
to the development of new networks of young
researchers centering on Japan. In a sense, it canbe regarded as another revival of the Silk Roads.

Keynote Lecture

Before I conclude my presentation, I would liketo reiterate that Japan at the east end of the Silk
Roads and the Japanese people have not only long
looked admiringly upon the Silk Roads but havealso had a deep, lasting interest in it. We can saythat the Silk Roads shows us historical traces ofhuman exchange, but we should never allow it to
be a thing of the past (Fig. 36). As Mr. Hirayama

16

hoped, I too hope that the recent inscription on
the World Heritage List helps spur the revivalof the Silk Roads as an avenue for dialogue andcommunication between people and a cornerstoneof peace.
Thank you.

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Lecture 1

Yar City and
Qocho City: Pearlson the Silk Roads
Xiaofei Wang
Director, Cultural Heritage Bureau at Turpan City, China

Yar City is located approximately 10 km to thewest of Turpan City on a distinctive, willow-leafshaped high natural terrace surrounded by the
Yarnaz Valley (Fig. 2). The terrace measures approximately 1,750 m in length at its greatest extent
and reaches 300 m at its widest point. Altogether,
the terrace contains an area of 376,000 m2 withnearly 220,000 m2 covered with constructions. The
terraces’ precipitous cliffs stand 30 m tall at theirhighest point and form a natural barrier aroundthe city.
The existing urban structures still display architectural remains of different historical periods,
different styles, and different characteristics. The
overall layout of the city resembles that of cities
in central China. Government offices were located in the city center (Fig. 3). The avenues wereused solely for transportation purposes; people
did not construct entrances to individual buildings from avenues, and doors were permitted only
on side streets. However, the site also displaysa syncretic style of urban planning, as the maingate of the city and the largest Buddhist temple
were connected by a straight and broad central
avenue, a layout typical of many Central Asian
cities. As wonders of world architectural history,
the site’s broad avenues (Fig. 4), grand Buddhist
temple (Fig. 5), ingeniously planned government
offices, charmingly arranged dwellings (Fig. 6),
heavily fortified East Gate (Fig. 7), and the orderly Forest of Stupas (Fig. 8) all without exception

17
Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads

Born in 1979, Dr. Wang obtained his PhD in history at the
University of Southern California in 2009. He became Directorof the Cultural Heritage Bureau at Turpan City after his post as
Director of International Cooperation Division at the National
Library of China from 2011 to 2012. His work as director includes
the conservation of cultural heritage, the promotion of academic
research in Turpan, and the establishment of educational projects
involving cultural heritage.

Yar City and Qocho City were two major settlements in the Turpan Basin, which is locatedat the southern foot of the Tian-shan Mountains
in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China (Fig. 1).
These cities were important strategic towns thatsafeguarded a communication hub on the Silk
Roads. Ravaged by time, these two cities are in ruins now, but their magnificent city walls, standing
abutments, grand temples and palaces, broad avenues, wonderfully constructed government offices,and beautiful castles reflect the social economy,
urban architecture, religions, and diverse cultures
along the Silk Roads. As important cities thatsafeguarded the Silk Roads, Yar City and Qocho
City became transfer stations for the exchange ofgoods between East and West and a junction forthe meeting of Eastern and Western cultures.

Lecture 1

Yar City and Qocho City

Fig. 1 Overview of the Silk Roads: The Routes Network of Changan
and Tian-shan Corridor

18
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 3 Government Office

Fig. 2 Yar City

Fig. 5 Grand Buddist Temple

Fig. 4 Central Avenue

Lecture 1

demonstrate ancient Yar City’s role as a centerof bustling commerce and flourishing Buddhist
civilization.
The drawing as shown in Fig. 9 is Yar City, of afamous Chinese artist, Mr. Wu Guanzhong. It kept
making records as the most expensive drawing
by a living Chinese artist. In 2007 it was sold in
an auction in Hong Kong for 40.7 million Chinese
yuan. Why was it so expensive? It is because, in
addition to the great artistic value itself, it embodies a great history. Yar City was an importantFig. 7 East Gate

Fig. 8 Forest of Stupas

Fig. 9 Drawing of Yar City by Mr. Wu Guanzhong

19
Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads

Fig. 6 Residential Section

central town on the Silk Roads from the second
century B.C. to the fourteenth century. In the first
century A.D. it became the capital city of Jushi
Kingdom. Subsequently, it variously held statusof a prefecture or a county under the Kingdomof Qocho, the Tang Dynasty, and the kingdom of
Qocho Uyghur. In 640, the Tang Empire established the Anxi Protectorate in Yar City, transforming the city into an important, administrative,
military, religious, and communication hub fromwhich the empire controlled the area south of
Tian-shan Mountains and the basin regions.
Built on a distinctive high natural terrace, thecity was characterized by a unique urban layoutthat ingeniously utilized the natural landscapeand displayed exquisite architectural artistry. The
site is home to a diversity of architectural rings
as well as several cemeteries and caves in thearea surrounding the rings. The city is physicalproof of how many ethnic groups around the Silk
Roads interacted and transmitted diverse urban
cultures, architectural skills, Buddhism, and ethnic cultures.
Various construction techniques were used toconstruct this city (Fig. 10). They include stacked
mud, rammed-earth construction and recessedand semi-recessed construction skills. Also, many
artifacts were unearthed in and around Yar City,
which are of Buddhist purposes (Fig. 11). Because

Lecture 1of Turpan’s extremely hot weather, many ancient
documents are well preserved to today.
Now, let us talk about another world cultural heritage site around the Silk Roads: Qocho
City. Located at the southern foot of the Flaming
Mountains 30 km east of the city of Turpan, thesite of Qocho City takes up a total area of about
198 ha in the form of an irregular square with aperimeter of 5.4 km (Fig. 12). The city is composedof the outer city with high and thick walls builtwith rammed earth (Fig. 13), the inner city, andthe towering Khan Fort (Fig. 14). The triple- circle layout of the city shows a close correlation tocities in central China. Porcelains, Wuzhu coins,
as well as a large number of Buddhist, Nestorian
Christian, and Manichean murals and scriptures
were unearthed from palaces and monasteries(Fig. 15). Those items accurately record the important role that Qocho City played in politics,
economy, trade, culture, religion, and ethnicity on
the Silk Roads.
The drawing of Qocho City as shown in Fig.
16 is also by the famous Chinese artist Mr. Wu
Guanzhong. The Qocho City had a flat terrain,
mild climate, and abundant water. Colonels Wu
and Ji, military officials in the western regions
were set up during the western and eastern Han

stacked mud

20
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

recessed and semi-recessed

Fig. 10 Construction Techniques

Bronze Bodhisattva

Monk Head Sculpture Unearthed Documents

Fig. 11 Unearthed Artifacts

rammed-earth construction

Lecture 1

Fig. 12 Qocho City

Fig. 16 Drawing of Qocho City by Mr. Wu Guanzhong

21

Fig. 17 Grand Buddhist Temple (Inside)

Fig. 14 Khan Fort
Fig. 18 Pagoda

Fig. 15 Unearthed Artifacts

Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads

Fig. 13 Outer City Walls

Lecture 1

dynasties. It was the route of Qocho commanderyin eastern Qin Dynasty. Since then, as ethnic
groups gathered, and the population significantly
increased, Qocho City became a political, economic, and cultural center in Turpan Basin. With the
spread of advanced farm tools and agriculture
skills of central China, its agriculture developed
rapidly. Qocho thus provided green foliage andsupplies to the travelling diplomats and commercial traders and guaranteed the smooth flow of the
Silk Roads. Meanwhile, the full integration of Han

22

and Jushi culture enriched Chinese civilization(Fig. 17-19).
Yar City and Qocho City and the unearthedartifacts are well preserved in Turpan and in the
Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Turpan Museum
is a part of my bureau (Fig. 20), which has thousands, sometimes tens of thousands of people visiting each day.
In addition to protecting the property area, wehave a buffer zone around Yar City (Fig. 21) andQocho City (Fig. 22). Constructions and projectsof various kinds are restricted in those bufferzones to help preserve Yar City and Qocho City.

Fig. 19 Mural Painting of Nestorianism

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 21 Buffer Zone: Yar City

Fig. 20 Turpan Museum

Fig. 22 Buffer Zone: Qocho City

Lecture 1

Qocho City has an even larger buffer zone. It
covers several villages. Altogether, it is 51 km2 ofbuffer zone.
We have management plans issued by the autonomous region and composed by the best experts in the area to help us plan the preservation and conservation of those two cities (Fig.
23). Also, international cooperation has helped us
greatly in terms of preserving those cultural sites
and research (Fig. 24).
Moreover, we have strong support from theCentral Government, the government of the autonomous region, the city, and the local government.

We hold meetings to discuss how to coordinate
with local citizens to preserve those sites. For
preservation projects, we have a close relationshipwith institutions in Xian, Dunhuang, Beijing, andNanjing for various kinds of preservation projects.
Community Involvement is another factor which
contributed to the great conservation of those two
ancient cities. Various kinds of gatherings about
how to preserve cultural heritage and lectures areheld (Fig. 25). The leader of the city passes out
handbooks about cultural heritage protection to
local farmers.
Research helps us understand how we should
protect those two cities and what the best way is

23

Fig. 25 Community Involvement

Fig. 24 International Cooperation

Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads

Fig. 23 Management Plans

Lecture 1

24
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 26 International Conference in Turpan Studies

Fig. 27 Publications on Turpan Studies

to do it. We have Turpan Academy, which gathers a group of scholars. We also have postdoctoral
scholars in this institution. Scholars with expertise in Turpan studies from all over China gather
together to form a committee to support researchof Yar City and Qocho City in the long run (Fig.
26, 27). We had four of those conferences already,and we are working to have the fifth in the next
month.

cultures and nations. It is the road of communication, prosperity, friendship, and hope. Recently,
Chinese president Xi Jinping proposed the idea of
establishing the Silk Roads’ economic belt. Insideand outside China, people responded enthusiastically about this initiative. Culture is a very important power to help us to build this economic
belt of the Silk Roads. History has told us that,regardless of geographical distances, people ofdifferent cultures can work together to encourage
cultural transference and economic development.
Probably that is why today’s symposium is so
important. It is one of the links for all of the institutions involved today and for everyone sitting
here today to know about Silk Roads and to support the cultural heritage preservation along the
Silk Roads. Turpan is a great city; it has splendid
culture, weather, and very friendly people,
so if everyone here today has time, pleasecome to Turpan.

Today at this moment, and at this location I
think it is appropriate to acknowledge one of theimportant conservation and preservation projects
of Yar City. As Mr. Yamauchi has mentioned, backin the 1990s, the UNESCO Japan Trust Fund had
supported the research and the preservation of
Yar City with donation of 1 million USD. Here on
behalf of the cultural heritage bureau of Turpan, I
would like to appreciate this important effort andsay thank you very much to the people of Japan.
Over the centuries, Silk Roads have connectedLecture 2

Silk Roads:
Roads of Dialogue
and Cooperation
Dmitriy Voyakin
Director General, Archaeological Expertise LLP,
Kazakhstan

The Silk Roads are ways of integration, exchange, and dialogue between the East and West,which have significantly contributed to the common prosperity of human civilization for almost
two thousand years. The integrity of the Silk
Roads means something more than the aggregate of its component parts. The Silk Roads did
not merely transport goods, but also religions;
Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity,
Zoroastrianism, and Manichaeism. Scientific andtechnological achievements were also spread bythis route. From China; for example, paper, powder, the magnetic compass, and porcelain weretransmitted whereas engineering achievements(particularly bridge construction), and the cultivation of cotton and the grape vine were spread fromCentral Asia, the Middle East, Mediterranean and25
Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation

Dr. Voyakin was born in 1976. He received his MA in 1999 at
Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and his PhD in 2010 at
the Kazakhstan Institute of Archaeology. Since 2005, he has
been Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Department ofDocumentation and Archaeological Conservation at the Instituteof Archaeology MES, Almaty, Kazakhstan, and serves his current
position since 2006., General Director of “Archaeological Expertise
LLP (NGO).
Dr. Voyakin specializes in computer applications in archaeology, theSilk Roads, Medieval archaeology, and Islamic archaeology.

Let me begin my speech with words of highest
appreciation to the Japanese people for their support for the nomination of the Silk Roads to the
UNESCO World Heritage list. It was a really longand complicated way, but at the same time, it wasa way full of joy of interchange.
The work on the nomination of the first corridorof the Silk Roads has been carried out for almost
ten years with the wide participation of Central
Asian countries, Japan, China, Belgium, experts
from the World Heritage Centre (WHC) andICOMOS. Serial Transnational Nomination Silk
Roads is one of the most perspective and complex
projects from the point of view of presentationof diverse Central Asian heritage. At the sametime, it is the most complicated project from theposition of preparation of the nomination dossierand further management of numerous nominatedproperties. As was mentioned in the Ashgabat
Agreement, “this ambitious and highly complex
project has the potential to become the largest
nomination of linked sites ever presented to theWorld Heritage Committee.” Its success in implementation is first of all due to permanent systematic international support and involvement ofinternational experts in the achievement of highlevel international standards as well as preparation of regulations and procedures in the framework of the documentation of cultural heritage.
Japan has played a crucial role in effectuation ofthis project.

Lecture 2

West. On the same road went diplomatic missions,establishing international contacts.
Kazakhstan has a centuries-old history and is
the owner of the cultural properties which are thepart of the world civilization treasures. Quantityand diversity of the cultural heritage sites makes
Kazakhstan a Central Asian museum under the
open sky.
Cultural heritage of Kazakhstan has absorbed
all the diversity of cultural properties left by people who lived in this land. There are over 25,000
intangible properties (sites), over 2,056,000 assets(artifacts) in different exhibitions and storage facilities, 89 state museums, and 66,840,000 books/
rare manuscripts preserved in the 3,495 state
libraries.

UNESCOʼs World Cultural Heritagein Kazakhstan
On the 29th of April 1991, the Republic of
Kazakhstan has ratified the Convention Concerning
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LIST26
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site      


 




the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural
Heritage. The first property situated on the territory of Kazakhstan was inscribed on UNESCO’s
World Heritage List in 2003 during the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee.
Up to now, Kazakhstan has only two culturalproperties in the World Heritage List, nominated
10 years ago. They are the Mausoleum of Khodzha
Ahmed Yasawi, and petroglyphic site Tamgaly(Fig. 1). Such eminent properties as the GoldenMan, Otrar, and Turkestan became cultural iconsof Kazakhstan (Fig. 2).
Nowadays, there are 1,007 properties from 161
countries inscribed on the World Heritage List.
They consist of 779 cultural properties, 197 natural properties, and 31 mixed properties. State
parties by the quantity of the sites included into
the World Heritage List are the following: 50 in
Italy, 47 in China, 44 in Spain, 39 in France, 39 inGermany, 32 in Mexico, 32 in India, 28 in GreatBritain, 26 in Russia, and 22 in the United States
KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST 

" 

 

Fig. 1

Fig. 3

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE LISTKAYALYKKAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST
Buddhist temple    $  $         "  Hanaka, mavsoleums

Hammam and temple%  !  

Fig. 2

Fig. 4

MosqueMausoleums

Farmstead

KAYALYKLecture 2of America. The Republic of Kazakhstan holds
the 9th place in the world by the size. In spite ofthat, Kazakhstan has only four properties in theWorld Heritage List as of 2014. That is only 0.4%
of number of the properties included in the World
Heritage List.
Among the properties which is situated in the
territory of Kazakhstan and included in the tentative list, I will introduce eight archaeological sites
which are situated on the Silk Roads, which canbe called the pearls of the assets of Kazakhstan.

(1) Kayalyk (Fig. 3-5)

Kayalyk is a very famous site situated in thesouth-east part of Kazakhstan. The central partis over one kilometer. During several years ofarchaeological excavations, a large number of important treasures/properties were excavated on
the territory of this big city. It can be noted that
this city showed religious tolerance, because in
one period of time there existed several temples,
KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LISTKAYALYKKAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST

Fig. 6

Talgar was a very well-developed city which
was known as a center of trade for different kindsof metal. In the 12th century, local handcraftsmanship could produce crucible steel, which is
Damascus steel or wootz. The interesting fact isthat they did not just produce precious assets likeswords, but they also produced ordinary things
like scissors using this crucible steel.

(3) Akyrtas (Fig. 7)

Another site on the way from the east to west is
Akyrtas. Akyrtas has a huge palace, 142 m by 160
m. We believe that it was planned and constructedby Arab architects in the 8th century.
KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST AKYRTAS

Fig. 7

Fig. 5 (2) Talgar (Fig. 6)TALGARKAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST 

Fig. 8



OTRAR

27
Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation 

like a Buddhist temple, a Mosque, a Manichaeism
temple, and a Christian church.
And, of course, there was a very well-developed
urban culture. For example, there was the bathhouse (Hammam), a typical eastern oriental bathhouse. Also, a Kayalyk Kidan (Qara Khitai) stamp
and a Chinese coin have been found on the site.

Lecture 2(4) Otrar (Fig. 8)
Otrar is one of the most important sites in the
territory of our republic. It is a huge oasis withnumerous sites. The central part of oasis is 50
by 50 km and consists of 140 sites or medieval
cities. It is based on three main rivers: the Syr
Darya, Bugun, and Arys. Otrar is one of the most
famous sites from a historical or political point ofview. The first city was conquered by the army ofGenghis Khan.
There are markedly well preserved walls over 10
m high, and a base of 4.5 m. There is also an exceptionally well preserved irrigation system, whichshould be investigated as it is a great example ofa hydraulic society in this region.

(5) Sauran (Fig. 9)

Dated to the 14-18th centuries, Sauran is also
a notably well-preserved site. An abundance ofMuslim artifacts and features were excavated on
this territory. For example, the famous madrasa with shaking minarets mentioned in written

28

KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LISTThe Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site 

SAURAN

Fig. 9Fig. 10(6) The Dzhetasar Oasis (Fig. 10)

The Dzhetasar Oasis has been excavated since
1946 and numerous precious items are the treasures of the Russian Federation. They were transferred to Russia and are still kept in different
museums of Russia.

(7) Dzhankent and Huvara (Fig. 11, 12)Dzhankent and Huvara are two sites which aresituated near the Aral Sea. These are the wonderful pieces of Oghuz culture. Up until now, Oghuz
culture is not well known. The investigation ofthis rich culture of the Oghuz tribe, 9th to 11th
century, has been conducted for five years.

(8) Aral-Asar and Kerderi (Fig. 13)

Mausoleum Kerderi and the settlement of AralAsar are situated on the dry bottom of the Aral
Sea. Now we have the catastrophic situation with
the Aral Sea in both Uzbekistan and the territoryof Kazakhstan. Archaeologists excavated several
KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST 

DZHANKENT AND HUVARA

Fig. 11KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST 

sources as one of the wonders in the 16th century
was discovered from this site.



DZHETASAR

KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST 

Fig. 12

DZHANKENT AND HUVARALecture 2

sites on the dry bottom of the Aral Sea. It is avast area that is just sand, and we excavated a reconstruction mausoleum, and a settlement whichmints coins, which had well developed trade byusing the rice plantation.
Like other countries, some of the pearls of theheritage of Republic of Kazakhstan have problems. Almost all of our sites are constructed ofadobe or mud brick. In spite of the importance ofthe sites, it is extremely difficult to preserve them.
This is due to understandable circumstances: theaggressive climate and the fragile building materials (adobe or mud brick). Yet the problem is not
only in the process of conservation and preservation, which actually is a final step of archaeological investigation, but in the complicated processof documentation. Documentation is a key issue
for the actions implemented on archaeologicalsites, from the reconnaissance to the preservation,conservation, and presentation of the materials.
KAZAKHSTAN SITES IN THE UNESCOTENTATIVE LIST



ARAL-ASAR AND KERDERI

Fig. 13 "         $(&"()   !(&''!  !
     %

Fig. 14

Geophysical survey and on-site training
in Republic of Kazakhstan(28 September – 17 October 2011)(18-24 September 2012)    29

   

Fig. 15The «Support for Documentation Standards andProcedures of Silk Roads Sites inCentral Asia for Serial and Transnational World
Heritage Nomination 

Several meetings were implemented to createa strategy for successful achievement, whose
main aim was the inscription of the Silk Roads tothe World Heritage List. They are in the framework of the Project Support for Documentation
Standards and Procedures of Silk Roads Sites inCentral Asia for Serial and Transnational World
Heritage Nomination, initiated and supported by
the Japanese government. Some of the seminars,
trainings and workshops were crucial and important for all over the countries in the Central Asia
(Fig. 14).
One of the important seminars from our pointof view was a one in Turkmenistan. The aim of
this seminar was to acquire advanced technology
in archaeology. All of the staff had an opportunity
to use equipment in action and to gain some firsthand experience of its uses and application, especially during work at Merv and while undertaking
work with the team at Munon Depe. Extended



Geophysical survey and on-site training
in Republic of Kazakhstan(28 September – 17 October 2011)(18-24 September 2012)  "        $(*#'  (&''%
 

Fig. 16

       

Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation 

International Conferences and Workshops

Lecture 2

discussions took place regarding documentation
strategies, and there were a number of opportunities to discuss future needs. Most importantly,
these members of staff had detailed discussions
with the team regarding the most useful equipment to acquire under the UNESCO’s JapaneseFunds in Trust project.
Also, two very important seminars were held in
Kazakhstan devoted to geophysical survey. The
objective of the workshop was to develop capacities of local experts for the geophysical survey. Two workshops were held, for experts from
Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries.
The mission was also aimed at testing the efficacy
of methods of the geophysical survey, Ground
Penetrating Radar (so-called GPR) and Electric
Resistivity (ER). Both methods have not been applied yet in Kazakhstan (Fig. 15).
We gained knowledge which now helps to realize very important and advanced projects inarchaeology using geophysical methods. Only

30

Geophysical survey and on-site training
in Republic of Kazakhstan(28 September – 17 October 2011)(18-24 September 2012)

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site2

three years has passed since we started using geophysical methods, but we have already achieved
intriguing results. For example, at the two spots
which the seminars were held on the Sauran site
all of the structures are made of adobe (which isalmost untraceable material), but nevertheless, themethod gave us perfect results when we used geophysical equipment (Fig. 16-18).
Another workshop was organized in Kyrgyz
Republic. That was on-site training, and Japanesecolleagues introduced methods of removal of archaeological artifacts, stratigraphy profile preserving, and ceramic material restoration (Fig. 19, 20).
Finally, eight young Kyrgyz researchers and sometrainers from Central Asian Republics from different universities, museums, and scientific organizations took part in the workshop and gained significant knowledge. There are also projects heldin Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, allsupported by the Japanese government and theJapanese scientists (Fig. 21).
Workshop and on-site training
in documentation in Kyrgyz Republic1
3

 !# %'& "!$(& $)&  & 

     

Fig. 17      

Fig. 19

Geophysical survey and on-site training
in Republic of Kazakhstan(28 September – 17 October 2011)(18-24 September 2012)

Workshop and on-site training
in documentation in Kyrgyz Republic     

Fig. 18



        

Fig. 20







Lecture 2

Results and Achievements
Thanks to support by the Japanese government,
we now use the advanced technologies not only
to create topography but also to record, create 3Dmodels of all different kinds of archaeological sites
and by doing this preservation. “Preservation andconservation of Otrar” is a four year project, thefirst project which we executed in the territory of
Kazakhstan; it became a strong basis for creating a
new school of documentation in Kazakhstan on. It
is also the base which was created under the leadership of the Japanese team in close cooperation
with UNESCO and Aachen University. Now our
specialists can use three-dimensional technology
to document all archaeological sites (Fig. 22-24).
This is very important because archaeological intervention is the one of the most important, but at
the same time one of the most dangerous actions.
We must document all the steps we take in orderto make our process reversible.
In the Otrar oasis sites, we also conduct theWorkshop and on-site training
in documentation in Republic of Tajikistan(2-7 November 2012)RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Fig. 22RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

31 



Fig. 23

Fig. 21 

Finally I would say the last words for the latest
achievements we reached. During the 38th Sessionof the World Heritage Committee held over 10 daysat the end of June in Qatar, Kazakhstan has accomplished to add eight sites on the World Heritage
List as a part of serial Silk Roads nomination.
Eight of the abovementioned sites are only partRESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

Fig. 24



Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation 

documentation project. We now use GIS technology, which was also introduced by the Japanese
team for the Central Asian Republics.
Aerial photos/satellite images help us to investigate really complex monuments sites and territories of Kazakhstan, for example, analyzing ofsatellite imagery data (Fig. 25, 26).
There are a lot of projects in the territory of
Kazakhstan nowadays which use all of the introduced methodologies/technologies. We achieve
great result not only how to document, but how topreserve, to present all the materials of the archaeological sites (Fig. 27-30).

Lecture 2of the monuments which presented the direction of
Silk Roads within the territory of Kazakhstan, theso-called Tian-shan corridor. In Kazakhstan there
are still over 30 sites included in the Tentative
List. Thus, that was the first step, but a crucial
one.

RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 



Fig. 25

We very much appreciate the Japanese side tohelp us make this step. We did it together, and I
hope and believe that soon in the future
we will continue this process and we will
not stop.

RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 



Fig. 28

RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTSRESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

32
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site 



Fig. 26

Fig. 27





Fig. 29RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS  RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS 

Fig. 30



Panel Discussion

Panel Discussion“Silk Roads and Japan”
Chair

Kosaku Maeda

Vice-Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage/ Professor Emeritus, Wako University
After studying art and art history at Nagoya University, Mr. Maeda was involved in the excavation of ancient
Buddhist art in Afghanistan from 1964 to 1977. He was professor at Wako University from 1975 to 2003.
He has been part of a Japanese Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of World Heritage in UNESCO project inorder to preserve Bamiyan. He is currently a member of the International Coordination Committee for the
Safeguarding of Afghanistan's Cultural Heritage (ICC), a councilor for the Hirayama Ikuo Silk Road Museum,a permanent member of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange, and Director General of ISCA-Japan.

Panelists

Shinobu Kuranaka

Professor, Faculty of Foreign Language, Daitobunka University
Dr. Kuranaka was born in Kobe, Japan, in 1960. She obtained her doctorate in literature from Nara Womenʼs
University, and completed her studies at the Graduate School of Humanities and Sciences, School ofComparative Culture. Her field is Japanese literature and comparative literature studies between Chineseand Japanese works. Dr. Kuranaka believes that the works of Xuanzang, namely Life of Master Xuanzang
of Dacien Temple and Great Tang Records on the Western Regions influenced the rise of biographicalliterature in 8th century Japan. She is interested in narratives that arose from biographical works, especially
the Xuanzang narratives in Dunhuang.

Kiyohide Saito

Technical Advisor, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara
Mr. Saito has worked at the Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara since 1982, after completing his
education at the University of Arizona Graduate College. In 1990, he participated in excavation of Palmyraʼs
underground necropolis led by. Since then, he has been involved with the excavation and preservation of
the site. However, due to the Syrian Civil War, he has not been able to go to Palmyra, and has devoted
himself to the 3D modeling of Palmyra funerary statues in European museum collections, and is exploring
the possibility of identifying individual craftsmen from the statues.
Abbot Emeritus, Todaiji Temple
Rev. Dr. Kosei Morimoto was born in 1934 and entered Todaiji Temple in 1949. He graduated from Kyoto
University in 1957 and studied at Cairo University from 1961 to 1962. He received his Ph.D. from Kyoto
University in 1968. During his time at Todaiji from 1975 to 2004, he has served as Head of Todaiji Library,
Director of Todaiji School, Todaiji Finance Secretary, Education Secretary, Chief Secretary, Abbot of theGreat Buddha Hall, Abbot of Join Temple. From May 2004 to April 2007. He was the 218th Chief Abbot,
and was Chancellor of Todaiji Culture Center from 2010 to 2013.

Yutaka Yoshida

Professor, Graduate School of Letters, Kyoto University
Born in 1954, Dr. Yoshida received his education at Kyoto University and Kobe City University of Foreign
Studies, and became a professor at Kyoto Universityʼs Graduate School of Letters in 2006. He has beena Corresponding Fellow at the British Academy since 2014. His field is linguistics, and his work centersaround the history of Iranian languages, especially the deciphering of Sogd languages and the history of theSogd people. He recently discovered a Manichaean painting in Japan as part of his studies on the religionof Sogdian people.

Silk Roads and Japan

Kosei Morimoto33

Panel Discussion

Maeda: Three experts have given presentations
on the background of the inscription of the Silk
Roads on the World Heritage List, as well as theefforts made along the way. As a response to this, I
will moderate this panel discussion under the titleof “Silk Roads and Japan.”Firstly, please take a look at Fig. 1. This is a
map of the Silk Roads network titled,“Treasuresof Shosoin and Their Places of Origin”. It is a
map that schools in Japan use as supplementary
EuropeFig. 1 Treasures of Shosoin and their Places of Origin

34
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 2 Treasures of Shosoin and their Places of Originmaterial to teach the routes connecting Nara toRome, via China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic,
Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. I
brought this map with me when I went to my firstmeeting on the Silk Roads held in Central Asia inorder to explain that elementary and junior highschools in Japan teach students about these historical routes. I did so because I thought that showing the map would be the best way to help people
understand the strong affinity Japanese people
feel for the Silk Roads. The map also has a second
figure with routes indicating where the antiquities
that finally reached Shosoin were produced.
So, Japanese people, from elementary and juniorhigh school students to adults, associate the Silk
Roads with Shosoin. The 66th Shosoin Exhibition
will be held from October 24 of this year (2014).
The first exhibition was held in 1946 in the earlypost-war period, at a time when Japan was stilldevastated by war damage, to inspire a love of culture in order to build new peace. Since then, theexhibition has been held 66 times with a total ofnine million visitors. This indicates how familiar
the Japanese people are with the Silk Roads.
Meanwhile, in the 1960s and 1970s, many
Japanese people hit the Silk Roads trail when
peace reigned in Central Asia, including in
Afghanistan and Pakistan. You may rememberthat Japan sparked the Silk Roads boom and the
grand Silk Roads tours that swept the world. Someof you may have actually walked the Silk Roads.
Today, I would like Professor Yoshida to start
us off by talking about the historic Sogdians, whotraveled east and west along the Silk Roads.

Sogdians, Sogdian Language and the Silk Roads
Yutaka Yoshida

Who Were the Sogdians?
The Sogdians were Iranians active in pre-Islamic and pre-Mongolian Central Asia, primarily
in Samarqand, and the surrounding areas roughly corresponding to today’s Uzbekistan, northTajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. In their
homeland of Sogdiana, they were settled agriculturists and had a very developed urban culture.
Some of them left their homeland to trade along
the Silk Roads. It is thought that, at some point inhistory, trade along the Silk Roads was dominatedby the Sogdians. Some people even argue that the
Silk Roads can be defined in accordance with thetime and area in which the Sogdians were active.
Naturally, many Sogdians went to China. The
number of Sogdians traders peaked between the
period of the Northern dynasties and the Sui andTang dynasties, and many Sogdians settled in
China. When doing so, they were registered in
the family registration system and adopted theChinese surname specific to their place of origin, generally referred to as “Zhaowu (昭武)Panel Discussion

Fig. 3 A Tang Dynasty Funerary Good of a
Sogdian Riding on a Camel（『丝路胡人外来
风−唐代胡俑展』2008 年、文物出版社）

wearing a white hat and holding a pair of balances. It is a scene from the story of King Shibi, in
which a dove chased by a hawk asks for the king’s
help. In exchange for the dove’s life, the hawk,
needing meat to live, demands the equivalent of
the dove’s weight in the king’s own flesh. So theking cuts the flesh from his own leg and gives it tothe hawk. I don’t know why, but in this picture a
Sogdian merchant is measuring the weight of theflesh, even though Sogdians do not appear in theoriginal Buddhist scriptures.

Documents written in about
the Sogdian Language
The Sogdian language is related to modern
Persian and therefore an Indo-European languagewith a long tradition. For instance, the word for“brother” is “vrat” in Sogdian and “beradar” in
Persian, with the same etymology as “brother” inEnglish. The Sogdian characters derive from the
22 consonant letters for writing Aramaic, which
was used as an administrative language in the
Achaemenid Empire. The script was originally
written horizontally, but began to be written vertically in the late fifth century.
Having studied the Sogdian language, I havedeciphered several documents unearthed in
China. Fig. 5 shows a contract dated 639 CE,
which was unearthed from Astana, Turpan. The
contract was signed between a Sogdian and aChinese monk on the sale of a Turkistan-born

35
Silk Roads and Japansurnames”. For instance, the Chinese surname of
Sogdians from Samarqand was “康” (Kāng), thatof those from Bukhara was “安” (An), and that ofthose from Tashkent was “石” (Shi). In the case of
the famous historical figure. 安禄山 (An Lushan),“安” (An) is his surname and “禄山” (Lushan) is
believed to be his Sogdian name expressed phonetically in Chinese.
However, it seems the Chinese did not lookfavorably upon the Sogdians, even saying that“they are penny-pinching people: when they havea newborn baby, they dab his mouth with honeyso he will be able to deceive with sweet words,
and his hands with glue so he will never let go ofmoney once he grabs hold of it.”
Chinese people often created effigies, such as
spirit objects and dolls, using Sogdian motifs forburial in their tombs. They characterized Sogdians
as having deep eyeholes and high-bridged noses(深目高鼻). Sogdian dolls do in fact have thesefeatures and are presented wearing a hat, a belted
kaftan coat, and boots. Sogdians also appear in reliefs and mural paintings. Nevertheless, Sogdiansin China engaged in various activities, including
Buddhist monks, or even ministers.
The Sogdian riding a camel in Fig. 3 is a typicalrepresentation. You can see that he is wearing
a hat, an open-necked kaftan, and boots. Fig. 4
shows a mural painting of cave No. 254 of theDunhuang Mogao Caves. The picture is not soclear but you can see a Sogdian man depicted

Fig. 4 A Scene Depicting the Story of King Shibi in
Cave No. 254 of the Dunhuang Mogao Caves. A man
wearing a white hat and holding a pair of balances is
Sogdian.（『敦煌への道』1978 年、NHK 出版）

Panel Discussion

female slave for 120 drachmas. It is curious not to
see the many business documents like this havebeen found so far. Actually, most of the materials
are religious rather than secular documents. For
example, Fig. 6 shows a very famous letter written
by a Manichean around 1010, which I deciphered.
The salutation occupies the right-hand side of thephotograph, followed by greetings. The letter as awhole is three meters long. The salutation is followed by a very beautiful picture and the name of
the addressor; Manichean priest so-and-so.
I also deciphered Shi Jun’s epitaph (史君墓誌)(Fig.7), which was found in a Sogdian tomb unearthed in Xi’an in 2003. According to the epitaph,
the deceased person is a Sogdian named Wirkak
who died in 579 at the age of 86. He was married to
his wife for 60 years, and passed away one month
before his wife’s death. The day she died was their
60th wedding anniversary, and their three sonsbuilt the tomb for their parents. The epitaph isbilingual, written in both Chinese and Sogdian.

Sogdian brand found in Horyuji Temple
Documents written in Sogdian reached Japan
during the Nara Period. Two pieces of sandalwood, housed formerly by the Horyuji Temple
and currently by the Tokyo National Museum,feature two sets of inscriptions in mysterious character (Fig. 8). One has turned out to be a name ofa person, “Bokhtog,” written in Middle Persian.
The other is a brand in Sogdian (Fig. 9). The ink
inscription on the two pieces of Sandalwood showthat they were scraged during the Nara Period,so the Sogdian materials were brought to Japan
during the 8th century.

36
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 7 Wirkak s Epitaph (in Chinese and Sogodian)
Xi an, 580 CE（『從撒馬爾干到長安−粟特人在中國的文化遺迹』2004 年、北京図書館出版社）

Fig. 5 A Contract Written in Sogdian on the Sale of a
Female Slave (639 CE). Excavated from Astana, Turpan.

Fig. 6 Letter Written by a Manichean circa 1010 CE.
Found in the Bezeklik Caves, Turpan.

Fig. 8 Sandalwood Pieces of Horyuji（『 MUSEUM（東京
国立博物館美術誌）第 433 号』1987 年、東京国立博物館）

Panel Discussion

The Horyuji, Todaiji Temples, Shosoin havein their collection masks called suiko-ou (酔胡王,literally “drunken Sogdian king”) for the ancientmasked dance called the gigaku (伎楽). “Hu(胡)”here refers to Sogdian in China during the age of
the Silk Roads. The masks in Fig. 10 seem to be
depictions of a leader of Sogdian merchants. One
on the right is wearing a hat with a strange figure
which seems to be an imaginary Iranian animal
called a “simurgh,” strange winged creature withthe head of a dog. Such a hat was a symbol of
the Sogdian sartpaw (caravan leader), who also
served as the head of the local Sogdian community in China.

Conclusion

Maeda: You said that the Sogdian script is written horizontally. Does it start from the right, orfrom the left, like Greek and Latin?
Yoshida: Originally, it was written from right toleft like Arabic. Then it was turned 90 degrees tothe vertical direction, so that when it is writtenvertically, the lines go from left to right. As you
can see in Fig. 7, the left side is written in Chinese
while the right side is written in Sogdian. The
Chinese starts from the center and moves left
while the Sogdian starts from the center and goesto the right.
Maeda: Thank you. Professor Yoshida referred to
An Lushan and Shi Siming (史思明), who were thekey players in the Anshi Rebellion. Now I understand the name of An Lushan, but how about Shi
Siming ? He isn’t Chinese, either, is he ?
Yoshida: No. He was very close to An Lushan andis believed to be a Turkic Sogdian. Turkic heremeans Tujue (突厥), so he must be a Sogdian born

↓ソグド語焼印

Fig. 9 Legend and Brand on Sandalwood from
Horyuji（『 MUSEUM（東京国立博物館美術誌）第 433 号』
1987 年、東京国立博物館）

37
Fig. 10 Mask of Suiko-ou (Shosoin, Horyuji)（『正倉院宝物 7 巻 南倉Ⅰ』1995 年、毎日新聞社）

among the Turkic people. very closely related toTurkic.
Maeda: Two Turkic Sogdians started the Anshi
Rebellion and shook the Tang dynasty. Then thehistorically famous calligrapher and general Yan
Zhenqing (顔真卿) fought against the two, according to Oriental history.
I also associate the Sogdian name “Lushan” with
the name of Alexander’s Bactrian wife, Roxana.
Roxana is a female name so it ends with an “a”
not an “e,” but they are similar. Are there any relationships between the two?
Yoshida: Both names are Iranian and have thesame etymology. Like today’s Persian word
“Roušan,” these names seemed to be derived froma word meaning “bright.”
Maeda: Other people may have many questions
to ask, but I would like Professor Yoshida to speaklater again on the relationship between Sogdian
and religion.

Silk Roads and Japan

Sogdians played the central role in commercealong the Silk Roads. Consequently, The Sogdian
language, served as a lingua franca along theroutes. Sogdian alphabet was inherited by the
Uighurs and later by the Mongolians, and finallymade their way to Manchuria.
In Tang dynasty cities, Sogdian or Iranian tastes
prevailed, and the trend must have reached Nara.
I’m not sure if Sogdian merchants actually visited
Japan, but at least one Sogdian definitely came to
Japan, namely, An Rubao (安如宝), who accompanied Jianzhen (鑑真).

←パフラヴィー銘文

Panel Discussion

Now, I would like to ask Abbot Emeritus
Morimoto Kosei from the Todaiji Temple topresent.
Rev. Dr. Morimoto is the 218th chief abbot of
the Todaiji Temple. Since he is from Todaiji,
he is undoubtedly a Huayan scholar-monk. At
the same time, he is a distinguished scholar of
Ibn Khaldun, an historian and thinker who wasborn in the North African city of Tunis in the
14th century and significantly influenced modern
Islamic thought. The Japanese translation of Ibn
Khaldun’s voluminous book, The Muqaddimah(Introduction) is published by Iwanami Shoten.
Rev. Dr. Morimoto is a scholar-monk who has abroad perspective that takes into account Islam
connections.

Silk Road Buddhist Festival Day 1:
Memorial Service for All Silk Road Travelers
Kosei Morimoto

38
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Following the Silk Roads boom in Japan, Nara
Prefecture and Nara City jointly hosted the Silk
Road Exposition in 1988. It was 26 years ago, sosome of you gathered here may not have beenborn yet. Over a six-month period, the expo received a huge amount of visitors, namely, around
six million. The main venue of the expo was
Nara Park near the Todaiji Temple, and the expo
organizers asked us if they could use the temple
precincts as a sub-venue. We could not dismiss
the request—or “get jealous,” as we would say
in our dialect—because Todaiji is not completely
unrelated to the Silk Roads.
One of the expo’s tag lines was “Shosoin, theterminus of the Silk Road.” Some people may accept this claim easily, but others may question it.
In other words, the tag line gives the impressionthat various items from the West—which Japanesepeople longed for—easily reached Nara along conveyor-like routes called the Silk Roads. In fact, it
was very difficult and dangerous to travel theseroads, and the people who risked their lives doing
so are the ones who really made the Silk Roads.
Acknowledging these people and comforting their
spirits should come first—such an idea became accepted among monks at our temple, so we decided
to hold the Silk Road Buddhist Festival at Todaiji
from April to October in conjunction with the Silk
Road Exposition.
We decided to hold a memorial service for all
Silk Road travelers on April 22, the first day of
the festival. We conducted research and compiled
a Buddhist “death register” listing persons who
traveled on the Silk Roads to or from Japan, andread out their names during the memorial service
as a prayer for their souls. People from Tokyo may

not be familiar with memorial services at Buddhist
temples, so please take a look at the picture.
The Great Buddha Hall is reputed to be theworld’s largest wooden construction. We had a
hard time preparing for the event. In Fig. 11, you
can see the orb holder on the left, and a mortuary
tablet, created to comfort the souls of travelers,on the right. Fig. 12 shows the ornaments anddecorations.
Rather than in the building itself, formal memorial services at Nanto Buddhist temples are heldin the front garden, called “teigi” (庭儀, meaning “garden ceremony”) in Japanese. This style
has something in common with ancient politicalpractices, such as ministers gathering in the front
garden of the imperial audience hall as a political venue to greet the emperor for the New Year
ceremony. Many people participate in a Buddhist
memorial service, including children taking partin a parade. We also hosted a children’s parade,in which children attending the Todaiji Gakuen
Kindergarten dressed up in Nara Period costumes(Fig. 13). It was a grand occasion, not just for thechildren but also for their mothers. The parademarched on and on.
The ceremony for consecrating the Great
Buddha of Todaiji was held in 752. Along with the
ceremony, other events were held for the generalpublic to enjoy. One such event was a “gigaku”
masked dance, which presumably originated in
China. Gigaku is a kind of pantomime. In tributeto the historical ceremony, we decided to performa gigaku, so gigaku dancers joined the parade, too(Fig. 14). Armed monks acting as security forces
led the parade (Fig. 15), followed by us (Fig. 16).
As the parade entered the inner gate of the GreatPanel Discussion

Fig. 14 Gigaku Dancers Joining the Parade

Fig. 11 Preparation for the Festival

Fig. 15 Armed Monks Acting as Security Forces
Leading the Parade

Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 12 Preparation for the Festival

Fig. 13 Children Participating in the Festival

Buddha Hall, the then-chief abbot greeted the parade (Fig. 17) and led it to the site of the garden
ceremony (Fig. 18).
The ceremony was conducted on the stage installed in front of the Great Buddha Hall. Fig.
19 shows the then-chief abbot saying the “hyohyaku” (表白), a statement expressing the objective of the memorial service, to the principal image

39

Fig. 16 Monks at the Paradeof the temple, the Great Rushana Buddha.
It would have been confusing to just list thenames of people who travelled along the Silk
Roads, so we classified them. Part one covered
people who came from the West, including India,
heading to China. Part two targeted people who
traveled from China or the Korean Peninsula to
India or way down west. Part three referred toPanel Discussion

people who came to Japan from the West, suchas Jianzhen. And part four comprised people who
travelled from Japan to Korea, China, or further
westward. Having decided the four categories(Fig. 20), we looked for people in the literature
within the period between the dispatch of thefamous Zhang Qian (張騫) and the abolishment ofJapanese envoys to the Tang dynasty.
As we did our research, however, we found outthat there were too many travelers. It would take awhole day to read all of their names for the memorial service. So we selected a total of 258 persons
and read their name set to a rhythm.

40

Later, we decided to take the opportunity to
publish a book listing all the names, and foundthat the total number was more than 2,100. Fig. 21
shows us reading out the death register. We created four volumes in the form of scrolls, one scroll
per part, and read out the names listed on them.
After such a memorial service, we always holdcommemorative events. So we hosted a gigaku
masked dance. In this scene, a raging lion is silenced (Fig. 22). There are many scenes, including
a scene featuring the drunken Persian king, which
Professor Yoshida has mentioned. Several masks
used in the dance are housed in Shosoin and the
Todaiji Temple. The drunken Persian king is distinctive because of the typical Western feature of
the high-bridged nose. I don’t know why but theking appears in drinking scenes, so the performer made the gesture shown in Fig. 23. When theperformance ended, the performer exited (Fig. 24).
After the ensuing break, Indonesian Kecak andother performances were presented by the troupe
Geinoh Yamashirogumi as commemorative events(Fig. 25).
On the day of the memorial service, we

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 17 Parade Greeted at the Inner Gate

Fig. 20 Register of Silk Road Travelers
Fig. 18 On the Way to the Garden Ceremony

Fig. 19 Hyohyaku

Fig. 21 Reading out the Register of Silk Road
Travelers during Service

Panel Discussion

distributed a brochure briefly describing some of
the achievements of the 258 travelers because theaudience members would have gotten bored justlistening to names being read out by monks. We
later compiled one book to introduce the achievements of all travelers (Fig. 26). Back in those days,
computers were not as advanced as today, but
we used the latest means available at that time tocompile the book within one year.

Maeda: Fig. 27 show the full text of the register ofSilk Road travelers (絲綢之路往来過去帳). You can
see the characters “森本公誠編” (edited by Kosei

Morimoto). Does that mean you edited the book?

Morimoto: Yes. I edited it, with the help of about
10 researchers, including four professors. A register needs to have a certain style, so I was responsible for the composition.
In our annual “Shuni-e” ceremony held in our
Nigatsu-do hall, we read out the register, whichlists contributors to the foundation and restorationof Todaiji. It has a certain style of rhythm. I usedthat style in editing the register.
Maeda: So you applied the “hyohyaku” of Shuni-e
to the Silk Road Festival. Could you read us just alittle of the opening section?

Fig. 22 Gigaku Dance: Lion

41
Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 23 Gigaku Dance: Suiko-ou

Fig. 25 Performance by Geinoh Yamashirogumi

Fig. 24 Recession of the Performers

Fig. 26 Publications on the Silk Road Travelers

Panel Discussion

42

Fig. 27 Text of the Register of Silk Road Travelers

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Morimoto: It was more than 20 years ago, so I’m
not sure if I can do it right. But the opening was
the part I explained earlier. After this part, youngmonks read out the register. I will read a little bitof the opening of Volume 1.
[Reading the death register]
Maeda: Thank you, Rev. Dr. Morimoto. We could
get a sense of the atmosphere of that time. What
impressed me in the opening is the mention of“有縁無縁者追善供養” (memorial service for all
Silk Road travelers). The memorial service was
not just for people who visited Japan but forpeople who traveled from China to obtain scriptures including, of course, Xuanzang Sanzang (玄奘三蔵) and Faxian (法顕). The register seemed toexemplify the generous-hearted spirit of the Silk

Roads. Thank you for accepting my unreasonable
request to read out the opening.
The next presenter is Prof. Kuranaka, who is attending this symposium accompanied by a number of students from Asian countries. Knowingthat students are highly interested in Asian cultural heritage, she has consistently served as abridge to the next generation.
Most Japanese people associate Silk Road travelers with Xuanzang Sanzang and his footprints.
The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun once focused on the road taken by Xuanzang Sanzang
as a core cultural project. Today, Prof. Kuranaka
will talk about journey based on precious but little-known writings developed and handed downin Dunhuang.

Narratives on Xuanzang Sanzang on the Silk Roads
Shinobu Kuranaka

Introduction:
Historical Facts and Literary Fiction
I would like to talk from the perspective ofliterature, about a somewhat strange narrative

concerning Xuanzang Sanzang, which was created in Dunhuang along the Silk Roads route.
Among a huge number of manuscripts foundin Dunhuang, there is a very short narrative onPanel Discussion

Tang Sanzang crying on his journey to India（ 唐三藏哭西天行記） , Tonko Hikyu. Dunhuang manuscript,
page 552（ 2009 年、武田科学振興財団 杏雨書屋）

Fig. 28

and intimate, so that preacher monks in Dunhuang
could appeal to their audience.
But why was such an irresponsible narrative ofXuanzang created in Dunhuang, along the Silk
Roads route? I would like to consider the possible
reasons.

Historical image of Xuanzang Sanzang:
A Biography of Xuanzang Sanzang of the GreatCi en Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty
Let me first review the historical facts, as well as
the historical image of Xuanzang Sanzang in his
biographies. Then, I would like to compare these
historical facts of Xuanzang with Tang Sanzang, afigure of literary fiction created in Journey to India.
Xuanzang Sanzang serves as the model for thecharacter Tang Sanzang in Journey to the West (西遊記), featuring the well-known protagonist Sun
Wukong. In the Japanese TV drama versions of
the novel, actresses Masako Natsume and Riho
Makise played the role of Tang Sanzang, so you
may have an impression of Xuanzang as a feminine figure. But this is a myth or a literary fiction.
In fact, Xuanzang is said to have been tall, thickly
built, handsome and athletic (Fig. 29).
Violating the state prohibition, Xuanzang
Sanzang left Chang’an (長安) for India in 629,
during the reign of Emperor Taizong (太宗) in theearly Tang dynasty. He spent 17 years making his
pilgrimage to the western regions of India, returning to Chang’an in 645 with Buddha’s ashes andBuddhist statues and scriptures. This was aroundthe time of the Taika Reforms in Japan.
By the time Xuanzang returned to Tang, he

43
Silk Roads and Japan

Xuanzang, written on a single piece of paper. Fig.
28 shows the Dunhuang manuscript, titled “Tang
Sanzang crying on his journey to India” (唐三藏哭西天行記). Tang Sanzang (唐三蔵) is a monk who
in fact seems to be Xuanzang Sanzang himself.
“哭” means to cry out loud, and “西天” refers to
India. So this narrative is about Xuanzang crying
out loud on his journey to India. Today, just forthe sake of convenience, I will call this narrative of Tang Sanzng, who seems to be Xuanzang
Sanzang himself, Journey to India (西天行記).
Other than Journey to India, no biographies ofXuanzang, including A Biography of Xuanzang
Sanzang of the Great Ci’en Monastery of the GreatTang Dynasty (大唐大慈恩寺三蔵法師伝), contain a story of Xuanzang crying. Then why did
Xuanzang Sanzang, the greatest of the great abbots known as China’s greatest scripture-translating monk, cry in the course of his Silk Road
journey?
The Dunhuang literature is said to have been
written as scripts for preaching by bianwen (変文)writers in Dunhuang, and read out by preacher
monks to the general public to communicate andmake Buddhist teachings easily understood to thecommon people. Even in Japan, monks at temples
share gracious Buddhist stories. So this is, inshort, a Buddhist literature for the general public.
Literature is never without its untruths and fictions. Literature is a linguistic art, so it uses various tricks to move readers’ and listeners’ hearts.
This story of Xuanzang crying is also composed ofa series of untruths arranged around the motif ofXuanzang—arranged creatively to be interestingFig. 29 Xuanzang Sanzang(Tokyo National Museum)Panel Discussion

was already famous among people in his homecountry, and various rumors and legends had
already taken hold. Such rumors are covered in
Xuanzang’s biographies, including in A Biographyof the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monasteryof the Great Tang Dynasty, which was written soonafter his death. Later works added more and moreembellishments. In the Ming dynasty, the longnovel Journey to the West was written, depicting
Xuanzang as a weak and helpless figure. Thisestablished the feminized image of Xuanzang, resulting in female actresses to play the role of Tang
Sanzang in Japan.
Similarly, Journey to India is another myth produced in Dunhuang, adding to the swirl of rumors
and legends about Xuanzang. The main character Xuanzang is called Master Tripitaka in theJapanese TV versions of Journey to the West, andTang Sanzang in Journey to India.

Passage to India: Journey to India（唐三藏哭西天行記）Part One
44
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Let me introduce my interpretation of the manuscript that I showed you earlier by referring toresearches done by Professor Emeritus Noritoshi
Aramaki. The story begins with the scene of
Xuanzang’s departure from Chang’an:“This story is about a jouney of Tang Sanzang
crying on his way to India (唐三藏、西天に哭するの行記)”, “Sanzang goes a long way to India (去き去きて西天の路、迢迢たる十万余).”The distant land of India is more than 50,000
kilometers away. He could never reach India bysimply going westward. Unless he turned south at
the Kyzylkum Desert, he would end up in Europe.
For Chinese people, however, “West” represents
India as the Buddhist sanctuary, the Pure Land in
the West. Accordingly, the title, Journey to India,
refers to the idea of “going westward,” glossing
over the actual direction, which would be south.
This is another literary fiction.
The story continues with lines such as: “The sea
is deep and the beach is wild, with monsters of themountains always frightening me (海深く浜は浪鼓、山鬼毎に吾を驚かす).”Although the words “海” (sea) and “浜” (beach)are used in this line, there is no sea along the

Silk Roads. Instead, there is the vast lake of Issyk
Kul. “山鬼” refers to monsters living in the deepmountains.
Then there are lines such as the following: “Itis almost impossible to go down the ‘weak’ river,with the strong wind hindering my path (弱水の舟は汎ひ難く、高風起ちて揄くを異しむ).”“弱水” (literally meaning “weak river”) is a mythological river in China. The river is so “weak” thatit cannot support boats; any boat cast out on it will
sink. But such a river cannot exist in reality.
There is also a line that goes, “the glaciers arecold and the snow-capped mountains extremely
difficult to overcome (氷河偏へに凛烈たり、雪嶺甚
だ﨑嶇たり).”“氷河” (glacier) and “雪嶺” (snow-capped peaks)
refer to the glacier in the kingdom of Baluka (跋禄迦) and the snow-covered mountains of Tian Shan(天山), respectively.
These geographical names can be confirmed in
the map shown in Fig. 30, which traces the historical route of Xuanzang Sanzang described involumes 1 and 2 of his biography, A Biography ofXuanzang Sanzang of the Great Ci’en Monastery of
the Great Tang Dynasty. The map in Fig. 31 shows
the route to the Issyk Kul Lake, which serves as a
backdrop in Journey to India.
The ‘real’ Xuanzang left Chang’an, passed
Lanzhou (蘭州; currently Gaolan County in Gansu
Province) and the Hexi Corridor to the west of the
Yellow River, then proceeded to Liangzhou (涼州;currently Wuwei, Gansu) and on to Guazhou (瓜州; currently Guazhou County, Jiuquan, Gansu),
with the Qilian Mountains on his left and theTenggeli Desert on his right, to reach the Yumen
Pass at the upper Rimjin River (瓠蘆河), without stopping at Dunhuang in Shazhou (沙州).
The Yumen Pass formed the western border ofTang with Kok Turks (突厥). To the northwest,
there were five beacon towers 50 kilometers away.
Xuanzang moved northward from the first beacon tower to the fourth, and then moved from
Guazhou to the Gobi Desert, then went westward to reach the small oasis countries along the
Tianshan Southern Corridor, namely, Hami (伊吾), Kocho (高昌), and Agni (阿耆尼), before finally reaching Kucha (屈支).

Panel Discussion

Fig. 30 Tra ve l t o t h e We s t and Xuanzang Routethrough the East（中野美代子『中国の英傑 6 三蔵法師』
1986 年、集英社）
Fig. 31 Xuanzang Sanzang s Travel through the East
(Young Buddhist Association of the University ofTokyo, retrieved from: http://todaibussei.or.jp/izanai/asahi_buddhism/12.html)

45

Fig. 32 The glacier-covered Tian Shan Mountain rangethat Xuanzang is said to have passed on his journey
to India. The flat part is the Bedel Pass. (Provided by
Masao Shiratori)at the lakeside of Issyk Kul, and composed thepoem Journey to India while looking out at thevast lake. It was at this point that Tang Sanzang
cried a loud (Fig. 33).

Xuanzang Crying in Journey to India
̶Buddha s biography, Xuanzang s biography,
Duahuang Narrative
In Journey to India, the “pseudo-Xuanzang”, orTang Sanzang, faces west and cries, “Ah, hear mycry! (聴け、我が哭を、嗚呼).”Why did Tang Sanzang cry out so frantically?
The word “哭” means to wail over a person’s
death. The following line explains the reason: “I
sadly lament the passing of my teacher. I shiver as
I think of myself surviving without my teacher (師の先に歿することを惆悵し、我が後に殂することをSilk Roads and Japan

However, Dunhuang, where Journey to India
originated, is not located along this route.
Xuanzang didn’t pass Dunhuang on his way to
India, but on his way home. Therefore, there isno trace of the ‘real’ Xuanzang in Dunhuang. The
author of Journey to India, the bianwen writer in
Dunhuang, may have invented this, after reading
Xuanzang’s biography.
Lastly, Journey to India depicts the climax ofXuanzang’s difficult journey as follows: “all of my
1,000 companions are gone, leaving me alone on
the 5,000-kilometer road (千人の同侶は尽き、万里に一身孤たり).”Why did Tang Sanzang lose his 1,000 companions and end up alone?
According to the biography of Xuanzang,
Xuanzang stayed in Kucha for about 60 days towait for the snow to melt on Tian Shan before
trying to cross Ling Shan (陵山), a neighboring
mountain. However, this was where a catastrophe happened: the party became stranded in thesnowy mountain. Ling Shan is presumably theBedel Pass of Pamirs (葱嶺) (Fig. 32). On theway, Xuanzang’s party was raided by a bandof 2,000 Gokturk bandits and had a challenging
time passing the glacier in Baluka, taking seven days to pass over Ling Shan. According to
Xuanzang’s biography, during those seven days,
14 or 15 members of the 30-member party died,along with an even greater number of cows andhorses. Xuanzang himself became sick also.
On the other hand, Journey to India describes
the number of companions as 1,000—a figure withtwo extra digits than in reality—with all of themdying. This is another overselling of the truth, or
literary fiction. In reality, 14 or 15 out of 30 died.
After all these difficulties, Tang Sanzang arrived

Panel Discussion

46
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site恓惶す).” Assumingly, Tang Sanzang received thesad news of his teacher’s death at the lakeside of
Issyk Kul.
The poem goes on: “If I return to Tang to pay
my respects to my teacher, the desert will block
me and the snow-capped mountain will wrap mybody in snow to hinder my passage home. I havepassed the point of no return (流沙は弔客を絶ち、雪嶺は身躯を掩ふ).” But who is his teacher?
In Xuanzang’s biography, A Biography of the
Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en Monastery of
the Great Tang Dynasty, between the time when
Xuanzang was ordained at the age of 13 and thetime he reached the Issyk Kul Lake, more than 10
scholar-monks were cited as his teachers. Today,
I will focus on three figures who predicted thatyoung Xuanzang would achieve great success inthe future but also lamented that they would not
be able to witness it. One is the Dali Qing, chief
judge of the supreme court in Luoyang (洛陽)
named Zheng Shanguo (鄭善果), who recognized
the talent of the 13-year-old Xuanzang and allowed him to become ordained. The others are
two scholar-monks in Chang’an, Fachang (法常)and Sengbian (僧辨), who praised the still young
Xuanzang as “excellent as a horse that can run
a thousand li (equivalent to 500km) a day(釈門千里駒).” These three teachers predicted that the
young Xuanzang, whose talent was still completely unknown at that time, was certain to become
someone extraordinary in the future, and lamented that they would never be able to see it happen.
This follows a common story found in biographies of Buddha. Buddha’s biographies contain a tale about the great ascetic Asita (阿私陀仙) predicting his future through physiognomy.
When Buddha was born, Asita took one glanceat the newborn and predicted, “this baby will
become enlightened and save others,” and thenlamented, “I will be dead by that time to listen to
his teachings.”
This tale was incorporated into Xuanzang’s biography, in which the three teachers were notsimply happy about Xuanzang’s future success.
They rather lamented that they would not be able
to witness it, since the teachers were much older
than Xuanzang and thus were sure to pass away
before him.
Then, this same framework in the biographiesof the Buddha and Xuanzang’s biography wererecycled in The Journey to India as well. It developed the part about the “teacher dying before his
disciple” to how the “teacher is separated fromhis disciple, followed by the news of his teacher’s
death.” The framework of teachers dying before
their disciple in Xuanzang’s biography is used
here.
So, I would summarize the story of Journey toIndia as follows: Xuanzang’s teacher dies in Tang
after he left Chang’an. In the course of his journey, Xuanzang receives the news of his teacher’s
death at the lakeside of Issyk Kul. However, hecannot return to Tang to pay his respects because
he has already crossed Ling Shan, risking his life.
I think the direct cause of Xuanzang’s cry is thenews of his teacher’s death.

Establishing the Character of Tang Sanzang inTang Sanzang crying on his journey to India
Tang Sanzang crying at the lakeside of Issyk

Fig. 33 Issyk Kul Lake, Located North of the Tian Shan Mountain Range, in Northern
Kyrgyz Republic. Due to its high altitude, the lake experiences harsh winters, but watertemperatures rise to 20 degrees Celsius in the summer, serving as a great swimming
spot. (Provided by Masao Shiratori)

Panel Discussion

Fig. 34 One of the largest oases on the Silk Roads,
the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang was visited by
Xuanzang on his way home from India. (Provided by
Masao Shiratori)a great and enlightened abbot. In this way, Journey
to India is an example of Dunhuang historicalliterature, an original work created to appeal to
the general public using the narrative pattern of
Dunhuang bianwen while drawing its material
from the historical biographies of Xuanzang.

Maeda: From the presentations given today, people here in this venue may be aware that theroute to the Issyk Kul Lake mentioned in Journey
to India（西天行記）was inscribed on the World
Heritage List. It is a pleasant discovery that the
document includes the recently inscribed site.
Dr. Kuranaka explained the process by which
records about Xuanzang were transformed into a
narrative fiction in Dunhuang. This may apply to
any piece of literature around the world, but oncea narrative format is established, it is passed down
as a pattern, spreading overseas to reach Japan.
In our case, the final destination is not Journey
to India（西天行記）, but the Daianji Temple inNara, so we will have a presentation about Daianji
later.
In terms of our presentations, we need to reach
Palmyra, on the west of the Euphrates, so I would
like to pass the baton to Mr. Saito. Why did he

47
Silk Roads and Japan

Kul is quite an emotional act for the greatest abbot, who is said to have understood the Buddhist
teachings by heart. He is not reluctant to show his
weakness, leaving the reader to question whether
he really is a great abbot.
Let me revisit the character of Tang Sanzang
in Journey to India. First of all, Tang Sanzang
cries frantically, as described in the line, “I cried
until my two eyes were left with no tears (両目の涙、先づ枯る).” He continues on, “Ah, hear mycry (聽け、我が哭を、嗚呼).” Prior to this, Tang
Sanzang was also threatened by monsters in themountains, and lamented his loneliness saying,“I am alone on the 5,000-kilometer road (万里に一身孤たり).” Furthermore, he was afraid of being
held captive (唯だ愁ふ、願くば未だ俘とならざることを). He gets homesick, as he worries about theroad ahead, wondering if Rajgir (王舎城) and the
kingdom of Vaishali (毘耶) really exist in India (王舎城はいずくにか在らん、毘耶國、在りや無しや).”If a Buddhist monk is seeking enlightenment
with a true calling, he should not be feeling unsure or lonely. However, Tang Sanzang depictedin this book suggests otherwise. Why is this?
It is because Journey to India is a narrative created in Dunhuang. Tang Sanzang was invented
as a new character for a literary narrative fiction
unique to Dunhuang, independent of the ‘real’
Xuanzang Sanzang (Fig. 34).
In fact, there are other Dunhuang bianwen manuscripts that follow the narrative pattern of themain character crying with the news of a loved
one’s death. For example, there is a group of narratives in which the main character cries as he isinformed of an unjust killing of his own mother orfamily. These narratives, called Dunhuang literature (敦煌講史文学), are all completely made up by
bianwen writers in Dunhuang based on historicalbooks such as Records of the Grand Historian (史記) and Book of Han (漢書), with unique literary
fictive elements added to them.
Like in the case of Records of the Grand
Historian and Book of Han, a bianwen writer in
Dunhuang adopted the well-known pattern into
Xuanzang’s biography to create Journey to India, a
new narrative about Xuanzang Sanzang reinvented as Tang Sanzang, filled with untruths made up
in Dunhuang. The new narrative features Tang
Sanzang as friendly and emotional, rather than asPanel Discussion

get involved with Palmyra? Everyone knows that
Palmyra is an important town on the caravanroutes. Michael Rostovtzeff wrote the great book
Caravan Cities in 1932, which some of you may
be familiar with. Masanori Aoyagi, the current
Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, translated thisbook when he was young. Rostovtzeff famously
wrote that Palmyra in the Syrian Desert is like asmall island in a vast ocean, undoubtedly the mostromantic ruins of the ancient world. Rostovtzeff
was the person who took the world by surprisewhen he excavated the well-known ruins of DuraEuropos along the Euphrates River.
Today, Mr. Saito will guide us to the site andspeak about the Silk Roads from the viewpoint ofPalmyra.

Excavating the Silk Road Caravan City Palmyra
Kiyohide Saito

48
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

I’m a member of the Archaeological Instituteof Kashihara, Nara Prefecture. You may thinkthat we excavate ruins in Nara Prefecture only,
but as Abbot Emeritus Morimoto mentioned earlier, some of the pavilions built for the Silk Road
Exposition in 1988 displayed a lot of artifacts from
Palmyra. When the artifacts were returned to theirowners, our director Dr. Takayasu Higuchi went
to Palmyra, where the Directorate of Antiquities
and Museums of Palmyra asked him to excavate some tombs, which he happily accepted. Dr.
Higuchi and I had excavated many ancient burial
mounds built between the fourth century andthe seventh century. Although he had previously
conducted research in Afghanistan and Pakistan,it had been years since his last overseas research
trip. So, when he returned to Japan, he said to me,“Saito, could you go to Palmyra?” Accordingly, I
started conducting research in 1990. For the first
10 years or so, I went there for implementing the
project of my workplace. After that, I received
Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research. It’s been
25 years since I started conducting research in
Palmyra.

What Is Palmyra?
Around 273, when Palmyra fell, a beautiful
queen named Zenobia governed Palmyra. She expanded her territory to cover the region fromTurkey to Egypt, so that the then-Roman Emperor
Aurelian waged war against her and destroyed
Palmyra. This was around the time of Himiko inJapan.
Zenobia was very conscious of Cleopatra. As
Mr. Wang has called the Yar City and Qocho City
“pearls on the Silk Roads”, Palmyra is called the“rose in the desert”.

At the time of the Silk Road Exposition, Nara
cooperated with UNESCO to hold various eventsin relation to sea routes that existed besides theroutes overland used to cross Eurasia. Nara is situated at a latitude of about 34.5 degrees, which isthe same as Palmyra. If I exit the Todaiji Temple
through the Nandai-mon gate and go directly
west, I will reach Palmyra. So I think Nara andPalmyra are linked by fate.
Palmyra is located in the middle of the Syrian
Desert, 200 kilometers from the Euphrates Riverand 250 kilometers from the Mediterranean (Fig.
35). The Euphrates is so precipitous that ships canbarely travel upstream. Therefore, caravans traveled from Dura-Europos, which Professor Maeda
mentioned earlier, to Palmyra and then through aport called Tartus, in order to transport goods to
Antioch and then finally to Rome. Palmyra wasinscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980.
Fig. 36a shows an overview of Palmyra, whichflourished as a caravan city, peaking between
the first century BC and the third century AD.
However, artifacts have been excavated from theground of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra that dates
back to as old as 1900 BC. Palmyra is a Greek name.
Locals call the town “Tadmor,” but both mean
“palm tree.” Cuneiform documents from around1800 BC have been unearthed in Mari, Syria near
the Iraqi border, as well as in Cappadocia, Turkey.
These documents refer to visitors from Tadmor.
Along the 1.5-kilometer colonnade running
through the center of Temple of Bel are various
facilities, including a theater, a bathhouse, stores,
an exchange, and the Agora (Fig. 37). This is
Acropolis, the city of the living. Surrounding it
is Necropolis, the city of the dead. Necropolis
consists of four necropolises : Southeast, North,Panel Discussion

Fig. 35 Location of Palmyra (Left: Map of Syria, Right: Geographic Relationship between Nara and Palmyra)
a

b

c

d

Valley of the Tombs, and Southwest. We haveconducted research in the Southeast Necropolis
and have been excavating the North Necropolis
from 2006.
Silk from China has been unearthed as far assites near Germany, but silk items unearthed in
Palmyra are regarded as the best in quality among
those found outside China. Fig. 36c shows thetomb of Artaban, and Fig. 36d shows the silk
cloth that wrapped the body in the tomb of Elabel.
Fig. 37 shows the Temple of Bel, the largest
temple enshrining the god of the entire universe.
Baalshamin is often equated with Zeus as the godof the west, while Bel is the god of the east. Morethan 60 gods have been identified, so caravans
were able to find their own god of their homeland.

Our Research
In the four Necropolises, there are three types oftombs, such as tower tombs, underground tombs,
and house tombs (Fig. 38). These tombs changed

in form as they were used throughout the first
century BC to the first century AD, and to the second and third century. The underground tombs
that we are examining have open stairs to go
down and a gate that can be passed through toreach an underground tomb chamber. We are focusing on the Southeast Necropolis and have been
excavating it since 1990. Our aim is to understandthe ancient society of Palmyra through the excavation of cemeteries and understand the artifacts
transported along the Silk Road. To that end, besides archaeological research, we are conducting
research in architecture, art history, anthropology, and chemistry to see what kind of food they
ate and what kind of drinks they consumed. We
are also doing geographical research, comparative
surveys using the latest so-called 3D scanning,
and research for environmental restoration.

Fig. 39 shows the tombs we excavated in theSoutheast Necropolis between 1990 and 2005.

49
Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 36 Complete View of Palmyra
a: Whole View of Palmyra, b: Map of Palmyra Sites, c: Chinese Silk found from the Graves of Altavan d: Chinese Silk
found from the Tomb of Elabel

Panel Discussion

was transformed into flying apsara (飛天; hiten),which can be seen in the Horyuji Temple.
Excavations of burial mounds in Japan, China,
or the Korean Peninsula often unearth many funerary goods, but hardly any have been unearthed
in Palmyra. In Palmyra, tombs have inscribed onthem an epitaph with the words “eternal house”,
literally serving as a house for the dead. The

Today, I will introduce tombs C, F, and H.
Tomb C (Fig. 40) was built by YRHY in 109AC.
What is unique of this tomb is the sculpture of
Nike, the goddess of victory, embedded in theback wall of the chamber. She is carrying the
body to the sky, and was regarded as the oldest
sculpture among those found in Palmyra. It is possible that somewhere along the Silk Road, Nike
a

c

b

d

50

f

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage SiteeFig. 37 Main Ruins of Palmyra
a: The Temple of Bel, b. Monumental Arch, c. Temple of Baalshamin, d. Theater, e. Shopping Street, f. Diocletian Baths

Tower Tombs

Underground Tombs

House Tombs
Fig. 38 Various Types of Tombs

Panel Discussion

sculptured figures in Fig. 40 correspond to “iei” (aportrait of a deceased person) in Japan. Once you
unlock the gate and enter the chamber, you canmeet and talk with your deceased family members. This means you don’t need to take care of
their afterlives. This may be the kind of systemthat existed in Palmyra, and that is why burial
goods for the dead were unnecessary in Palmyra.
Fig. 41 shows Tomb F (tomb of BWLH and
BWRP), which was built in 128 according to itsabepitaph. The tomb was built by brothers named
BWLH and BWRP, whose descendants became an
influential family as ministers, explaining why it
is one of the most magnificent underground tombs
in Palmyra. As it was built in a merchant town,
unused space in the tomb were handed over toothers in 220 and 224. Inside the tomb, there is astone coffin embedded with sculptures, known as“freed slaves”. They represent slaves of BWLH
and BWRP, and are buried in the same tomb as

c

d

d

e

51

a

e

b

c

f

d

g

Fig. 40 Excavation between 1990 and 1992 of Tomb C, built by YRHY in 109AC (Pictures show the
sculptures on the walls of coffin chamber.)a: Complete View of Tomb, b: Sharma, the Son of YRHY, c: YRHY, d: End Wall of Grave Room, e: Nike,
the Goddess of Victory, sculpted for Funerary Purposes, f: Back Wall of the Chambers of Tomb of theThree Brothers, g: Nike sculpted onto a Stone Coffin

Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 39 Tombs of Southeastern Necropolis excavated by the Nara Archaeological Mission between 1900 and 2005
a: Tomb E, b: Tomb A, c: Tomb C, d: Tomb H, e: Tomb FPanel Discussion

members of the family.
Fig. 42 is the front view of a sculpture of a family feast, portraying the happiest moment of family
life. Unfortunately, robbers had once attempted
to loot the heads of these sculptures. However,since the largest head was designed as a flamen,
the robbers may have decided to leave it upon
realizing this. We restored the sculpture, looking
much better.
Inscribed on the epitaph is the year of establishment by BWLH and BWRP tomb in 128, alongwith a fierce-looking satyr, an attendant of Bacchus(Fig. 43). It was probably installed above the front
gate, and similar sculptures have been found inother tombs. Although some parts are missing,
you can recognize the mouth, large ears, nose,eye, and horns. In fact, I found this by chance. My
a52
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Siteba

Fi g . 4 1 E x c a v a t i o n a n d
Restorations of Tomb F (Graveof BWLH and BWRP) between
1993 and 2000
a: Complete View of Tomb,b: Gate built by BWLH and
BWRP (The grave takes form
as a house symbolizing an
Eternal House , was handed
over twice in 220 and 224. The
grave s detail proves it was apowerful family in Palmyra.)bfriend in Palmyra asked me one day, “Saito, would
you like to see a relief of a vase carved on the front
wall of a tower tomb?” I followed him there, andthat is when I luckily found this satyr. I think the
sculpture protected the tomb, like a gargoyle or a“shiisa” in Okinawa.
Tomb H was built in 113 by TYBL. This tombhouses three a stone coffins embedded with sculptures (Fig. 44). The winter rain caused the hardclay of the ceiling to fall upon bust-type sculptures lidding loculi, detaching them from thewalls. (Fig. 45). Based on the traces of plasterleft on the coffin and sculptures, we identified theoriginal position of each sculpture, and restored
them all to their original positions (Fig. 46).
The restoration of Tomb F was carried out by
Nara Prefecture and the Directorate Genaral of
Antiquitiess and Museums of Syria, while the restoration of Tomb H was financed by the Sumitomo
Foundation. Both tombs were turned into open-air
museums accessible to tourists. I heard that oneof these two tombs, namely Tomb H, was looted
during the recent conflict.
In addition, we documented the materials used

Fig. 42 Stone Coffin with Sculptures of Family
Feasting, located at the Back Coffin Shelf of Tomb FcdFig. 43 Stele on Tomb F. a: Head of Satyr (Servant of Bakkas) Sculpted onto a Stele to Scare off Evil, b: Restored Gateof Tomb F with the Epitaph, c: Wall Relief of Tomb No.67, d: Tower Tombs around the Valley of Tombs

Panel Discussion

and how we restored them by three-dimensional
measurement (Fig. 47). Fig. 48 shows Tombs F
and H. Such 3D images allow even the elderly
and the physically challenged to feel as if they
are really there while sitting at home. It is also acontribution to measurement research.
aCurrently, our excavations are suspended due tothe political unrest, but we are excavating Tomb
No. 129-b in the North Necropolis adjacent to theruins of Palmyra Acropolis. As you can see in Fig.
49, the tomb had collapsed so we carried out 3D
scanning of it, lifted up the stones, and dug to

b

a

c

d

53

a

b

Fig. 45 Southern Chamber of Tomb H
a. Whole View of the Chamber b. Excavated Bust-type Statues

Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 44 Tomb H (a grave of TYBL) and its Restoration
Built by TYBL in 113, was handed over a few times thereafter. a: Main Chamber, b. Gates, c.
Complete View of Tomb, d. Exedra for Three Sarcophagi

Panel Discussion

see the inside as shown in Fig. 50. An image ofthe tomb restored is shown in Fig. 51, which was
created by combining 3D images and computer
graphics. When the conflict ends, we will continue
our excavation to conduct research on items listed
in Fig. 52.

Maeda: Syria is now in the midst of a war. Could
you brief on the situation regarding cultural heritage in Syria?
Saito: Fig. 53 is a picture of the Umayyad Mosquein Northern Aleppo in Syria, taken around 2010.
Minarets of this mosque were destroyed, as shown

a

b

a

b

54
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 46 Underground Tombs in Southeast Necropolis: before and after Restoration
a: Tomb F, b: Tomb H
a

c

b

d

Fig. 47 3D Scanning after the Restoration of Tombs F and H
a: Measuring Tomb H, b: Measuring Tomb F, c: Measuring Tomb H, d: Checking
Measurement Situation of Tomb FPanel Discussion

in the bottom half of Fig. 53. Everything wasdestroyed, and the situation is a real mess. Fig.
54 shows representatives of the so-called IslamicState breaking Assyrian sculptures in Raqqa. It’s
like what happened in Bamiyan.
The Palmyra ruins have not sustained too muchdamage at this moment, but some column capitals
have been lost due to stray bullets or other factors(Fig. 55). The most devastating damage is seenat the site of a Hellenistic city called Apamea.
The remaining colonnade is about 1 kilometer inlength, but there are many holes on both sides of

the colonnade, which are traces of looting (Fig.
56). The place used to be a beautiful farmland,but it is now in a horrible situation after lootingwith heavy machinery.
Maeda: We have just seen Apamea after looting. The situation is in fact totally out of control.
Continuous looting is so serious that prices of
antiquities sold at neighborhood antique storesare falling. Apamea, by the way, was named after
the wife of the founder of the Seleucid Empire,
Seleucus I Nicator. She was from Bactria, inCentral Asia.

a

c

b

d

Fig. 49 Investigation of Tomb 129-b, Northern Palmyraa. Capitals of Columns found among a pile of Stones, b. A part of Fenestration
among a pile of Stones, c. Picking up Stones, d. Placing Stones in Order

55
Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 48 3D Images of Tombs F (left) and H (right). Advantages of 3D data include: 1) real-life and dramatic
experience of the tombs to serve educational purposes, 2) enabling comparative research between various tombs
through different viewpoints, and 3) enabling the study of scales and measurement.

Panel Discussion

Going back to Central Asia, I would like
Professor Yoshida to talk a little about Sogdiana
and Buddhists. His first presentation referred to
An Rubao, the disciple who accompanied Jianzhen
to Japan. Of course, An Rubao was Buddhist.
On the other hand, People in Sogdiana basicallybelieved in Zoroastrianism or Manichaeism. We
have not heard any in-depth talk about Buddhism
today, so I would like to know the relationshipbetween Sogdiana and Buddhism. Are there any
literatures supporting such relationship?

Yoshida: A relatively large number of Buddhist
scriptures were translated into the Sogdian
language, but the Sogdians didn’t seem to beac

Buddhists in their home country. Sogdians whocame to China, East Turkistan, or other Buddhist
countries became Buddhists and translated a relatively large number of Buddhist scriptures into
Sogdian. Sogdians seem to be the only ethic groupin the world that translated Buddhist scriptures
without the support of their state. They came to
China and translated scriptures on their own.
When you hear the words “the Silk Road,”“Sogdians,” and “Buddhism,” you may think that
Buddhism existed in Sogdiana and reached China
via Sogdiana, but that is not the case. There weremany translator-monks who had Sogdian names.
In the case of Kang Senghui (康僧会), for example,
he hived in Hanoi since his father’s generation,de

56
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage SitebbFig. 50 Southern Entrance of Tomb 129-b and its Stone Foundationa. Complete View of Tomb, b. Excavated Sculpture, c. View from the West Side, d.
Southern Entrance taken from the Inside, e. Floor of Coffin Chamber, facing awayfrom the Southern Entrance

Fig. 51 Restored Photograph of Tomb 129-b,
combined with Computer Graphics using 3D scanning
images

1. Detailed investigation and reconstruction of funerarypractices in Palmyra.
2. The very first biological-anthropological investigation in
the history of Palmyra research.
3. Architectural understanding of underground and housetombs.
4. Necessary study of the environment to reconstruct theancient Palmyra society.
5. Produce updated pictures using 3D photographs.
6. Continued research artisans and studios of sculpturesand comparative research with those of ancient Greece
and Rome.

Fig. 52 Research Plan after the Conflicts

Panel Discussion

became an orphan and then a Buddhist work. Helater went to Nanjing to translate scriptures. Thus
he was not a Buddhist originated from Sogdiana.
Maeda: Then, it is not reasonable to think that
he was a Buddhist in name only and accepted
Buddhism in Sogdiana to bring it to China.

Yoshida: Exactly. Buddhism must have prevailed within reached the territory of the Kushan
Empire, but it did not directly dominate Sogdiana.
When Xuanzang visited Samarqand, he saw only
two small temples, which he described vacant. In
fact, excavation has not unearthed any Buddhist
ruins. At Ak Beshim west of Issyk Kul, which
Mr. Yamauchi is excavating, a Buddhist site wasdiscovered. It is believed to be one of the Chinese
provincial monasteries named Dayun Temple (大雲寺), built across China. In fact, a few Chinese
epitaphs have been found. Chinese Buddhism wasbrought there first in the Tang dynasty, but I
don’t think there was any temple when Xuanzang
passed there.
Maeda: Mr. Morimoto, do you have comments inrelation to that?

Bactrian Buddhist Prayer Documents
Found in North Afghanistan
Morimoto: I have been studying early Islamic
history. Many documents written in Arabicaround the time when Islamists entered Central
Asia have been found in recent years in North
Afghanistan. At the same time, more than 100
documents written in Bactrian were found, somebelonging to the same period as those in Arabic.

57

Fig. 53 Umayyad Mosque in Northern Aleppo

Fig. 54 Assyrian Sculptures broken by the Terrorists

Fig. 56 Damage by looting at the Site of Apamea

Silk Roads and Japan

Fig. 55 The Palmyra Ruins

Panel Discussion

Bactrian is considered a Middle Iranian language,
written using the Greek alphabet. I then learned
that among those are a few Buddhist documents,
so I went to see a London University professor
who was specializing in Bactrian, as Professor
Yoshida kindly introduced me to him. Thanks tothis, I had the fortunate opportunity to see David
Khalili’s collection during my visit. Fig. 57 showssome of the items from the collection. These were
written on parchment, and not yet organized, but
definitely written in Bactrian. He also showed mesome Arabic documents. If you unfold the big one(Fig. 58), you see that it is a very long document.
Fig. 59 shows a Bactrian Buddhist prayer foundin North Afghanistan. It has pictures so it is very
easy to understand. The Fig. drawn with a circleof light above is Buddha (Fig. 60). Below him isa drawing of a Buddhist disciplinant (Fig. 61).
Disciplinants are always drawn with a bottle ofwater, like in the drawing here. He is clearly wearing Iranian clothes and has a luxurious beard. To

divide the space, vine arabesque is drawn.
The document happens to be written on a necktie-shaped cloth measuring 33 centimeters in vertical length. I guess it was originally folded to be
carried like a charm.
Let me introduce the content of the prayer basedon the version deciphered by a Bactrian expert. It’svery long that I will introduce just a part of it (Fig.
62). The original text is written in Greek. The firstline is in Greek, the second line is Romanization,and the third is a Chinese translation. The most
famous nianfo, or “nenbutsu,” in Japan is “南無”
(namu) from “南無阿弥陀仏” (meaning “homage
to Infinite Light”). However, the use of “南” and“無” are rather new. Conversely, in the third lineis the word 南謨 in Chinese. “南謨” is used in older scriptures, including Sovereign Kings of theGolden Light Sutra (金光明最勝王経). So that is
adopted here.
The document begins with “all Buddhas” (一切諸仏), followed by the names of various Buddhas,

58
The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Fig. 57 Ancient Scripts from Hariri s collection

Fig. 58 Viewing Bactrian Scripts

Fig. 59 Buddhist prayers in Bactrian Language (cloth,33cm in length)Panel Discussion

Fig. 60 The Script in Detail: Buddha with a Halo

which correspond to seven Buddhas of the past
(過去七仏). The last Buddha is 南謨釈迦牟尼仏,
which is, in a word, the last of the seven Buddhasof the past. The lines that follow list the names ofbodhisattvas, and then gods protecting the four
directions, probably of local belief, and yaksha
before the prayer at the end. The prayer is partly
lost and difficult to read. Anyway, it is likely thatpeople chanted names of Buddhas and bodhisattvas in prayer. This may be a self-serving argument, but it is in the same format as shomyo (称名悔過) recited at Shuji-e at the Todaiji Temple.
The document was found in North Afghanistan
and dated around the fifth century AD. There
must have been Buddhists at that time. In The
Great Tang Records on the Western Regions (大唐西域記), Xuanzang referred to Greek letters andmentioned that such a language was used in the
Bamyian region. In that sense, this document ishighly valuable.

Fig. 62 Excerpt from the Prayers in Bactrian Language

Maeda: Time is running out, and I regret that I
have to close this session right when we are about
to hear some in-depth discussions. People here today may so far have understood that diverse cultures developed and matured in their own uniqueways along the Silk Roads. Since ancient times,
Japan has received a wide variety of nurturing
and inspirational inputs that have shaped the development of Japanese culture. Even the accumulation of achievements in the area of Silk Road
scholarship in Japan of our own time reflects this.
Today, our panel members presented only part of
the accomplishments achieved in the area of Silk
Road studies. As pioneers in this area, Kurakichi

Shiratori, Jitsuzo Kuwabara, Toru Haneda, Gikyo
Ito, and Mikinosuke Ishida left behind fantastic
works on the Silk Roads. Even the short presentations of today’s panelists allowed us to see thatbuilding upon of this kind of knowledge is invaluable. In gratitude for the Silk Road, which has
given us many elements of our cultural heritage,
and for Silk Road studies, we must continue tomake academic contributions.
I would also like to reiterate that the diversity of
the rich intellectual heritage surrounding the Silk
Road serves as a means to break through the barriers erected by the ongoing war. I regret that Ms.
Kuranaka was not given the time to talk about theFig. 61 The Script in Detail: Buddhist Follower with a
Water Jug

59
Silk Roads and Japan5） ναμωο δηβo-αγγακαρο βοδδοnamo Dpamkara buddha
南謨燃燈仏6） ναμωο ρατνo-ραζο | βοδδοnamo Ratnarśi(?) buddha
南謨宝集仏7） ναμω(sic) σακομανο βοδδο *namo Śkyamuni buddha
南謨釈迦牟尼仏8） λωγο-αφαρo(sic) | βωδοσατφο ναμωο(Ava)lok(it)asvara bodhisattva: namo
観世音菩薩、南謨9） μητραγο βωδοσατφο | ναμωο
Maitreya bodhisattva: namo
弥勒菩薩、南謨10）βιηραδο βωδοσατφο ναμωο
Bhaisajyarja(?) bodhisattva:namo
薬王菩薩、南謨Panel Discussion

Daianji Temple. I hope there will be another opportunity for her to talk about how Daianji, which
originated from Kumagori-shoja built by Prince
Shotoku, was founded, as well as how various
works of narrative literature from the continent

60

reached Daianji. If you read Ms. Kuranaka’s recent articles in the academic journal Minato (水門−言葉と歴史−) Nos. 25 and 26 publishedby Bensei Shuppan in 2013 and 2015, you
may get a glimpse of the process.

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site

Tracing the Origins of Japan’s International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage

OutlineOrganizer: Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCICHeritage), Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan
Date: 27th of September, 2014 13:30-17:00
Venue: Iino Hall & Conference CenterIn association with: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, National Research Institute forCultural Properties Tokyo, Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties,
Japan International Cooperation Agency, The Japan Foundation, The Sumitomo
Foundation, The Mitsubishi Foundation, The Toyota Foundation, Foundation
for Cultural Heritage and Art Research, Cultural Heritage Protection Cooperation
Office Asia-Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO, National Federation of UNESCO
Associations in Japan, National Museum of Ethnology, JAPAN ICOMOS National
Committee,(Japan Broadcasting Corporation), The Asahi Shimbun Company,
The Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun, Nikkei Inc., The Mainichi Newspaper, The
Yomiuri Shimbun.
Number of audience: 300

Program
Opening Remarks
Yoshiaki ISHIZAWA, Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage / Former president of Sophia
University
Kazushige YAMASHITA, Director General, Cultural Properties Department, Agency
for Cultural Affairs
Introduction of JCIC-Heritage
Yasuyoshi OKADA, Vice Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage /Director, The Institute forCultural Studies of Ancient Iraq, Kokushikan University
Keynote lecture“Japan's Contribution to the inscription of the Silk Road on the World Heritage List”
Kazuya YAMAUCHI, Head of Regional Environment Section, Japan Center forInternational Cooperation in Conservation, National Research Institute for Cultural
Properties Tokyo
Break
Lecture 1“Yar City and Qocho City: Pearls on the Silk Roads”
Xiaofei WANG, Director, Cultural Heritage Bureau at Turpan Prefecture, China
Lecture 2“Silk Roads - Roads of Dialogue and Cooperation”
Dmitriy VOYAKIN, Archaeological Expertise LLP, Kazakhstan
Break
Panel Discussion“Silk Roads and Japan”
Chair: Kosaku MAEDA, Vice-Chairperson, JCIC-Heritage / Professor Emeritus
Wako University
Panelists:
Yutaka YOSHIDA, Professor, Kyoto University
Kosei MORIMOTO, Abbot Emeritus, Todaiji Temple
Kiyohide SAITO, Technical Adviser, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara
Shinobu KURANAKA, Professor, Daito Bunka University
Closing Remark
Shigeo AOKI, Visiting Professor, Faculty of World Heritage, Cyber University

The Silk Roads as a World Heritage Site
Tracing the Origins of Japan’s International
Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
Published October 2016
Edited and Published by:
Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage
13-43 Ueno Koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo, 110-8713 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-3823-4841 Fax: +81-3-3823-4027
Email: consortium@tobunken.go.jp
Produced by:
KUBAPRO.