RICAS Newsletter

March 2006 no. 15

From the New Directorof RICAS
Hiromitsu Ogawa

Database Projects for
Islamic Art at RICAS
Tomoko Masuya

Changing Nature of
the Mahalla:
Outcomes of the project
Timur Dadabaev

Everyday Life in Kabul, Afghanistan (photo By T.Dadabaev, June 2003)

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From the New Director of RICAS
Hiromitsu Ogawa(Professor, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo)
The past year has been one of restructuring and attendant

not just to the parent Institute but to academic life in general andchanges in regulations for the Research and Information Centerto society as a whole. In view of this, surely it strengthens thefor Asian Studies (RICAS), and also a time of intense study for

four Centers to be so affiliated. Centers attached to a faculty,

me since becoming its Director on June 28, 2005. Several

however, could leave the framework, because such centers aremonths after my appointment, I attended, as the first of my major

not always integral to the faculty, which after all has its own coreoutside duties, the annual meeting of the Directors of therole in the university in terms of research, education and social

Humanities and Social Sciences Documentation and Information

contribution. The existence of Centers which make positive

Centers, held February 10, 2006. This consists of five Centers,social contributions is, however, indispensable for the Institutes

two at the University of Tokyo, and one each at Kyoto

themselves, since their role is chiefly research, although they are

University, Kobe University and Hitotsubashi University. At thealso involved in post-graduate education. If university

meeting, we were formally notified that, due to theassessment, currently in abeyance, is reinstituted, the researchamalgamation of several centers, including the Center forassessment of each individual will naturally be taken into highForeign Law Materials, which is attached to the Faculty of Law

account. Thus it is obvious that whether or not there areat the University of Tokyo, the latter would no longer remain

Institute-wide projects, and then how these projects are valued,

within above framework. This has caused me to think again

will be based on questions not only of the level of the project

about the future of RICAS.

itself but on the degree it might be expected to contribute to

The most pressing problem at the Directors meeting

society.

was, inevitably, what the future structure of the group should be.

The streamlining of the Centers attached to the Faculty ofWhat drew particular attention was discussion concerning the

Law was justified in the case of the Center for Foreign Law

present state of documentation centers. Following the example ofMaterials, that it was more meaningful at the present time to

RICAS, the Documentation and Information Center for Chinesedigitize difficult-to-obtain documents, such as judicial

Studies (DICCS) at the Institute for Research in Humanities at

precedents, concerning English and American law, than to makeKyoto University, last autumn announced it would discontinue

them publicly available in their original form. However, an eventhe practice whereby the Director of the Institute is also thegreater reason is that budgets are decreasing year by year. This is

Director of the Center. These two centers, in contrast to the

a common problem concerning the remaining four Centers as

Center for Foreign Law Materials, having made it clear that theirwell. The representative of the Research Centre for Information

intention is actively to strengthen their present position affiliatedand Statistics of Social Science at the Institute of Economic

to Institutes, the Rieb Liaison Center at the Research Institute for

Research, Hitotsubashi University, asked the official from the

Economics and Business Administration, Kobe University,

Research Promotion Bureau at the Ministry of Education,

expressed concern about whether or not the remaining Centers

Culture, Sport, Science and Technology who attended thewould continue with the present arrangement, changing to ameeting whether the Ministry was could not consider instituting

four-body framework. Though I was unable to state categoricallysmaller, but more permanent and competitive financing forwithout reference to the Faculty of the Institute, I affirmed, as

projects in the Humanities and Social Sciences. I would like to

Director of RICAS, that we had no intention of removing

take this opportunity to say that this was received as appropriate

ourselves from the present framework, and so it was decided toby the Directors of the Centers and by those concerned.

hold an annual meeting next year attended by the Directors of
the remaining four centers.

RICAS, which was newly established in April 1999,
consists of the two sections, written documents and artifacts. It

I would like to reiterate my reasons why I consider it

took the place of the former Documentation Center for Asian

important that RICAS remains a member of the conference. All

Studies which had been founded 1966, following the acceptancefour Centers maintain diverse collections of documentary orof a budget request in 1998 to increase regular personnel andartifact materials and are tasked with making them and the vast

expenses. A particular feature of the RICAS is its commitment tocollections of their Institutes widely available, both in Japan andmaking public its collections, both documentary and artifact. It isabroad. Affiliation with an Institute allows them to contributea great pity for me as the professor chiefly in charge of the

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budget request that, due primarily to budgetary restraints, itsalready said, if university assessment is reinstituted, and RICAS

founding conception as a new Center to collect and publish

attracts a severe judgement, this will reflect on the Institute as amaterial has not been realized to the extent anticipated. As I havewhole. This is a pressing concern that has to be resolved.

Database Projects for Islamic Art at RICAS
Tomoko Masuya(Associate Professor, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo)
Recently, the number of the websites on the Internet of theconsiderable number of craft items considered exotic andmuseums with an extensive collection of Islamic art has

precious by the Japanese were imported from the Near East

increased worldwide and the contents of such websites have

before the twentieth century. They included Near Eastern

been enriched to show images of samples of their collections,

glassware from the fourth to sixth centuries C.E., objects

and sometimes even to offer a database of their objects. In

including metal kashkuls (dervishes bowls) from the fifteenth toaddition, a number of universities and research institutes havesixteenth centuries, and silk textiles and wool carpets from theconstructed, or are currently constructing, databases dealing with

sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. Around 1910, however,various aspects of Islamic works of art. The website of theJapanese collectors began purchasing Islamic works of art,

Historians of Islamic Art, the academic association of Islamic art

especially Persian pottery, at art markets in Japan and abroad.

historians from all over the world, is a useful gateway to these

Why Persian pottery was preferred is connected with Japan s

websites and databases (http://www.historiansofislamicart.org/).

tradition of collecting foreign pottery for use in the tea

RICAS has also offered, since 1991, a photographic

ceremony, and also with a special feeling many Japanese had

database of Islamic monuments in India (http://www.ioc.u-

toward Persia, which specifically reminded them of the

tokyo.ac.jp/~islamarc/WebPage1/htm_eng/index_eng.html). Theinternational atmosphere of the Tempyo era (eighth century)

Center preserves approximately 20,000 photographic documents

when a number of Persian objects were brought to Japan via theand plans of architecture in India, with an emphasis on Islamic

old Silk Routes.

monuments from the Sultanate period (the thirteenth to sixteenth

Islamic works of art are now preserved in more thancenturies), recorded by the Mission for Indian History andthirty museums in Japan. Among them, the Middle East Culture

Archaeology of the University of Tokyo (members: Tatsuro

Center in Japan (pottery, glassware, metalwork, etc.; Mitaka in

Yamamoto, Matsuo Ara, Tokifusa Tuskinowa, Asashiro

the Tokyo Metropolitan Area), the Aichi Prefectural Ceramic

Saegusa, and Taichi Oshima) from the late 1950s to the earlyMuseum (various types of pottery; Seto in Aichi Prefecture), the1960s. A project team led by Dr. Naoko Fukami, a visiting

Inax Tile Museum (tiles; Tokoname in Aichi Prefecture), thelecturer at the Institute of Oriental Culture and a leading

MIHO Museum (pottery and a very important carpet; Shigaraki

specialist in Islamic architecture in Japan, has digitized aboutin Shiga Prefecture), the National Museum of Ethnology (carpets

14,000 photographs and catalogued them. The construction of

etc.; Suita in Osaka Prefecture), the Tenri University Sankokan

the database is now almost in the last stages of completion.

Museum (pottery; Tenri in Nara Prefecture), the Okayama Orient

As well, RICAS has launched two more database

Museum (pottery, glassware, and textiles; Okayama), the Ohara

projects for Islamic art. I have been responsible for these sinceMuseum of Art (pottery; Kurashiki in Okayama Prefecture), and2001.

the Marugame Museum of Art (pottery; Marugame in Kagawa
The first is a database for Islamic works of art preserved

Prefecture) are representative of Japanese collections of Islamicin Japan. Even though this is not a widely-known fact, Japan has

art. Unfortunately English descriptions of the collections areformed quite large collections of Islamic art. In the beginning, aoffered only by the Okayama Orient Museum (http://www.city.

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okayama.okayama.jp/orientmuseum/orient-e/) and the Inax Tile

been one of the most important means to decorate mural surfaces

Museum (http://www.inax.co.jp/museum/english/index.html) onof Persian buildings and cutting-edge pottery techniques were

their websites.

applied on them. The tiles are often dated and signed, and thus

Documenting and cataloging Islamic works of art

can give concrete information on various aspects of pottery

regardless of their current owner in a database can offer

production in Persia. However, because Persian tiles have been

information on how and when the Japanese became interested indispersed all over the world since the second half of theIslamic art and what kind of Islamic art has attracted them, innineteenth century, it is difficult to classify them according to

addition to being a useful reference to what objects are preserved

period, technique, provenance, decorative motif, and contents of

where. The number of entries has so far amounted to eightthe inscription as a whole. The goal of this project is to form ahundred but there are hundreds more to be added. The problem

nucleus for future analyses of Persian tiles from these various

yet to be solved is how to combine the data with photographic

aspects.

images with the permission of all the museums. Although theCurrently we are collecting photographs of the tiles in the

database is still under construction, I am hoping to develop it

Victoria and Albert Museum in London, one of the earliest

into a more complete version to be accessible through thecollections of Persian tiles. Many of the tiles have not been

Internet.

photographed until now, and our project would be a start for

The second project is to form a comprehensive

documenting this valuable collection.

photographic archive of Persian tiles in collections worldwide. I

These two projects will certainly be long-term ones but I

have set Persian tiles, especially those from the thirteenth andbelieve that the steady accumulation of information on the

fourteenth centuries, as one of my main research themes andsubjects will provide new spheres of research in Islamic art.

have personally accumulated information on them. Tiles have

Plate: Magic bowl, Egypt 13th-14th century, from a private collection in Japan

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Changing Nature of the Mahalla:
Outcomes of the project
Timur Dadabaev(Associate Professor, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo)
The Central Asian states are presently at the stage ofcapacity in others is limited. There is thus a need to analyze theimplementing structural reforms and in a state of transition to

Mahalla s current social, political and economic standing andnew forms of society-building. They face a number of challenges

investigate Mahalla neighborhood communities in the context ofsuch as the preservation of peace, and the de-ideologization ,other social, religious and political organizations.

democratization and market-ization of their societies. The

The main set of questions that this project aimed tomajority of Central Asian states follow a top-to-bottom scheme

address was as follows. First, what is the nature of theof decision-making in their approaches to dealing with various

phenomenon of the Mahalla in Uzbekistan? Second, is theissues in their societies. On many occasions, this leaves the

Mahalla a government-affiliated unit or non-governmental

public disengaged and detached, and, in turn, results in(unofficial) indigenous network? If both exist within the same

ineffective and counterproductive policy outcomes with respect

space/locality, what is the relationship and difference between

to initially pursued goals. There are however indigenous

the two? What is the nature of their public support? Is theinstitutions in the region, which attract the attention of local

Mahalla an all-inclusive community? Does it ever exclude

officials and scholars as being highly efficient in addressing

people living in a district? And third, what is the correlationsocial, economic and political conundrums, primarily at the

between the mosque as an agent of Islam and the Mahalla

community level.

community network? Does the Mosque represent the center ofThis

community life in the modern Mahalla? If not, what is its role?

project focused on one such indigenous

institution: the neighborhood community, or Mahalla. While
Central Asian local communities, like the Mahalla, have gained

Historical Overview

considerable standing in recent years, there is no consensus yeton what the role of these communities is in the construction of

The project first highlighted historical aspects of the evolution of

new states and societies in the region. Their potential is not

the modern Mahalla in Uzbekistan. Covering the role of theproperly projected and therefore, poorly realized.

Mahalla in such cities as Tashkent, Ferghana, Samarkand and

The main thrust of this project was to suggest that it

Bukhara, the study suggested that while the role of the Mahalla

would not be possible to achieve peace, as well as inter-ethnic

in each of these cities differed slightly from one another, theand inter-religious tolerance, in this multi-ethnic and multi-

degree of its importance for the residents of these cities did not

religious region unless stabilization is accomplished at the local

vary much. This was further proved by the historical evidence

community level. With weak and often illegitimate governmentsthat even the Russian colonizers of Central Asian cities did notin place in Central Asia, the community represents one of theattempt to interfere much with local systems of self-

few effective traditional substitutes for uniting representatives ofmanagement, of which the Mahalla was a constituent part. Later,

various ethnic and religious groups through the creation of a

the Bolsheviks exploited the Mahalla s traditional mechanismscommon identity based on the criterion of shared residence. In

for the purpose of Communist propaganda by renaming tea

addition, while Central Asia faces multiple problems, such as

houses (choihona) and residential get-togethers (gap) red

environmental hazards and economic shortcomings, thesechoihona and gaps organized for highly conscious local

problems cannot be addressed without localizing public

residents.

dissatisfaction and creating public consent within smaller

While much literature exists concerning the pre-Soviet

communities like the Mahalla. At the same time, while theMahalla, relatively little deals with the Mahalla in the Soviet

Mahalla community is highly effective in some areas, itsperiod. In this context, this project partly touched upon the56

standing of the Mahalla in the context of other social andPublic support for the Mahalla and changing patterns ofpolitical organizations such as the Communist youth

Mahalla leadershiporganization (Komsol) units seen in the Mahallas in the 1970s,
and relations between the Executive Committees of theThird, this study also attempted to determine if the present-day

Communist Party and Mahalla committees.

Mahalla featuring both traditional and new functions still has thesame enthusiastic support of the community. And if so, which

Traditional and Official Mahallapart of the community does this support come from? Several
factors seem to influence public support of the Mahalla. For

Second, this study investigated the expressions of the Mahalla's

instance, broadly speaking, support for the Mahalla and aexistence. It attempted to determine not only the forms of ancommunity centered life-style is weaker in urban areas, in areas

official and unofficial Mahalla but also the different roles

where the Mahalla did not historically exist (Karakalpak

the two play in society: the first, being a part of local

Republic, etc) and among residents with higher incomes or of agovernment and the second, an identity agent, moreyounger age. Hypothetically, there is thought to be a weakerunfocussed , more tied to particular concerns, and to a certain

attachment to the Mahalla among the non-Asian (Russian,degree more partisan. The analysis of the traditional aspects of

Ukranian, Belorussian) population residing in Uzbekistan in

the Mahalla included a description of common spaces thatcomparison to Asian (Uzbeks, Tajiks, etc) groups.

residents share such as get-togethers (gap), mutual non-monetary

In terms of Mahalla leadership, support for it also

assistance (hashar), tea houses (choihona), celebrations, funerals

depends on various factors. As is the case with the generaland shared facilities (ceremony halls and guzar). By looking at

support of residents of the Mahalla, such support of its

these shared social spaces and places where people meet, theleadership is to a great extent personalized and depends on

project investigated the multiplicity of identities which thevarious circumstances and the experiences of each individual

Mahalla transcends. Accordingly, it was found that although

and on the activities of each leader of the Mahalla community.

attachment to the neighborhood among residents cannot be

However, what is obvious is that the composition of Mahallacompared to ethnic and religious attachments, it is neverthelessleadership has been undergoing changes over the past few years

an important part of self-identification, enforced by various

with a new pattern of behavior (inner-community oriented vs.

interactions within the proximity of one's residence.

outer-community oriented types of leadership), and certain

This project also tentatively divided post-Soviet

background factors of the new leadership, such as genderinstitutionalization of the Mahalla into four periods: 漓(women), age (young Mahalla managers as opposed to elders)

recognition of the Mahalla as a promoter and defender ofand occupation (government or party nomenclature, newly

national values in the initial years of independence informed entrepreneurs and the third group ). Accordingly, thisUzbekistan; 滷 gradual institutionalization of Mahalla

project also described in some detail the strategies of Mahallacommittees and transfer of responsibility for the provision ofmanagement of these leaders, which included mediation insocial welfare of the population to the Mahalla; 澆 a partial

family conflicts, dealing with domestic violence and usingtransfer of law-enforcement functions to the Mahalla and the

traditional mechanisms for achieving present-day goals.

establishment of Mahalla order maintenance units (Mahallaposboni); 潺 and finally, the (not yet realized) creation of one

Human Rights, civil society and the Mahalla community

all-inclusive Mahalla self-governance unit which is supposed toinclude not only traditional features, social welfare provision andAnother aspect of the Mahalla community is its potential fororder maintenance functions, but also functions of maintaining

safeguarding citizens' rights and acting on their behalf. Recent

residential facilities within its territory (the Mahalla-komunalchi

years have witnessed the contrary situation where Mahallasystem) as prescribed by the concept Mahalla of the 21st

committees have often been accused of not respecting residents

century .

HR and controlling and reporting on the activities of citizens tolaw-enforcement bodies. The findings of this project however
suggest that the Mahalla does not commit HR abuses simply

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because of its structure or its essence as an indigenous

provision of goods and services to needy residents byneighborhood network. At the same time, the Mahalla s main

governmental bodies, to check the proper payments of pensions

goal of existence is to protect community rights even if thisby post-offices, to make sure that gas, electricity and othersometimes means sacrificing individual HR. While often thecommunal services are provided timely and properly and toprotection of individual HR coincides with the protection ofguarantee that people with disabilities receive the required

community rights, in many other cases Mahalla officials arethorough medical examination and correct treatment. Under thetrapped in the dilemma of whether to respect individual humancode compiled by the Prosecutor s office, when irregularities andrights at the possible expense of the community, or the other way

wrong-doings are revealed, the Mahalla committee is entitled toaround.

register those cases and file a petition to the Prosecutor's office
Another aspect of this issue is that in some cases, theor directly to the court on behalf of those residents whose

Mahalla committees and their leadership often have to cooperateinterests were involved. Although the effect of this experimental

with governmental and law-enforcement agencies in light ofproject remains to be seen in the future, the newly acquired rolevarious circumstances. In this sense, the community itself isof the Mahalla can be of much needed help in situations where

frequently a victim of the complicated political situation in the

many residents do not know their rights, do not have financial

country and not the HR abuser.

resources for legal expenses or do not know how to file their

At the same time, in the course of this project examples

claims.

of the Mahalla serving the purpose of protecting the HR ofresidents were also registered, in particular, the experimental

The Mahalla and other organizations

project which is being conducted in the Ferghana valley incooperation between the Ferghana Regional Prosecutor s office

The last part of the project considered the Mahalla in its relations

and local Mahalla neighborhood committees. In essence, this iswith other organizations. First, the effect of reforms in the

an endeavor to empower Mahallas to have control over the

agricultural sector and the effect of these reforms on the Mahalla
were highlighted. In particular, with the reforms in agriculture,
the government decreased the numbers of large agriculturalcollective farms like kolkhozes and sovkhozes and instead
stimulated the creation of three types of agricultural enterprise:large scale (shirkats), medium (fermer) and small (dekhqon). As
the efficiency of production in the smaller agricultural producers
increases, the dissolution of these bigger units of production
increases social and material pressures on the Mahalla
community. This is due to the fact that under the old structure of
agricultural production kolkhozes and sovkhozes were
responsible not only for production but also for the maintenanceof the infrastructure of neighborhoods and for the provision oflabor places for people. Under the new scheme, where
agricultural production is increasingly conducted by smaller
producers, these producers do not possess the necessary
resources both to produce and to maintain the Mahallaneighborhoods. Thus Mahalla committees either have to address
smaller producers with their problems and needs or, more
frequently, non-governmental organizations and international
institutions.

Timur Dadabaev, Mahalla, Tokyo University Press, 2006
(in Japanese Language)

This analysis was followed by the observation on how
the Mahalla interacts with non-governmental organizations

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8(FY2005)(NGO) and international organizations. There are several
examples of NGOs such as ECOSAN, Counterpart Internationaland CHF using the mahalla network as a basis for their assistanceprograms. In addition, this part of the project detailed howinternational organizations such as UNESCO, UNFPA and others
cooperated with local neighborhoods in order both to deliver theirassistance programs to residents and to help various mahallas inincreasing public health awareness among the population.
Conclusions
The main message of this project is that the Mahallaneighborhood network reinforced in post-independence
Uzbekistan has its roots in traditional unofficial neighborhood
links based on the voluntary participation and initiative of the
population. In recent years, with the legal empowerment of theMahalla, its nature has changed from that of an unofficial
voluntary organization to that of an official organization which
not only pursues the interests of residents but also forwards
governmental agenda among them. It has both positive andnegative sides. What should be understood though is while there
are some specific aspects in which the Mahalla is very effective

Prof. Kazuhiko Saigo, University Librarian, Graduate
School of Frontier Sciences.
Prof. Paul Heng-Chao Ch'en, Graduate School of Law
and Politics.
Prof. Hideki Kawahara, Graduate School of Humanities
and Sociology.
Prof. Yoichi Izumida, Graduate school of Agricultural andLife Sciences.
Prof. Yasuyuki Sawada, Graduate School of Economics.
Associate Prof. Yujiro Murata, Graduate School of Arts
and Sciences.
Associate Prof. Tomoo Marukawa, Institute of Social
Science.
Prof. Sang-jung Kang, Interfaculty Initiative inInformation Studies.
Associate Prof. Fumiko Sugimoto, HistoriographicalInstitute.
Committee members from IOC
Prof. Teruo Sekimoto, Dept. of Pan Asian Studies,
Vice-Chairman.
Associate Prof. Yutaka Suga, Dept. of Pan Asian Studies.
Prof. Osamu Takamizawa, Dept.of East Asian Studies(I).
Prof. Takao Hirase, Dept. of East Asian Studies(I).
Prof. Akio Takahashi, Dept. of South Asian Studies,
Chairman.
Prof. Masashi Haneda, Dept. of West Asian Studies.
Prof. Hiromitsu Ogawa, Artifact Section,
RICAS.
Prof. Hajime Okayama, Dep. of East Asian Studies (II),concurrently Written Documents Section,
RICAS.
Associate Prof. Tomoko Masuya, Dep. of West AsianStudies, concurrently Artifact Section,
RICAS.
Associate Prof. Timur Dadabaev, Written Documents
Section, RICAS.

and even indispensable, its capacity for dealing with the othertasks it has been charged with in recent years sometimes lags
behind its means. Therefore, the enhancement of a financial
resource base for the Mahalla, clearly defining the duties andresponsibilities of the Mahalla and other state bodies, and finally,
the promotion of the Mahalla as an independent local selfmanagement unit which acts on the basis of voluntary
participation of residents are among the factors which will define
its future and potential.

RICAS Activities●The second Meeting of the Promotion of East Asian Studies was held at Putrajaya,

RICAS Staff
Prof. Hiromitsu Ogawa, Head. Artifact Section,
Specializing in History of East Asian
Painting.
Prof. Hajime Okayama, Written Documents Section,
Specialising in Buddhism.
Associate Prof. Timur Dadabaev, Written Documents
Section, Specializing in International
Politics of Central Asia.
Associate Prof. Tomoko Masuya, Artifact Section,
Specializing in History of Islamic Art.
Research Associate, Hiroyuki Hoshiro, Artifact Section,
Specializing in International Politics.
Visiting Prof. Takashi Inoguchi, Specializing inInternational Politics.
Iri Kasai, Officer.

Malaysia, on February 16-17, 2006. The aim of this meeting is to promote research andeducational programs about East Asian studies and to build the network of researchersin East Asian countries.
●The Forty First Meeting of Directors of Humanities and Social Sciences
Documentation and Information Centers in the National Universities was held at the
University of Tokyo, on February 10, 2006.
●The Asia Barometer Symposium was held at the Correspondents' Club of Japan(FCCJ) February 24, 2006.

RICAS Newsletter No.15
March 27, 2006
Edited and Published by the Research andInformation Center for Asian Studies(RICAS),
Institute of Oriental Culture, the University ofTokyo.
7-3-1 Bunkyo-ku, Hongo, Tokyo 113-0033
Japan
Telephone: +81-3-5841-5839
Fax:+81-5841-5898
E-mail:ricas@ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
URL:
http://ricas.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Designed by Yae Kosugi/ Printed by Hirai Co.