SPRING/SUMMER 2019

77

NO.

Contents
004 Editorial 

Mario Lopez

005 Memoir: 										The Path Hunter with a Scientific Mind in a Sound Body Mitsuaki Nishibuchi
018 A Lifelong Quest to Learn from the Indonesian People

Kosuke Mizuno

030 Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies
031 Experiencing Transport in Kota Medan, Indonesia

Soo Chen Kwan

034 Can Mangroves Protect Coastal Communities from Super Typhoons?		
Moises Neil V. Seriño
037 Examining Forests Fires and Their Impacts on Local Communities in
Daisuke Naito, Nina Yulianti, and Masahiro Kawasaki
Central Kalimantan		

041 Library Collections
041 The Grand Rituals at Besakih Temple in Bali and the Historical Moment ofYasuyuki Nagafuchi
Hinduism in Indonesia
046 Materials on Christianity and Spanish Documents in the Foronda
Yuki Moriwaki
Collection
048 Publications 

Front Cover: NASA Worldview, September, 2015
Back Cover: Photo by Nishibuchi Mitsuaki

https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

Editorial
CSEAS mourns the sudden passing of a beloved faculty member, Mitsuaki Nishibuchi, at the age of 65. He was
Emeritus Professor and a pioneering faculty member at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto
University. As a recognized expert in the field of pathogenic bacteriology, researching Vibrio parahaemolyticus
and Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, he was awarded the Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine Award of
Excellence (2011) as well as an honorary PhD degree from the Prince of Songkla University (2016) and anhonorary Emeritus fellowship award from the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science(CEFAS).
Prof. Nishibuchi also had a deep passion for the natural world which spilled over into CSEAS’s physicalenvironment. In the CSEAS courtyard there are two Sakura trees which he himself planted and devotedly
cultivated over the years. He would ardently ‘light up’ the trees during the ephemeral cherry blossom period
and take countless photos which would grace previous issues of our newsletter. In a final speech that he gave at
his leaving ceremony on retirement, he spoke of his ‘wadachi’ ( 轍 ), the track or mark left behind in the groundby a wheel that gradually fades before weathering away. His milestones, legacy and prolific research that he has
left behind will not disappear any time soon and his lifetime work will continue to be both inspiration andaspiration for us all. In memory of our colleague in this issue we carry a final interview he gave to associate
professor Yoshitsugu Nakaguchi (Ishikawa Prefectural University) for his retirement speech in March 2019.
In this issue, another one of our colleagues, Emeritus professor Mizuno Kosuke retired in March 2019. We
carry an interview conducted by Dianto Bachriadi that goes over Prof. Mizuno’s life trajectory in Indonesia andIndonesian Studies.
Over the last ten years CSEAS has committed to a number of large-scale projects; a Global COE program titled“in Search of a Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa” (2007–11); “Southeast Asian Studies for Sustainable Humanosphere” (2011–16); and currently, the “Japan-ASEAN Platform for Transdisciplinary Studies”(2016–2021). In this issue we carry a special feature that introduces this program, in particular with a focus onsome of the younger scholars who have been invited under the post-doctoral program as well as more established members. This program has been set up to advance transdisciplinary research that integrates academic,
governmental, and civil societies to create new collaborative research ventures that brings together the expertiseof scholars on Southeast Asia, scientists and engineers, and the Japanese and ASEAN political and business
communities.
Finally, we carry a number of special reports from our library archive. Emeritus Prof. Nagafuchi Yasuyuki(Nagoya Institute of Technology) provides a detailed overview of large-scale rituals carried out in Bali, Indonesia through materials that were donated to our library collection. Additionally, Moriwaki Yuki (University of
CSEAS NEWSLETTERTokyo Graduate School of Economics), also introduces some lesser known, but nonetheless important materials
from the Foronda Collection in the CSEAS library.

No. 77The Editor
Mario Lopez

004

Memoir:

The Path Hunter with a Scientific Mind in a Sound Body
Mitsuaki Nishibuchi
Professor, CSEAS

Interviewed by

Yoshitsugu Nakaguchi

Associate Professor, Department of Food Science, Bioresources and Environmental Sciences, Ishikawa Prefectural University

Professor Mitsuaki Nishibuchi’s scientific mind developed from an interest in fishing and through various experiences within different
research genres. This culminated in a unique research approach merging experiment-based laboratory science and observation-based field
investigations in Southeast Asia. This resulted in him being awarded the Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine Award of Excellence (2011).
He has attempted to internationally disseminate his unique scientific approach to a younger generation of scholars. His approach has beeninternationally recognized through honorable awards given to him from academia as well as educational institutions: an honorable Ph.D.
degree from Prince of Songkla University in Thailand (2016) and an Honorary Emeritus Fellowship Award (2018) from the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, England (CEFAS). Sports and related activities strongly supported the construction of a robust
mind and body and strong collaborations with people. It is through this synergy that great science was achieved.

NAKAGUCHI Yoshitsugu (NY): Could I start by asking you
to share some of your most impressive memories when looking
back over your life so far?

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

NISHIBUCHI Mitsuaki (NM): I am a very lucky person to be
surrounded by warm, understanding and compassionate people, including my own family, who have always let me live mylife freely as I wished, so it is hard to choose a few memories
out of so many.
Briefly looking back over my life from early childhood, I canrecall playing in nature when I was little and I made a lot offriends as a student, through enjoying sports and drinking parties both in Japan and in the U.S. I also came to be interested
in machines through bicycles and cars. Since I became a
researcher, I have been able to enjoy multidisciplinary international joint studies with researchers from various countries bymaking use of such experiences. In retrospect, I could say thatmy childhood experiences had an exceptionally strong influence on shaping my personality, as they provided me the mostimportant basis for my life. Let me explain in a little more detail.
What has remained in my memory since then mostly formed asthey accumulated upon this basis. Luckily, my major activities
are recorded in pictures, taken by a camera I’m proud of, so
let me introduce some of them through those images (carried
within interview).

City, and then again to Abeno Ward, Osaka City and we lived
there from when I was in sixth grade until I graduated from highschool. Then, I moved to Hiroshima, my parents’ hometown,
as I had decided to go to university there. Afterwards, I moved
to Fukuyama to join a specialized faculty, studied abroad twotimes in the U.S. and then obtained a job (as a postdoctoral
researcher) there, as well as employment at a Japanese university with an additional two transfers over the course of mycareer.
The most impressive memories I have with my family, is one
with my father. Until I went to study in the U.S., I used to climb
a nearby mountain on a day trip with him every year on January 2nd, during the New Year’s Holidays (Picture 1). It was at
this time when I learned various sayings and useful words thathave become a rule of my life. “Hardship makes the man”
(kannan nanji wo tama ni su) and “when you find yourself at a

NY: To begin with can you share some memories and your circumstances from childhood through to your adolescence?
Birth and memories with my family

Picture 1 Even during my school days, I would return to my hometown ofOsaka and climb Mount Kongo and Mount Yamato Katsuragi.

005

NM: As my father was in a construction related business, we
had to move a lot: I was born in Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture and a year later, we moved to Yahata Ward, Kitakyushu

crossroad in life, take the more difficult way” (Jinsei no kiro ni
deatta toki ha, yori muzukashii michi wo erabe) are the mostunforgettable ones. When I boarded for the first time in
Hiroshima City, he accompanied me in a double-breasted suit
to politely greet the owner of my boarding house. Since then,people from the boarding house would always appraise him,saying he was a “respectable father.” Besides, he understoodme quite well and graciously provided financial assistance tobuy items that played important roles in my life: a custommade bicycle, a single-lens reflex camera “Nikon F2A” and azoom lens set (quite luxurious items in those days).
Interests from early childhood

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77006

NM: When I was a child, there was nothing like video games toplay indoors, so I mostly played outside, and as such I particularly looked forward to the summers. The vicinity of my elementary school in Yahata Ward, Kitakyushu City, was a naturallyrich environment with wooded areas and I used to run aroundthem with a butterfly net and insect cage in my hand till dusk,
in search of insects like cicadas, grasshoppers, beetles, andstag beetles. What is still vivid in my memory is the death of agrasshopper I caught, as I pulled it too strong by the body,while it was biting on my shirt. It taught me a lesson about howtransient and precious life is.
During summer vacations, I very much looked forward tovisiting my parent’s hometowns. One was in the mountainareas of Hiroshima Prefecture. What I was interested in morethan insects were the various fishes that resided in the middle
reaches of the river or in upper mountain streams. As the dayof returning home drew nearer, the scenery of the river as wellas figures and moving images of fish there would start appearing in my dreams, leading me to make frequent visits to a fishing equipment shop.
My mother was originally from Kimita-son, a village in the
piedmont region of Hiroshima, and her house, somewhat
looked like a log-house, was built facing a gravel road wherefew buses passed by during the day. Spring water from thehillside served as our drinking water and irrigation canals on
the roadsides provided us with water for bathing and washing.
We could get food supplies at a country store at a walking distance of around 30 minutes for a child. Villagers were growing
rice on terraced paddy fields and looking forward to the harvest
festival in the autumn. There was a mountain stream, right at
the back of our house and often in my dreams, I was communicating with the big game, such as the unseen Gogi (a headspotted char/ a kind of Iwana char (Salvelinus leucomaenis
imbrius)) in the depths of the river through a float. The water inthe shallow part of the river was incredibly clear, and I could
spend hours without realizing it, lying on my stomach on a
bridge, struggling to catch fish, such as a school of Oikawa(freshwater minnow Opsariichthys platypus) or Kawamutsu(dark chub Candidia temminckii), that could be seen under thebridge. As I put grains of steamed rice on a hook at the end of
the fishing line, I would send them right in front of the eyes offish, mumbling “eat it, eat it!,” while being amazed throughobserving their movements: keen and efficient, fighting over thegrains of rice. I had no idea that it would be a help for me tolearn later, from my uncle, the secret techniques of Myakuduri(a fishing method without using a float) to catch Oikawa.

My father was originally from Miyoshi City, where three large
rivers merge and at that time, it was an area with an abundantcatch of fish, such as Ayu (sweetfish Plecoglossus altivelis
altivelis) and Ugui (Japanese dace Tribolodon hakonensis) that
could only be found in clean streams, or large fish-like carps.
Since I was a child, I was wondering why there were plenty offish like that. I clearly remember the night I caught sight of people discarding a bucket full of food scraps into the river from abridge and that I heard the splashing sound of the fish munching in the dark down the stream. Later, when I learned theproverb, “Clear water does not breed fish” (Mizu kiyokereba, uo
sumazu), it sprang back to my mind. And again, as I was in ahigher grade (at 16 years of age) and obtained a soft fishingrod (drum reel-type) for surf fishing to catch surface water fish,
I recalled the night one more time. It also overlapped with theimpressive image of a movie, shown by a children’s association back in my childhood, about traditional drift fishing using
pupas as bait to catch black sea breams in the Yaizu fishingharbor. Then, it had set off intense sparks in my head, trying toconnect multiple neurons, old and new. Thus, I named a styleof fishing, “Nishibuchi-style drift and float Ugui fishing,” whichused the reel-type soft fishing rod for surf fishing, standing in
the middle of a stream, putting small pieces of bread to eachof the approximately 10 branched fish hooks drifting on thesurface of the river. I know it’s just self-congratulatory, but it
was even more exciting than fishing Ayu, to struggle in the
middle of the river, trying to catch a group of Ugui, nearly 40cm
in size. As contenders who were driven competitively and

Picture 2 A print of a large fish caught using the “Nishibuchi-style drift andfloat Ugui fishing.” The dirt around the mouth was the result of bait
which flowed back up from the stomach at the time I was making
the rubbing. It now decorates my office.

tended to forget to be alert, they could normally be caught
simultaneously on multiple hooks. “Face the moment, face thesite, learn from it” (Toki ni nozonde, ba ni nozonde, kore wo
manabu). I believe that learning from history and the field isimportant for both invention and area studies. In order not toforget this spirit, I display a fish rubbing (Gyotaku, a fish print)of the Ugui I caught back then in my office (Picture 2).

Picture 3 Intense Karate training. As I couldn’t go to the Dojo during long vacations when I returned home, I would strengthen my fists by hitting a‘Makiwara’ (a padded striking post used for training in Karate).

Development of interests and their relation to study

NM: I started to study science of fisheries in general at the
Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, however what I realized at the welcome party for new
students was that this academic discipline was quite feudalistic
and required robust physical and mental strength, aside fromthe matter of scholarship. After passing the exam, I took it easy
and was a bit slow in looking for my boarding house, so I
boarded in the area called Kusatsu, on the West coast, quite a
distance from the city center. I took my long-distance of commuting for good and decided to train my physical strength bycommuting on a bicycle. For that reason, I bought a bicycle forserious cycling (and that was my encounter with the bicycle).
Besides, as there was a Dojo (training center) named Shobukan ( 尚 武 館 ) near my boarding house, there I practiced
Wado-ryu Karate ( 和道流空手道 ), trying hard to concentrateon training my physical and mental strength. Thanks to great
instructors, including the director of the Dojo and Shihandai(assistant instructor), I felt I was steadily growing toward myobjective (Picture 3). Most of all, I was able to obtain vigorous
mental strength and I felt as if I had nothing to be afraid of inthis world. Furthermore, what was memorable were the incred-

007

NY: Which was the field that interested you and led to yourdecision to go on to graduate school?

NY: As you continued your study at the faculty of the university, what did you wish to further enrich?

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

NM: My passion for fishing was derived from my interest in the
biology of fish. When I was a junior high-school student, I wentfishing once or twice a month on Sundays. I started to develop
a desire to see fish every day, and finally came to grow ornamental fish, such as goldfish and carps in aquariums laid out inmy yard. The variety of fish I was growing had gradually shiftedto specialize in fancy goldfish, such as Ranchu (roundfish),appraised for their beautiful appearance in fairs. Besides, their
existence started to appeal to a sense of beauty I had begun
to develop in my youth. By that time, my expertise in raisingfish had reached a certain technical level, hatching eggs laid by
adult fish, sorting out juvenile fish, and so on. Shortly however,
I was to face a big problem: if I was not careful enough, fish
could often catch diseases. Though I tried my best throughconsulting some books and trying to cure them through medicine, they usually ended up meeting a sad fate. I submitted myrecords of raising goldfish, including such struggles of mine, asa summer vacation research project to junior high school.
Since it caught attention of a teacher of modern Japanese, itappeared in a schoolwide newspaper. I thought the proper
way to understand this event was to take it as if I had gone
through a great conflict and that I had gained enough power tostrongly appeal to a third party.
During my high-school days, my interest in fishing and raising goldfish never abated. Rather, since I was the chairpersonof a library committee, I was often stationed in the library andas such, outdoor activities had helped me maintain a balance
between the mind and the body. Yet, I couldn’t find a solution
to the problem of my fish catching diseases and it left me withpangs of sadness.

NM: After graduating from university, I had the vague desire towork for or conduct research for the sake of those in need.
Therefore, despite the fact that I was interested in pollution
problems in oceanic environments that had been much-talkedabout in those days, the issue of fish disease was personally, amore important matter for me. I came to learn there was a laboratory for such studies at the Faculty of Fisheries and Animal
Husbandry, Hiroshima University. Going to the university there
meant living away from my parents. Fortunately, however,Hiroshima was my parents' home town and as it also made me
feel easy, I decided on my career path.

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CSEAS NEWSLETTER

ible lectures given before the training sessions. Among them,phrases such as “Shin soku tai” 心即体 : Mind is nothing but
the body (generally known as “Shin soku ri”: Mind is nothing
but the law) or “Gi shin ni iru” ( 技 神 に 入 る : to be divinely
skilled, explained in such lectures, were so versatile, that theywould just pop out of my mouth in various situations of my life
later, but at the same time were considerably rich. In order toenjoy my student life with more friends, I joined a fishing club inuniversity. As I had a long experience and prominent skills inregards to fishing, they immediately made me captain of the
club. Thanks to this, I was also able to gain some experiencein organizational operations in the “mini” society (Pictures 4).
After learning basic science for a year and a half at the Hiroshima campus, I spent the rest of my undergraduate years at
the Fukuyama campus to study my speciality, the science offisheries. During this period, I served as captain of the fishingclub at the Fukuyama branch, while joining the cycling club of
the Fukuyama branch. I was also assigned the post of submanager to pursue the full-blown art of cycling (Pictures 5).
In my fourth-year at the faculty, when we had to work on mygraduation thesis, I was assigned according to my wish, to thelaboratory of Professor Kiyokuni Muroga, who had specialized
in fish diseases. Communication skills I had cultivated over mystudent life through sports and drinking sessions helped me
carry out smooth activities in the laboratory, as well as allow
me to concentrate on academic research (Pictures 6).
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No. 77008

Pictures 4 The University Fishing Club President (4-1). Even though
it may seem that fishing is a carefree hobby, there is anincredible amount of planning, making contact, material
preparation, and accounting. (4-2) At open fishingcompetitions, we would show off our surf casting to othergeneral participants.

NY: Can you share how you entered the graduate school forthe master’s program and came to visit the United States as
an exchange student?
NM: While in the laboratory, I was really able to fully study fish
pathology, however, the more I studied, the more I was madeaware of the issue that Japan lagged considerably behind the

5-1

5-3

5-2

Pictures 5 The deputy head of the University cycling club: (5-1) As this was thesecond challenge, after having made it to the top peak of Shikoku
island’s famous mount Kenzan or Tsurugi-san alongside three juniors
who had been selected, it was fun to make the descent [Nishibuchi:
to the left]. (5-2) Touring on my own in the Chugoku and Kinki regions. Due to carrying much equipment the pace was slow. I visiteda relative’s house to take a rest. (5-3) Touring on my own in the Kinki
and Shikoku regions. Only the scenery and my beloved bicycle are in
the photo because I had to push the shutter button.

6-1b

6-1a

6-1c

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Pictures 6 Sports and drinking (inJapanese Nomyunikeshon[communicating throughdrinking]) in my department
and research laboratory. At
the time when I was at the
Muroga research laboratory,
participation in softball was amust (6-1c) [Nishibuchi: theleft of the middle line]. I was
fourth on the plate (6-1b)
and a defensive first (6-1a).
My professor told me I wasan ace with alcohol beating
the mold. (6-2) That I formed
a fishery department team at
the faculty soccer competition, destroyed the facultyof education high school
physical education team anddrank sake from the trophy
cup, remains memorable.

009

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CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 777-2010

Pictures 7 At my study destination in the U.S. I enjoyed socializing with many friends through sports and Nomyunikeshon. (7-1) Softball was popular in my laboratory [Nishibuchi: fourth from left of the bottom line]. (7-2) Soccer matches where a staple of campus competitions. I was a member of an international team known as the squirrels (this was the name of the sponsor’s watering hole; [Nishibuchi: fifth from the right in the bottom line]) and we enjoyedgames and beer.

7-6

7-5

7-4

7-7

8-1

011

8-2

Pictures 8 Midnight friends from my day’s in Oregon:
John Baros (8-1) used most of the
autoclaves in the microbial building asculture devices for bacteria to culture
high temperature bacteria found nearsubmarine volcanos. I intensively carriedout experiments at night and didn’t have to
wait in line for the experiment equipment.
(8-2) A shot with one of the cleaning staff.
She worked the night shift and I met her at
midnight. One time when she got trappedin an elevator and called out our names we
had to go and help her out.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

7-3(7-3) Drinking Style A* (Formal and thestart of the first overseas beer club inJapan [Nishibuchi: to the left]).
(7-4) Drinking Style B (A little serious, at thestrategy meeting at the sponsor’s
watering hole [Nishibuchi: to the left]
in the front).
(7-5) Drinking Style C (Slightly relaxed andstill interested in food [Nishibuchi: tothe left])(7-6) Drinking style D (Quite relaxed and theeyes say it all. [Nishibuchi: to the rightin the front])(7-7) Drinking Style E (Very relaxed andclose to graduate’s condition on
a Fr i d a y n i g h t [ P h o t o g ra p h e r :Nishibuchi]).
* This are all subjectively ranked according
to Prof. Nishibuchi.

United States and therefore, I had gradually developed a desire
to study in the U.S. Above all, a research team led by of Professor John L. Fryer of Oregon State University was publishing
wonderful research results, based on a solid microbiology andtaking the approach of incorporating fisheries, so I came toadmire their existence as something akin to the “Godfather” offish pathology.
At that time, the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports andCulture (MEXT) had been implementing a program to dispatch
exchange students (100 students per year) for the undergraduate and graduate students of national universities, so I studied
English and after passing the exam, I was given a chance tostudy abroad for one year (in the middle of my master’s program) from September 1977 at Professor Fryer’s laboratory.
NY: Can I ask you about your life in the United States, forexample about your research activities and other things?
NM: I was quite wild. I did what I had to, but at the same time,socialized with many friends through sports, as well as overdrinks, absorbed in study and fully enjoying the freedom I had(Pictures 7). I conducted research (experiments) intensively andeffectively during the nights, when there was no waiting time
for using equipment (Pictures 8).
Moreover, thanks to Professor Fryer, I was able to accumulate a variety of experiences that it made that one year feel very
long. Not only was I able to develop my own research I had
been working on in Japan, but I could also take importantclasses related to microbiology, take part in other activities inrelation to fish disease (such as helping out with a project forsalmon farming business by Oregon State Fisheries & Wildlife),
and enjoy my own hobby of fishing as well (fishing specific tothat area, such as rainbow trout in a stream and salmon on ashore) (Picture 9). It was especially meaningful for me and I was
highly impressed by Professor Fryer’s class. He had received
the Loyd F. Carter Award, which was bestowed to excellent
educators (only one recipient a year) and his method would go
on to influence the class I was to be in charge of later on in
Japan.
Returning to Japan after completing the master’s program, and going on to university in the U.S for a doctoral
degreeCSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77

NM: When I was preparing to return to Japan, as I finished ayear of study abroad, Professor Fryer suggested me to take up
the challenge of a Ph.D. under his supervision, once I had finished the master’s program in Japan (and that with an assurance for a research assistantship). As I came back to Japan, I
had a chance of going on to a domestic university for a doctoral program, but I finally decided to make a career choice ofreturning to the U.S. again. Back then, as it was deemed difficult to make such oversea studies successful without considerable efforts, I needed to prepare myself mentally to somedegree. Before leaving Japan, I declared to my junior fellows at
the laboratory and to my parents that I had no intention tocome back to Japan again.

Doctoral research in the U.S.
When I returned to Oregon in September 1979, the first thingwaiting for me was a drinking competition with my bad oldfriends from the laboratory, over shot glasses of whiskey at awestern bar downtown. It turned out to be a good start. Thus,
thanks to the support of my friends from my previous stay andthe research assistantship, I could enjoy, once again, wild andmeaningful days, education and research for three and a halfyears until I obtained a Ph.D. in microbiology (though, there
was a big change within myself). In order to solve problems of
my research on fish disease (the new bacterial species ofpathogenic vibrio that could trigger canker for cultured eels) as
well as of those commissioned from Japan, I asked Professor
Ramon J. Seidler, a specialist of microbial taxonomy, based on
environmental microbiology and molecular (genetics) studies(whose laboratory was located three floors below Professor
Fryer’s), to carry out collaborative research. The result was agreat achievement and we were able to bring up the issue ofpathogenic vibrio which Japanese fisheries science and fish
pathology had had. Later, Professor Seidler took on sharing
the research with a National Sea Grant on pathogenic vibrio in
the oceanic environment and I was singled out, as he neededa specialist, who could conduct research on this. Taking theoffer meant that I had to change laboratories I had been
assigned to, the contents of my doctoral thesis, as well as mydoctoral advisers. With the doctoral thesis, I would have tostart it from scratch. As I consulted Professor Fryer, he shared
his opinion with me: “I would agree on this for your future: if achance is offered when you are young, it is good to accumulate as many experiences as possible.” His words did not justencourage my transfer to the laboratory of Professor Seidler,
but have served as a basis for me since then: not to refuse
those who would knock on the door of my office as an applicant to graduate school or as a young researcher. Personally,leaving the fish pathology project even for a while, went against
my will, despite the fact that it had not been carried out on afull scale yet. However, by that time, I was able to understandthat even with different themes, research of this kind could
basically proceed in the same way. As I presumed it to be
meritorious from a long-term perspective, to participate in a
major project when a chance was there and to be able toabsorb a large amount of knowledge and skills on sites, as wellas to expand human networks, I decided to follow the precious
advice of my senior.

012

Picture 9 Through a chartered boat, we could easily enjoy trawling forcoastal salmon for a daily rental fee of $30.

NY: What were your reasons for deciding to return to Japan?

Picture 10 I received the “Sea Grant Association National Student
Research Award (1981)” from Washington D.C. in Oregon.

After the transfer, studies in my doctoral years wentsmoothly and I published a lot of papers. Among all, I was
honored to receive “The Sea Grant Association National Student Research Award (1981)” and “N. L. Tarter ResearchAward (1982)” for my research on “Development of new animalmodel for enteric infectious bacteria test” (Picture 10). It was
known throughout the university and when there was an outbreak of E. coli (the so-called O-157) infectious disease in Oregon and Michigan for the first time in the world in 1982, I wasto help with the investigation into the cause in the state of Oregon. In other words, I was the first Japanese researcher, whoengaged in the investigation of the O-157 incident.

Life in the U.S. as a postdoctoral researcher

NY: Once you were back in a Japanese research environ-ment, did you recognize any differences from those in the
U.S.?
NM: In the U.S., they put emphasis on fundamental educa-tion in extensive fields during the period of graduate education up to Ph.D. level and they provide an educational sys-

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Picture 11 My beloved 1971 Ford. It came equipped with the biggest
engine that Ford had produced for a passenger car at
the time (cylinders at 439 cu inch [=7 ltr]). I always looked
forward to tuning the engine myself in spring and autumn.

013

NM: After obtaining a Ph.D. at Oregon State University, I was
introduced by professor Seidler to Dr. James B. Kaper, who
was in the Department of Bacterial Genetics at the Center for
Vaccine Development, University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore and started my academic life as his first postdoctoral researcher in February 1983. The first message fromDr. Kaper was to turn up in Baltimore soon and to start working on the research. Following his instruction, I accomplished alone cross-country drive in the middle of a snowstorm in February, driving my precious car (1974 Ford LTD, Picture 11) on
Route 80-N from Oregon to Maryland in six and half days. The
theme of the research project was a genetic analysis of pathogenic factors of Vibrio Parahaemolyticus. It was just aroundthis time, when the U.S. was taking the global lead in genetic
engineering techniques, including gene cloning, and thesewere being developed and published one after another. I madeup my mind and devoted myself to the research (though I was
still a late-night person) for three years, and as a result, I
acquired the latest genetic engineering techniques. As thosewere the early days for experiments of molecular genetics without sufficient experimental kits, it was necessary for us to follow the basic procedures of experiments faithfully and it
required immense time and work every day. Again, what had
supported me mentally and physically during such a tough life
as a researcher was sports (swimming and football) (Picture12). When I was leaving Baltimore, as I had completed the mission, Dr. Kaper said to me for the last time; “enjoy it while youcan.” I’m trying to give the same words to my graduates in mylaboratory.

NM: The U.S.-Japan joint conference (annual assembly) of theCholera Panel of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Medical Sciences
Program has been held biennially in Japan and in the U.S.
Since I had started working as a postdoctoral researcher, I
attended the conference as a member of the U.S. side, and it
seemed it did not take much time for the Japanese side to findit out. When I was a guest speaker at a symposium in Japan, I
made a presentation on the results of analysis on pathogenic
factors of Vibrio parahaemolyticus, employing the latest methodology of molecular genetic studies, which was welcomed byfairly good responses and later, I was offered a job opportunity
in Japan. I was made aware that the gap between the levels ofscholarly progress in the U.S. and Japan could not be foundjust in fish pathology, but also in other fields. Whatever thefield, if it was possible to reduce the gap, it would surely affectrelated fields and I wondered if pathogenic bacteriology andfish pathology could make good examples of this. I believed
that, as soon as possible, what I had obtained in the U.S.
would reflect back on academic disciplines and ultimately bring
benefits to the world, so I decided to return to Japan.
A little before then, I had received an envelope from myfather. Inside the envelope was a whole Japanese newspaperof a certain day. It featured a victory of the Hanshin Tigers,which was quite unusual in those days, and referred to theexcited local fans jumping into the Dotonbori River one after
another out of joy. I was wondering why my father, who had
been an enthusiastic fan of the Hiroshima Toyo Carps, hadsent me such a paper. Since then, I had occasionally received
newspaper articles, covering major incidents and episodes that
had been taking place in Japan and finally realized that it was
the first indirect message from my family, trying to encourage
me to pay attention to Japan. It would a lie to say that it had
not, in the slightest, affected my decision to return to Japan.

tem that enables students to understand the philosophy
behind each of the several fields, at least those relevant totheir specialties. They also have a system with a certain
level of freedom for postdoctoral researchers, allowing
them to take up the challenge according to their bold ideas,
but at the same time, making sure that they would be
responsible for the whole project and make it a “success”
in the end. On the other hand, it seems to me that the
research environment in Japan generally tends to make ayoung researchers “mature early” as a specialist of a certain
field at an early stage.

date, has been quoted in other papers more than 11,700
times. Among them, those ranking on the top two (quoted
more than 500 times) have been published during thisperiod.

NY: Tell us about your research during the time you were at

NM: In the graduate school of Medicine, I was conducting

the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University.
NM: Before the end of my postdoctoral contract in the U.S.,

I had unofficially been promised a job by a certain research
institution in Japan, however, I also got an offer from the
Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University
and I was finally hired as an assistant by the latter for aperiod of one year and nine months from April 1986. After
that, I had the opportunity to work as a lecturer and assistant professor for a course on microbiology at the Facultyof Medicine, Kyoto University. During those days, what I
was particularly trying to do with regard to aspects ofresearch, was to work with young Japanese researchers(postdoctoral researchers and graduate students), who had
been engaged in pathogenic microbiology and to convey tothem what I had learned in the U.S. (such as a vision fortackling research and the latest technology), as well as thefact that when the principle of “the three arrows (three pillars of stability)” would work, they could expect far greater
results than research done by any individual. The romanticism (ideal) that I have as an academic is to conduct
research that would bring about something beneficial for
many. Personally, I am content with what I achieved during
this period. According to internet information, my thesis to

NY : Could you tell us about the development of yourresearch after you took office at the Center for Southeast
Asian Studies (CSEAS), Kyoto University, and about theconflict you faced doing so?
The resolve to expand research into Southeast Asia

basic research, based on some analyses of experimental
data from the laboratory, with the aim to reveal such things
as the mechanism of bacterial pathogenicity. There was arequest from CSEAS to recommend an academic and I
was told that the Faculty of Medicine was willing to recommend me for the position of professor, so I made an application hoping that it would make it possible for me todevelop my research to serve many who were actually suffering from illnesses in Southeast Asia. As a result, I wasable to take up the post of professor in April 1996. Since
then, I have been under their patronage and this is my 24thyear at CSEAS. Though before then, I had been with different laboratories and learnt various issues every few years,
with the longest record of nine years at the Faculty of Medicine for the course on microbiology, I had never seriously
thought about transferring since I took office at CSEAS.
Southeast Asian studies was such a fascination for me.
Still, around the time I assumed the post, I had to go
through more than a few struggles as I was not so familiar
with the new environment. Among professors at CSEAS atthat time, there were those who would frequently raise thequestion “what is area studies?” or those who had stereotypical ideas about those from the Faculty of Medicine andthat they were all “shaking test tubes in a laboratory” as

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77014

Picture 12 In Baltimore, I participated in the city league team and enjoyed Soccer [Nishibuchi in the left of the upper line].

well as those who had declared in the interview before myacceptance that “once you take office at this institution you
should not conduct any useful research.” Those were thepeople I can never forget. Later, as somebody told me that
there was no one who would know the answer to the question of “what is…” and with an opportunity of a two-monthinvestigation in Indonesia (Picture 13), including the experience of joining the research of three so-called prominentarea studies professors, and through taking other comments as negative examples to learn from, I was able to
make up my mind to develop my own way of research inSoutheast Asia.
New studies bridging the fields of medicine and areastudies

Picture 13 With Profs. Yoshihiro Tsubouchi, Tsuyoshi Kato and Koji Tanaka
who accompanied me on a research fieldtrip to Ternate, in theHalmahera region of Indonesia [Photo credit Nishibuchi: 1996].

NM: When I was transferred to CSEAS, a professor fromthe Faculty of Medicine gave me advice that I should try tocover activities that would reinforce the deficiencies of eachdepartment. My own initial understanding was that the Faculty of Medicine had lacked tropical studies, while CSEAS
had lacked useful and practical studies. Nowadays, however, the latter considers cross-over studies between fieldresearch and laboratory experiments that fit the conditionsof being suitable for both fields of Medicine and Area Studies to be more appropriate. One of the successful examplesof this could be the result of cooperation between themembers of various departments of CSEAS as well as collaborative researchers from respective Southeast Asian
countries, namely, through a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific
Research (S) “Infectious Diseases Spreading Across International Borders in Southeast Asia: The Elucidation of AreaSpecific Features Based on Multifactorial Analysis (20072011)”. For this contribution, the Japanese Society ofTropical Medicine Award of Excellence (2011) was awarded
for the first time in Kyoto University, and the certificate contained a comment that my study clearly demonstrates how
future studies of Japanese tropical medicine should bedirected (Picture 14).

Picture 14 The Japanese Society of Tropical Medicine Award of Excellence Certificate (2011).

Colleagues I met in the fields of Southeast Asia
NM: Over the last 24 years, there are innumerable col-Country

Affiliation

Son Radu

Malaysia

National Food Safety ResearchCentre, Faculty of Food Scienceand Technology, University Putra
Malaysia

VarapornVuddhakul

Thailand

Department of Microbiology,
Faculty of Science, Prince ofSongkla University

Abdul Aziz Djamal

Indonesia

Faculty of Medicine, Andalas
University

Firdausi Qadri

BangladeshInternational Centre for Diarrheal
Diseases, Bangladesh

G. Balakrish Nair

India

National Institute of Cholera &Enteric Diseases, Kolkata

Ng Lee-Ching

Singapore

Environmental Health Institute,
National Environment Agency

H.-C. Wong

TaiwanDepartment of Microbiology,
Soochow University

Yung Bu Kim

South Korea

Department of Microbiology,
College of Medicine, Pusan
National University

Chengchu Liu

China

Shanghai Ocean University

Oscar Roberto
Escalante
Maldonado

Peru

National Center of Public Health,National Institute of Health

Nasreldin Elhadi

Saudi Arabia

College of Applied Medical
Sciences, University of Dammam

Rachel E Rangdale

UnitedKingdom

CEFAS Weymouth Laboratory

James B. Kaper

United States

University of Maryland School of
Medicine015

ration. In addition, respective groups include a lot of members who we became familiar with on each other’s sites,such as graduate students and technicians. Currently, active
interactions are mostly taking place among the next generations of respective groups. My commitment to the enlightenment and education of colleagues of similar ages as well asa younger generation of scholars in various parts of theworld resulted in international recognition exemplified

Name

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

leagues I have met in the field (oversea venues of research).
Moreover, at present, there is no more framework for different regions and the whole world has become our field. I
would like to introduce some of the representatives of the
major groups that have offered enthusiastic cooperation forholding research collaborations and workshops, as well as
for the promotion of interactions among researchers on the
ground (Table 1). Organizations of affiliation listed to theright and are indicated by names from the time of collabo-

Table 1 Representatives of major groups that had offered enthusiastic
cooperation for holding research collaborations andworkshops, as well as for promotion of interactions among
researchers

Picture 15 Prof. Mitsuaki Nishibuchi received a degree in “Doctor of Science (Microbiology), Honoris Causa” from the Prince of Songkla University(PSU) in Thailand. The diploma was handed to him directly by Princess Chulabhorn of Thailand (2016).

through an Honorable Ph.D. degree from Prince of Songkla
University in Thailand (2016) and the CEFAS Honorary
Emeritus Fellowship Award (2018) (Picture 15).

NY: Would you be able to share your feelings toward yourfamily?
NM: Needless to say, thanks to an understanding family, I

was able to be absorbed in and continue my study, as I
wished. Research is challenging the unknown, and progress does not always go as expected, and many times, it
requires great self-sacrifice both in terms of time andmoney. I had already received approval from my family on
this point when I was assigned as professor, yet still I
deeply appreciate their patience up to my compulsory
retirement.
NY: What is your message for future researchers?
NM: It is often said that “what one likes, one will do well”

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77016

and looking back over my research so far, I realize thatwhile I ardently pursued my passion, I naturally passed thethreshold of research and have been able to obtain a considerable depth of exploration. However, I did not just cling
to one thing but maintained a degree of flexibility, so that it
was possible for me to decide, when needed or requested
by affiliated fields, to redirect my career path or to startworking on international research collaborations without
hesitation. As a result, my study has significantly expanded.
In regards to the selection of a counterpart for collaborative
works, I would recommend choosing someone of almost
the same generation that one can communicate well with,rather than setting up a highly renowned scholar. A lot ofsuch counterparts are included in the list on the table 1. In
addition to your own interests, if there was an ultimate goalfor one’s study, concrete and lifelong, such as “researchthat is useful for many,” it should be backed up by passion
and improve our motivation for study.
So long as the above conditions are met, with increased
motivation and where the possibility to challenge something
exists, I would like to put my hands to different kinds ofresearch. Among the list of my favorite things to do ishandcrafting; It is a hobby spun off from my penchant formachines, such as fiddling with bicycles and automobiles. I
would like to introduce an example here. Since there was ademand for safe and reliable food from small- and mediumsized enterprises in the Kansai region and as I was proud of
myself for being the first Japanese researcher to have participated in the investigation of the E.coli O157 incident, as
well as being consistent with the ultimate goal of myresearch (useful for many), I felt a strong motivation that
resulted in my involvement in the development of new sterilization methods that could realize the supply of inexpensive “Yukhoe” beef to be eaten raw. It was not just about
the process of sterilizing lumps of meat, but about analyzing the characteristics of multiple handling processes, starting from the stage of slaughtering cows to that of them
being eating, in order to devise new processing methods
appropriate to respective stages. By taking advantages ofsuch a synergistic effect of combining those with newly
developed sanitizers and handmade washing equipment, I
was able to achieve this goal. This intellectual production (aproduct of alliances between industry and academia) was
introduced as one of the representative inventions of Kyoto
University in an intellectual property-related event (see backcover). I am currently trying to further develop research on
this invention. My path hunting will continue. I hope it will beconsidered a useful study for others.
Translation: Chiharu Yoshida
Editing: Mario Lopez

轍（Wadachi）literally means the track of a wheel or a mark in the ground that usually fades
away through weathering before anyone notices its presence. However, it has a special meaning for me. I have tried to live a day-to-day life so that my “wadachi” is distinct from others as itwere a flash of light or the special odor of sweat resulting from intelligent and physical hard workthat wove into my “wadachi.” This may serve as a small milestone for others who may follow
and overwrite it before it disappears. As such, I would be very happy if my “wadachi” can serve
such a function. Mitsuaki Nishibuchi

No. 77017

017“Walk.” I used to serve as an academic advisor for WHO/FAO while
affiliated with CSEAS. Upon completion of each specific mission in
Geneva, advisors were allowed to take a short holidays. I took up thechallenge to hike the trails around the Matterhorn and surrounding highmountains.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

CSEAS NEWSLETTER

Picture on this page

A Lifelong Quest to Learn
From the Indonesian People:
An Interview with Prof. Kosuke Mizuno
Mizuno, Kosuke (Professor CSEAS)
Dianto Bachriadi (Guest Scholar CSEAS)
Okamoto, Masaaki (Professor CSEAS)

Professor Mizuno is an economist who has devoted 24 years to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) where hestarted as an assistant professor (1996) and rose to the position of director for four years (2007-2011). This directorship was anembryonic period for internationalizing CSEAS and resulted in the successful launch of a global Center of Excellence (COE)program (2007-11). His research has been a long-term commitment to transforming academic paradigms from the perspective of
temperate areas of the Western countries and Japan to those more attuned to the Asian tropics and African realities.
As a teacher he has inspired students inside and outside of Japan to study Southeast Asia. Over the years, he has served as avisiting scholar at the Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and contributed to forging
strong academic networks with universities in Indonesia. Utilizing not only the Indonesian language, but also Sundanese andDutch, he has published numerous and meticulous fieldwork-based work on the importance of the non-agricultural sector in ruralvillages in Java, history-dependent complex issues on land certificates in rural societies, and urban labor issues. He has led a teamof researchers from different academic backgrounds to research societies living in peat areas in Riau, Indonesia, and the results
were published as a book on peat fire issues, both in Japanese and English. In this interview, conducted by Dianto Bachriadi andOkamoto Masaaki, he reflects on his life as a researcher. The interview was conducted in Bahasa Indonesian.

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77018

Dianto Bachriadi (DB): Prof. Mizuno thank you foryour time and willingness to be interviewed
today…
Kosuke Mizuno (KM): Yes, I’m also thankful…
DB:
Let’s have brief overview of your observations of more than 30 years of conducting research on Indonesia, and what wemight be able to conclude from these longexperiences. I remember that around the1980s, you started with a study on small
industries in Majalaya, West Java. You thenalso studied labor and land affairs in great
detail. Your most recent study is even moreinteresting, dealing with the environment

KM:
DB:

KM:

relating to land affairs, specifically peatland
restoration.
Yes, I have also been interested in the macro economy.
First, based on your 30 years of observation, what do you think can be concluded
about small- and medium-scale industrial
development in Indonesia—especially inthe context of economic transformation inrural areas?
Small- and medium-sized industries in Indonesia possess power, especially familybusinesses. This strength lies in the ability
to develop many kinds of initiatives in order

DB:

KM:

DB:

the city, are large. This is not just contribution to GDP, but also from labor intake.
This micro sector, with all its dynamics, canbe called an independent economic sector.
It is not just an overflow caused by shifts
from farming to industry. Even initiatives
within this sector are staggering. Although
not many of them are able to compete in
the global market, they do fulfill domestic
consumption needs. This is actually one
aspect of Indonesia’s economic power
which is often overlooked. Some policies
regarding trading made by the Governmentend up beating the micro economy instead.
However, it is amazing that this sector has
survived.
Let me switch the topic to something that
focuses on one of your academic concerns, and is connected with our discussion above, labor. Does this remarkable
informal sector development mean thatthe labor movement in Indonesia is not sostrong? Many labor unions only organize inthe formal industry sector, which is mainly
part of the industrial manufacturing sector.
Meanwhile many laborers working in the informal sector are not represented. Even the
post-1965 labor movement in Indonesia
was no longer able to reach out to laborers
in rural areas, especially farm laborers.
This is how it is… But, we shouldn’t saythat the labor movement in Indonesia is notstrong. At present, it is very strong. The
movement that exists now is quite significant in fighting for labor rights, especiallythose that have joined unions. Labor union
contributions at present deal with a raise in
the minimum wage which is also very significant. The conception of the BPJS Kesehatan (Badan Penyelenggara Jaminan
Sosial Kesehatan/Social Insurance Administration Organization)1 also received many
contributions from laborers.
If you will allow me to interject. The labor
movement in Indonesia was unable, or better said, not successful in fighting for labor
wages in the farming and plantation sectors. Labor wages in these sectors are very
low. Even problems for freelance and daily
workers who neither have payment nor
work safety assurance, have never been
considered to be a major problem within019

1. Indonesia’s National Healthcare Insurance System

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

to overcome various problems. The major
hurdle that small- and medium-sized industries always face is marketing or competition from big industry. But in Indonesia,
small business owners are always searching for countermeasures. One of their major efforts is that they often double up as
sellers, so that they can obtain more profit.
This means that business then stabilizes.
Furthermore, they are also creative in diversifying their methods and products. They
try a lot of new things until they find a business pattern that can provide family stability
and allow their business to grow. However,this does not necessarily mean that business growth goes from small to medium
and then medium to large. Growth here
can also mean that business stays small(i.e. micro) but also diversifies.
In villages, small business or industry isalways combined with agricultural activity.
So, once again, its survival is very strong.
Many small businesses are those in the informal sector; this may be informal tradeor services, which are, in reality, the economic power of the people in Indonesia. It
isn’t big industries which form the pillar ofIndonesian economy, but small and more
often than not informal businesses, whose
resiliency is strong. This is a huge contribution to Indonesia’s economy.
Important economic transformation in villages is not just a shift from a farm-based
economy to an industrial one. It would be
more accurate to say that development isfrom a farm-based economy to a non-farmform. And the latter here refers more to the
manufacturing industry. The growing nonfarm-based sector is for services, trading,home-based industries, and of a micro- to
medium-sized scale.
Furthermore, this change does not induce
the village to city migration that depopulates villages. Many villagers remain in theirvillages, and although there are many who
work in the city, many regularly return hometo their villages. Families—especially extended ones—are still prevalent in villages.
However, people staying in cities in order toearn a living also reside in an environmentthat is similar to the village, something akinto a city-village.
Therefore, the various micro-contributions
to the economy, be they in the village or in

KM:

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77DB:020

the labor movement in Indonesia after
1965.
Yes, I agree here. The labor movement’s
contribution to worker rights fulfillment in
the farming and plantation sectors is not
yet significant. However, if we look at some
general trends, a rise in farm and plantationlaborer’s wages does exist. In fact, this issue should be the concern of unions.
As such, Indonesian laborers are not
weak. If somebody says that their power toorganize is mainly in the manufacturing industry sector, and lately is only developingin the services sector in cities, then I agree.
Here we can see a gap and I agree withyou. For example, in the recently growing
palm (palm oil) agro-industry, labor organization is supposedly also strong. But itturns out it is not. The one that does exist is organizing palm farmers. It is true thata great deal of labor organization is concentrated in the manufacturing industry incentral areas such as Bekasi, Karawang,
Tangerang, Batam, Medan, and around
Surabaya, Malang, and Semarang. In Riau,
which has become one of the main palm oil
industrial centers in Indonesia, labor organization is quite weak.
This is interesting as you start talking about
farmers and their unions which you said
are also quite strong in Indonesia. In rural
areas, small businesses and the informal

KM:
DB:

KM:
DB:

KM:

sector have grown as access to land andnatural resources become more restricted.
Many farmers are “petani gurem” (poorsmallholders)…
Yes, correct, petani gurem.
Meanwhile many of the people who are
known as farmers in Indonesia are actually
farm workers. Many of these and petani
gurem are doing double work as informal
workers in the rural areas. They are not organized in farming unions or labor unions.
That is right, they are not organized.
Many labor unions located in the city or
urban areas are only concerned with therights of their members. It is the same withexisting farmer unions, many of which only
organize land owning farmers and are only
concerned with the rights of their members. This phenomenon demonstrates two
failures. Firstly, that these labor unions areway too divided and trapped in movement
formalization per sector. Whereas as you
have explained, many laborers or farmers
are doing several jobs. Secondly, in general, these unions only think about theirmembers. In other words, existing unions
do not perceive that many proletarians inurban or rural areas are not organized.
They cannot be equal in that way. Let’stake an example from the FSPMI (Federasi
Serikat Pekerja Metal Indonesia/Federationof Indonesian Metal Workers Union) led by

DB:

021

1. Agrarian Legislation

KM:

interesting thing is the fact that this immense inequality that can be found everywhere and doesn’t create a widening social anxiety even though that could induce
a more transformative change, especiallyin rural areas. I would like to connect thisphenomenon back to the problem of social
movements organization that you raised,and also to the small and medium businesssectors including the informal jobs sector.
With BAL 1960, it was generally positive.
That is, local customs, which become thebasis of land ownership rights in Indonesia,
are very revolutionary. There is also a rule
about land distribution. Why is the principleof land ownership rights of the state sostrongly stated in BAL 1960? It is due toits objective of distributing state land andcorrecting the heavily unequal land-owning
structure. State owned land and land thatwas largely owned were redistributed during the Soekarno era. Unfortunately, theprogram failed. It even became one of thereasons for political backlash which ended
in violence and mass murder in rural areas.
The violence, terror, and mass murder left
deep trauma among people. Thus, in many
places, even now in rural areas, it is difficult to talk about land reform, as well as
movements organization with the objectiveof land reform.
There are also problems between author-

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

KM:
DB:

Said Iqbal that grows because they pay attention to outsourced and contracted labor.
They are also concerned with minimum
wages, not only for factory and organizedfactory labor. The effect of this minimum
wage demand spread everywhere. Thereis also the BPJS, whose contribution wasquite strong. This is not just with the FSPMI,
but also other labor unions. With the founding of the BPJS, or the present day nationalsocial security system, laborers from theformal sector are not the only ones receiving help. Those who work in the informal
sector, be that in urban or rural areas, havereceived great benefits from this social security. This large transformation did not justcome from intellectuals or NGOs, but fromlaborers themselves.
This movement came from every sector
and every group was concerned with thefate of others. Laborers, for example were
not only concerned with the fate of theirgroup. The effect of their concerns andmovement spread everywhere, to both thenon-manufacturing and non-labor sector.
It spread everywhere in spite of a lack ofcommunication between them as a whole.
Yet, if we take a look at when there is land
condemnation, there must be communication locally. Thus, social movements inIndonesia have always existed, in regards
to land rights, labor itself, women, or students. They have communicated with eachother, although this communication wasprobably not so intense.
Please let me shift the questions to landownership. As we know, Indonesia has
Undang-Undang Agraria1, the Basic Agrarian LAW 1960 (BAL) which is quite popular.
This is a law that dignifies farmers, wanting
to provide them with a strong foundation.
Yes, it is a very positive law.
However, we also know that currently, theGini index of land ownership is very high.
If we only input households that own land
as a denominating factor in the calculation,
the Gini ratio is 0.56. That is already a substantially large number. If we input landlesspeasants into the calculation, the number
becomes 0.7, even larger. This means thatBAL 1960 is not being implemented. The

ities and the people in the matter of landownership, especially state land. These
problems should have been resolved bynow. The rights of those in extensive stateland should be distributed or simply begiven to the people. Land is often workedby the people, yet, to date there exists noformal proof of right. Authorities should nottake land which has been taken or workedby the people, and then give HGU (Hak
Guna Usaha/Cultivation Rights) or the concession for HTI (Hutan Tanaman Industri/Industrial Forests).
We also have to think about other strategies due to the appearance of patterns ofde-agrarianism and de-peasantization. As I
have stated, the economic shift in Indonesia’s rural areas from farming to non-farming does occur. Yet, it is not in the context
of shifting from rural to urban areas; instead
we see a proliferation of non-farming activity and this is substantial. In the ‘80s, forexample, the difference between the poorand rich in rural areas was clearly related
to land ownership. The ones who possesslarge tracts of land will have much income
including that from non-farming. The ones
with little or no land, their non-farming in-come is also small. That was the patternof the last two decades. Now this haschanged somewhat. Farming labor, or people who own small amounts of land can obtain a bigger income from non-farming activity. They can even make a larger amountcompared to farmers who own land but arecompletely dependent upon income fromfarming.
Therefore, what is interesting in Indonesia is that such inequality is not corrected
through structural approaches, such as
equalizing land ownership. What grows inrural areas is the informal sector driven by
local initiatives. ‘Informal’ itself does not always mean poor, small or in decline.
Aid from the government is very limited.
In the context of the people’s economy inIndonesia, they have been struggling on
their own for a long time. The government
pays them little attention. This has given
more to big industries. There is also muchland which the state has given to companies that has actually been worked by thepeople.
They cannot just chase away the people
who have been working the land. Yet, neither has the government given the land

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77

022

DB:

KM:

023

show slow growth.
This conclusion is interesting. Yes, colonialism left a legacy of inequality. For the morethan 30 years of the New Order, plus two
decades after the reformation bringing us
to the present, inequality still continues forwong cilik (peasants). Yet, the people always resist.
So, if we want to continue the line of thinking here, the idea of an Indonesia that depends on being a raw materials provider iswrong. The richness of natural resourcesin Indonesia should have been used todevelop its economy. Actually, if we scrutinize this, the conception of industrializationand economic development that occurredin Japan is also incorrect. Due to the dependency on raw material from overseas,
Japan’s farming sector is now stagnant.
Nobody wants to do farming. Villages stagnate and only the elderly remain behind inrural areas. Industrialization in Japan also
depends heavily on energy supplies fromother countries, such as coal from Indonesia. Meanwhile Indonesia is busy providing raw materials for export, ‘forgetting’its own domestic needs, which are large.
The exploitation of raw materials leads toenvironmental destruction and the de-industrialization in Indonesia. As such, bothindustrialization in Japan and dependenceCenter for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

to these people. This has always been asource of trouble. People become anxious,
because there is no certainty over land
rights. This is a colonial legacy which Indonesia has to finish. But the reality showsthat ‘resolutions’ are more often than notbrought about by the people. Where is thegovernment?
Meanwhile industrialization that has longsupported large companies is not developing as well as expected. Even Indonesia is
still dependent upon providing raw industrial materials to other nations. There is no
significant value added, and even natural
resources are increasingly destroyed asthey have been exploited greatly. Take Japan for example, it’s economy develops
through industrialization and many of its
materials originate from Indonesia. So whatis this phenomenon? If it is said that there
is industrialization and economic development, the truth is one-sided—economic
development is “represented” by Japan,
yet in the background rests Indonesia.
But it is not only Japan that depends on
Indonesia’s “support” in the sense of taking Indonesia’s natural resources. Other industrial countries are the same. However, inthe context of unequal economic relations
like these, what is interesting is that thepeople’s economy is able survive and even

DB:

KM:

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77on raw material export in Indonesia are notthe ideal patterns of development.
So, we have started talking about the Indonesia-Japan relationship. Your explanationis very interesting. Just a few week ago weheld a large meeting here1, for researchers and observers of Indonesia in Japan.
As a Japanese researcher who has been
intensely observing Indonesia, what is lacking in Japanese researchers’ perspective
on Indonesia as a research subject?
I wouldn’t say lacking… but there needs to
be attention, especially for junior researchers, on the historical relationship between
Japan and Indonesia. Japan invaded Indonesia and committed many “crimes.”
Things like this must be acknowledged. But
we also need to remember that the JapanIndonesia relationship is very close in many
respects. Development in Indonesia has
many connections with Japan. Researchers in Japan should think about making
concrete contributions to the solution of
the many complicated problems that Indonesia faces. Don’t just observe. It is more024

1. Conference of the Association of Indonesian Scholars
in Japan held 16 December, 2018. http://kapalindonesia-jepang.blogspot.com

DB:

meaningful if both nations think of solutions
together. So, there must have been many
Indonesian students studying in Japan at
the presentations and discussions in themeeting you just mentioned. I would suggest that we should have discussions andpresentations done in Indonesian as well,and not only Japanese and English. In thatway, we can build a relationship together
to solve problems in both countries simultaneously. But I was very thankful that themeeting happened.
Another thing is that Japanese researchers
should give more attention to Indonesia…
sometimes research is not deep enough.
This is because they only discuss things
with fellow Japanese. We should start todevelop a deeper discussion with Indonesians. Hopefully this will develop more later
on, and not only at CSEAS. We have many
relations with Indonesia, so it should beeasy to do this. In other regions, however, it
is not so easy.
For more than 30 years you have worked
together with and worked on Indonesia.
We all understand deeply that Indonesia isyour second home. Over these years what
has been the most impressive and what

KM:

DB:

KM:

I still spoke the Seto dialect, which is different from how people in Nagoya speak. So,
if we go back to local power, I can imagine
and understand the world from a Seto person’s perspective. However, now I am quite
old. If I go back to Seto and try to develop
the city, surely there are many things to bedone, but my friends from elementary andjunior high school days have already takencare of that. So I don’t really think I need togo back there. Yes, I would like to do what
I can do together with Indonesian locals instead.
Okamoto Masaaki picks up the Interview here toquestion Prof. Mizuno on his time at CSEAS.

025

Okamoto Masaaki (OM): I would like to change thetopic somewhat. Before, we were talking
about research that has been conducted forover 30 years. Now I would like to talk about
CSEAS itself. I also would like to ask, why
are you interested in Indonesia?
KM: That is not hard to answer (smile). When I
entered the undergraduate program at
Kyoto University in 1974, there was alreadya condition in Japan that urged students togo abroad. For example, there was advertisement “travel to Bombay for 36,000 yen”
and so on. Also, the school of “dependency theory” and movements against it weregrowing at that time. In January 1974, there
was an anti-Japan riot in Indonesia. I was
still an undergraduate at that time. Before
that, there was also a riot when Prime Minister Tanaka visited Thailand. There wereAnti-Japan sympathies everywhere. Then I

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

was the most challenging aspects of yourwork in Indonesia?
The most impressive… In the New Order era
I needed to be really careful as we were notfree to talk and go everywhere. We were always under observation, be it in Indonesia orin here Japan. We could not have open discussions freely. It is my wish that Indonesia
will never return to that era…
Conducting research in villages too, must
be done carefully, so that the people continue to be friendly. The challenge of doing
research in Indonesia is that you need to beclose to the people. When you are, they will
cooperate with you a lot. For example, we
did research in a village and needed to ask
about very sensitive matters. We wouldn’t
directly ask how large is your wage? How
many hectares of land do you own? (laughter). We never asked like that. They would
be very troubled by such questions. But because we participated in their daily lives andwe were then accepted, we were able to ask
in detail about all the things we wanted toknow. They even helped us to obtain more
information. I was really thankful.
If you could take another decade or two,
what would you like to do in Japan or Indonesia?
If I were to continue actively, I would stillwant to be closer—so that I am completely involved—with Indonesia. Closer to thepeople, closer to the economy, closer to its
problems. I want to be with them, I want to
be together with the local Indonesian people
and search for a way out of those problems
together.
You see… My job of understanding Indonesia for more than 30 years has strengthened my faith in the power of local people.
As proof, this whole time, developing initiatives came from the people, especially local
people. The power is in them. When I began
to realize the importance of local people, I
started to think about my own people. I am
from Seto city, where there is a ceramicindustry. Actually, I’m a descendant of ceramic industry businessmen. But from junior high school through to high school until
university, my activity and attention strayedfurther from Seto City… (laughter), although
my Seto-ness is still strong. When I was inhigh school, people laughed at me becausethought, if there is “dependency” and you
want to cut it off, what should you do? So,
I was so interested in understanding this. In
my opinion, this was of great interest compared to understanding things that weredeveloping in the Western world, such asin Europe, England, Germany, and France.
These things were not interesting for me.
You must go to Asia or Africa. So, I wanted
to go to India and also to Africa. Yet, formy first step, I went to Malaysia. By coincidence my father was working in the country
at that time. Then when I was taking a walkin Kuala Lumpur, I heard a lot of The Carpenters and The Beatles’ songs. They werevery popular, yes… I thought, ah, this is justthe same as Tokyo! I was a bit disappointed. After that there was my first experiencedrinking coconut water in Kuala Lumpur.
I was impressed. “Ah, this is coconut, it’s
special. Different.” Also by coincidence, myfather was sent to do some work in Indonesia. We went together to Indonesia. It
was around the end of July 1974, I was still
an undergraduate student. By the time wewent to Indonesia, in Jakarta, hooo... forme, it was remarkable…

I searched for a chance to explore thecity by myself. Salemba Street was tramelled with becak and full of kaki lima.
Hoooo… Then Pasar Baru in Bandung, it
was like a market that floated upon trash…
(laughter). The smell of chili and terasi androtten vegetables was pungent, yes…
(more laughter).
The songs I heard were very different…
Perhaps it was dangdut1. Kuala Lumpur
was not interesting. But Jakarta and Bandung were remarkable. There were a lot of
hawkers. If you want to call it poor, yes, you
can call it that. If you want to say it was ahectic place, it was… But when I observed,
deeply, there were something extraordinary in that “poverty” and “hectic-ness.”
It seemed like there was always hope. At
that time, I thought this is very interesting.
I thought at the time－since I did not knowmuch yet－there must be only a few people
working on all of this. After that I went backto Kyoto.
OM:
KM:

OM:
KM:

CSEAS NEWSLETTEROM:

How long was the visit?
Only ten days, but it left and impression
on me. A very, very big impression. After
returning to Japan, I became seriously interested in Indonesia. I canceled my initialplan of going to India and then Africa. I was
stopped in Indonesia, because it was way
too impressive. In November of that year
(1974), Prof. Akira Nagazumi (1929-87)
gave a class on the history of Indonesia.
Here, in Kyoto?
Yes, in Kyoto University. There was a system in which the students were able to
make proposals for extraordinary lecturers.
So Yasuo Uemura, a graduate student atthat time, proposed to the Faculty of Letters to invite Prof. Nagazumi from Tokyo
University. So, I listened to Prof. Nagazumi’s lecture. Of course, it was very interesting. But Prof. Nagazumi stated that the “tanam paksa2 system is a good system, theobjective was good, but the method waswrong”. Waah… How come…? I thought,
are all university professors like this, so
cold? (laughter from all present)
So, you were disappointed?

No. 77026

1. A genre of Indonesian folk/traditional music
2. Enforced planting

KM:

027

1. Referring to Salemba Campus. In the present UI has
two campus, one in Salemba (Jakarta) and one in Depok(West Java). But considering the time Prof. Mizuno wasthere, it was the period when UI only had one campus.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Not disappointed… But, even a very famous
professor had his flaws. It strengthened mywill to conduct research in Indonesia. Indonesia became even more interesting tome. Then I started to learn the Indonesianlanguage. But, it was hard to find books.
I bought a book titled Indoneshia-go Yonshuukan (Learn Indonesian in four weeks).
It was very basic… So, I took private lessons. I also memorized Indonesian words
on the train. In March of my third year as anundergraduate, I went to Indonesia after I
had saved some money. I traveled in Indonesia. Then I joined a lecture in UI (University of Indonesia). It was a lecture from an
economics professor. There was an uproar,because a foreigner entered the class in UISalemba1. I traveled to villages. I did manythings. I also tried riding a bus from Grogol,
Jakarta to Medan (Northern Sumatera). At
that time there were no bridges between thefour big rivers in Sumatra. Vehicles crossed
the river using rafts. I became more interested in doing research on Indonesia.
I started to think about researching the
economy of Indonesia. So, I had to enter
the faculty of economics in Kyoto University. I needed to understand theories. WhenI joined lectures in the faculty of economics
in UI, I was exposed to modern economics
or neoclassical theory. Actually, I learned
Karl Marx's theories. In the faculty of economics in Kyoto University, both schools
existed. I chose the Marxist economy. But
I realized that my knowledge of Marxist
economy was “less useful” in Indonesia,
because I could not discuss it with Indonesians. I thought it was “less useful” if I could
not interact with researchers or economists
from Indonesia. So, I changed, I studied
and mastered neoclassical economic theory. It turned out that neoclassical economics had a lot of mathematics in it. So when I
came back from Indonesia, I ended up nothaving time to learn about Indonesia. I used
all my time learning about neoclassical economic theories.
When I took the master’s course exam
in Kyoto University, I did not pass because

OM:

KM:

of the lack of my preparation. But coincidentally there was an exam to become a memberof staff at the Institute of Development Studies(IDE), and I passed that exam. In April 1978, I
began working as a researcher there. In IDE, I
made the acquaintance of Prof. Hiroyoshi Kano
and others. Only then I found out that there weremany great people in IDE: Indonesian experts.
Please allow me one more question. You weredirector of CSEAS for four years between 2006
until 2010. What was the main challenge thatyou experienced?
There were a lot of challenges. At the time, when
I joined CSEAS (1996), the faculty meeting wasattended by only male members. Yet in IDE at
this time, there were a lot of women. So, when
I became Director, I started to increase female
research staff.
CSEAS was also authoritarian. There weremany classes; those of professors, associate
professors, joshu (assistant professors), and allvery different. I thought, I should try to eradicate
these while I held the position of director. Also,
there was a huge gap in positions between
professors and junior researchers. CSEAS has

OM:

DB:
KM:

OM:

many junior researchers and also postdoctoral
researchers, but it was as if they were not actually working for the Center. Their position was
unclear. So, I introduced the tokunin kenkyuin(affiliate researcher system).
This was actually the idea of Professor Ando
Kazuo, but I directly applied it. As a result of this,CSEAS saw an increase in many unwaged junior researchers, however they were recognized
as affiliated CSEAS staff. Now everybody is on
the staff list. To date, this system is still in operation. That was my first big reform.
Yes, I also asked Hayami Yoko (current directorof CSEAS) what she thought your achievement
as director was. She said that the atmosphere
has been more flexible since you were the director (laughter from all).
I sense a strong spirit of egalitarianism, attention
paid to all, to all those who are at CSEAS.
I myself did not really know how apparent thechange was. But thinking with locals – as when
doing research, and with all the groups here,that should be emphasized.
You probably already have plans for the future.
After retiring from CSEAS, what kind of research

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77

028

KM:

OM:

KM:

OM:

(consensual decision making) is actually rooted
in Indonesia. An Islam that places stresses onbhinneka tunggal ika is actually growing in Indonesia. It is true that the political discourse nowadays has started to destroy it all. The politics offighting for resources between the elites is developing more than the thinking to improve thepeople’s economy. But again, that is the challenge. A challenge to which we have to search
for a solution together. Let us not forget thatthe economy of Indonesia is quite developed,
although it has many challenges. The people’s
economy is surviving. If those challenges canbe solved and overcome, Indonesia will develop
even more.
Insya Allah…Thank you for your time today.

Translated from Indonesian by Cahaya Putri
Editing: Mario Lopez, Okamoto Masaaki
Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

plans do you have?
The matter of land, labor, and capital is the main
topic in Marxist economics, but I am actuallymore interested in institutional economics. If we
can explain the three and their relations clearly,
only then can we explain Indonesia’s economy.
So, I want to write a book about labor and land.
And also something about capital or a comprehensive overview of the Indonesian economy.
This must be done.
Do you have any wishes for Indonesia? At present, the social-economic gap is widening, Islamic issues are also problematic and ideology
politics are being played up greatly, especially inthe run up to the coming elections. What is yourwish for Indonesia?
My wish for Indonesia? Indonesia has good traditions. Populist ideas are still strong among thepeople. The bhinneka tunggal ika (unity in diversity) spirit is also strong. The popularism tradition
that is bhinneka tunggal ika and musyawarah029

Japan-ASEAN Platform forTransdisciplinary Studies
S

ince the mid-2000s, the Center for Southeast
Asian Studies (CSEAS) has initiated a series oflarge-scale projects that have been funding by theJapanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Between 2007-11,
CSEAS hosted a Global COE program titled “inSearch of a Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia andAfrica” which aimed at developing an integrated multidisciplinary approach to the ‘humanosphere’ (inJapanese Seizon Kiban 生存基盤 or literally translated as the foundations for survival). This term refers toboth the temporal and spatial dimensions that incorporate the entirety of material and energy circulationof the earth and systems of governance toward its
sustainability. The above program was a key turning
point in the mid-2000s in comparatively researching
the geosphere, biosphere and human societies intropical regions and tackle both regional and global
issues. Leading on from this CSEAS received additional funding for a subsequent initiative, “Southeast
Asian Studies for Sustainable Humanosphere” (201116) which further refined inquiries as to what could
constitute a sustainable humanosphere through context specific knowledge in Southeast Asian societies
and theorize through empirically driven research fromthe ground up.
From 2016, CSEAS has continued its push to
explore multidisciplinary dialogues within and beyond

academia with the “Japan-ASEAN Platform forTransdisciplinary Studies” (2016-2021). This program
has been set up to advance transdisciplinary
research that integrates academic, governmental,
and civil societies initiatives and create new collaborative research ventures that bring together the expertise of scholars on Southeast Asia, scientists andengineers, and Japanese and ASEAN political andbusiness communities.
In particular this platform emphasizes the establishment of new relationships, especially between
Japan and Southeast Asia and to develop projectbased or problem-solving “wisdom” from local realities through empirically ground research. One of thefeatures of this approach has been prioritize local
realities and focus on the production of new knowledge through synergistic research with local
researchers and practitioners on the basis of an
equal partnerships.
One of the defining features of all these projects
has been to set up a post-doctoral system and invite
in young up-coming scholars who are carrying out
cutting edge research who often work closely in collaboration with both faculty and local researchers. In
this special feature, we introduce a number of theyounger scholars and project members who are currently working on different projects within the current
Japan-ASEAN platform initiative.

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77030

Experiencing Transport in Kota Medan,
Indonesia
Soo Chen Kwan
Post Doctoral Fellow, CSEAS

Introduction
Medan (Fig. 1) is the third largest city in Indonesia
after Jakarta, and Surabaya. It is the capital city of
the North Sumatra province, with a population of 2.5
million. Compared to other big cities in Indonesia,
Medan has the second highest vehicle ownershipper person which consists mainly of motorcycles(73%) (Joewondo et al. 2007). Out of all vehicles inMedan, only one percent is public transport vehicles(Project Pipeline 2018). Due to this it is no wonderthat traffic congestion is no longer restricted to peak
hours but at all times in the city, along with air pollution and traffic noise (Surbakti et al. 2011). This article

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

031

Fig. 1 Map of Medan city with its public transport network(Source: Bappeda Medan, 2018)

describes my experience of Medan transportation
during a recent field trip.
Medan is only one hour flight from Kuala Lumpur,
which means it is nearer to Malaysia than to anothercity, like Jakarta in Indonesia which takes about twohours. At the airport, travelers can be seen waiting tocatch the shared taxi to Parapat, where the famous
Lake Toba (the largest supervolcanic lake in theworld) lies. Connecting Kualanamu airport to Medan's city center is the Airport Raillink Service, which
is proudly the first airport train service in Indonesia.
The station building looked very new, and the service
comes once every hour. Tickets were given in theform of barcodes, which could only be bought fromvending machines using credit or debit cards at IDR
100,000 per person. On the train that took 30 to 45
minutes, local housings and settlements could beseen along the journey.
Arriving at the rail station in the city, I immediately
snapped out my mobile phone and tapped on thelocal popular ride hailing application: Grab. In Indonesia, ride hailing transport services are an extremely
thriving business. The three companies that offer
services in Indonesia are Grab, Gojek and Uber
(Oxford Business Group 2018). Both Grab and Uber
are also available in Malaysia; while Gojek is an Indonesian local business. The competition between
Grab and Gojek is especially intense, with all kinds ofservices being provided. People can choose to travelusing the cheaper and faster GrabBike/Go-Ride or
the more comfortable GrabCar/GoCar. Other
extended services include delivery of food, groceries,
courier, and even pharmaceuticals. Such services
offer great conveniences to locals and visitors likeme. The entire journey from pick up to reaching destination is tracked through GPS real time in the online
application, which ensures both efficiency as well as
passenger safety to some extent. At the end of thejourney, fees can be paid using the cashless online
payment system (OVO) in Indonesia, saving the trouble for drivers to return small change. This businessFig. 2 Ride hailing bike and motor rickshaw in front of the famous Tip Top restaurant inMedan heritage area.

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77has offered mass job opportunities for locals, andalternatives to travel in an affordable way without
owning one’s own transport.
Despite all these conveniences, I wonder how thisbusiness changes the local transport system inMedan, and its long-term impacts. In particularly,
people’s travel behavior in terms of number of trips,
kilometers travelled and travel mode could significantly influence the amount of urban emissions forboth greenhouse gases and air pollutants. In other
cities with sufficient public transit infrastructures, ridehailing service has been seen as the savior for the
first and last mile connectivity, which could encourage the ridership of public transits (Bliss 2018). However, in the case of Medan city where transit infrastructures are still developing slowly, how do ridehailing services contribute to urban sustainability
aside from its socio-economic benefits? Besides, theoperation of the service itself could contribute to theextra exhaust fumes. What do the ride hailing drivers
do on their vehicles while waiting for a customer’s
call? Even an idle vehicle could emit fumes from running engines. And in addition, more trips may havebeen produced from the deadhead journeys frompicking up passengers and returning from destinations (Schaller 2018). The local transport agency may
need to consider where to place ride hailing services
in the urban sustainability framework when more
public transit options are built in the city (Sperling etal. 2018).
Out on the road, I was immediately greeted by thehectic traffic of the city center. Incessant honking
filled the air, which was a way of warning to ‘be careful’ from concerned drivers. However, local people
along the road seemed oblivious to it. The mixed
mode traffic consisted of automobiles, motorbikes(many in the green uniforms of Gojek or Grab), Angkot (local public transport), motor rickshaws (becak),and most noticeably, nonchalant pedestrians trying
to cross the road (Fig. 2). Most of the roads were
without lane lines, as drivers crisscrossed against
each other to make their way forward in congested
traffic. According to Joewondo et al. (2007), there
was only 24,533m2 road markings in the city with
3,079km of roads. I was both amazed and worried
for the owner of a motor rickshaw which was goingin the opposite direction of the traffic. However, it
seemed to be nothing of concern as drivers skillfully
avoided it. For the pedestrians, crossing the roads
even those with traffic lights was dangerous as somemotorbikes just ignored the signals. At places without traffic lights, people were forced to cross theroads just like that. I tried to cross roads a few times
which took forever as I waited for the time when
there were fewer cars, which never came. It was
actually safer to cross during heavy traffic than lesstraffic as vehicles tend to speed along the way. My
acquaintance in Medan said that you need skills andbravery to cross the roads in Medan. I never grasped
the necessary skills, and had to muster great bravery
standing in the middle of traffic trying to cross roads.
The destinations in the city centre itself were actually very near to each other in its dense arrangement(ITDP 2014). However, due to an unfavorable walking
environment among the traffic noise, I believe people
would not choose to walk. Traffic lights were scarceeven in the city, and were mostly designated at locations for vehicle traffic (such as crossroads) and notpedestrians. At some point along the walking path,
one would definitely need to cross the busy road to
get to a destination. Furthermore, crime was a concern in Medan especially snatch robberies. I had
been warned several times to be careful walking in
the city. Other than the local train which I have yet to
explore, another public transport in Medan was the
Angkot, a van-like vehicle with opened doors forpassengers. The Angkot picked up and dropped off
passengers literally anywhere on the road along theway. There were different numbers and colors to thevan, representing different companies. However, thefastest, and perhaps the most secure way to know
which way the Angkot was going, was asking thedriver directly himself as there were no official guideto the routes of the system. There had been numerous times that I saw Angkot drivers maneuvering
recklessly on the busy roads. As for the motor rickshaws (I could hardly see any bicycle rickshaws),
they were another kind of local transport unique toMedan. They could be seen everywhere in the city
looking or waiting for customers beside the roads.
Sometimes, they charged extravagantly for a shortjourney, especially if they caught a hint that you were
not a local. Prices had to be negotiated with the rick-032

shaw driver before the journey. Due to such inconvenience, it is no wonder that people were shifting fromthe traditional transport to ride hailing services as it issafer and more cost efficient with fixed rates (Smith
2018). If the local public transit sector still does not
improve and develop fast enough, I believe the ridehailing service will continue to flourish rapidly andtake over the role of public transport among the local
people in no time.

mass public transit system in Medan (Project Pipeline
2018). However, these public transport systems will
be incomplete without well-connected pedestrianlanes especially at the destination end. At least, as astart, it would be nice to see some measures for safe
pedestrian crossings at the city centre on my next
visit.

References

Conclusion
The transport system in Medan city is still very muchdependent on automobiles, both cars and motorbikes. The increase of both ride-hailing drivers andusers casts doubts, on their roles in the long-term
urban transport sustainability. Ultimately, it is about
reducing the vehicle kilometers travelled rather thanautomobile ownership or passenger kilometers travelled in the aim of achieving sustainability. Hopefully
the local planning agency will give more thought toincorporating an organized public transit system andwalking infrastructures in the future planning ofMedan city. This will create job opportunities as well
as offering more travel options that can compete withthe ride hailing service. Currently, a 21km Light RailTransit project is being planned, which will be integrated with Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) to form aBliss, L. Aug 3, 2018. Where Ride-Hailing and Transit Go Hand
in Hand. CityLab. https://www.citylab.com
Institute for Transportation and Development Policies (ITDP).
Apr 29, 2014. A Look at Life and Transit in Medan, Indonesia. https://www.itdp.org
Oxford Business Group. 2018. Popularity of Ride-hailing Apps
Surges in Indonesia. https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com
Project Pipeline. 2018. Medan City Urban Transport Project.
https://pipeline.gihub.org
Schaller, B. Jul 25, 2018. The New Automobility: Lyft, Uber andthe Future of American Cities. http://www.schallerconsult.
com
Sperling, D., Brown, A., D’Agostino, M. Jul 5, 2018. Can RideHailing Improve Public Transportation Instead of Undercutting It? https://www.scientificamerican.com
Smith, M. Mar 25, 2018. Ride-hailing Apps Run IndonesianTuk-tuks Off Road. https://phys.org
University of California Davis. Aug 31, 2018. Ride-hailing Apps
Like Uber are Reducing Public Transport Use in the US. But
They Could Do the Opposite. https://www.citymetric.com

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

033

Can Mangroves Protect Coastal Communities
from Super Typhoons?
Moises Neil V. Seriño
Visiting Fellow, Japan-ASEAN Platform

Fig. 1 Coastal communities located in the mangrove area.

Introduction

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77034

A few weeks before Christmas, on November 8,
2013, Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan)
made landfall in the Philippines. It was touted as “oneof the strongest typhoons to hit land.” Several islandsin the central Philippines recorded tremendous
losses in lives, property, and livelihood and the region
experienced severe devastation due to strong winds
and storm surges brought by the super typhoon.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Council (NDRRMC 2015), supertyphoon Haiyan devastated a total of 12,139 villages
in 591 municipalities and 57 cities in 44 provinces,
affecting mostly central Philippines. A total of 4.1 million people were displaced and an estimate of 6,293
casualties was recorded with 28,689 injured and1,061 missing as of April 3, 2014 (NDRRMC 2015).
The cost of damage was estimated to reach PHP 40
billion in agriculture, infrastructure, and private property damage (NEDA 2014).
On a personal level, the typhoon destroyed our village. Our house made of light materials was wiped
out. In addition, the typhoon sent back coconut
farming to year zero because most of coconut trees
were cut by the damaging winds.
In the midst of the chaos that came in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, there were stories on how
mangroves saved people from death and theirhouses from destruction. Anecdotal reports andobservations of local inhabitants in coastal villages
have highlighted the usefulness of mangrove forests
in reducing the damages brought by typhoon-related
disasters. These personal accounts highlighted theundervalued protection service provided by mangroves. According to Das and Vincent (2009), protection against disasters related to typhoons has

been identified as one of the important ecosystemservices provided by mangroves.
But do mangroves really save these coastal villages from the destruction of super typhoon? To findan answer to this question, I, together with a diverse
group of researchers from Visayas State University(VSU) based in Baybay City, Leyte in partnership with
the Economy and Environment Program in Southeast
Asia (EEPSEA), set out to find an answer. We collected data from areas where super typhoon Haiyan
passed through; particularly in the islands of Samar,
Leyte, Bohol, Cebu, Negros, Panay and Palawan.
We used secondary data from municipality offices
and other government agencies.
The team collected data from several coastal villages hit by super typhoon Haiyan and collected dataon damages and mangrove cover. We carefully
selected only those coastal villages with historicalmangrove as part of the sample size because there
were coastal areas where mangroves do not thrive.
Villages where mangroves never occurred due tounfavorable ecological conditions were not includedin the sample. We wanted to value the loss of mangroves and for loss to occur it should have existed in
the first place. We used satellite data to confirm thepresence or absence of mangrove cover in the
coastal areas included in the study. For the historicalmangrove presence, we relied on maps used by the
US Army Map Service in 1944.
Conversion of mangroves areas to aquaculture
ponds and residential areas in the Philippines are themain causes of declining mangrove cover in the
country (Primavera 2000). Mangroves have been disappearing in the country over the past decades anda significant reduction took place in the 1960s and1970s. This is the same decade when aquaculture
was encouraged by the government (Ferrer et al.

Fig. 2 Damages caused by super typhoon Haiyan in our village. It destroyed our houses and coconut trees.

2011). Figure 3 shows that there has been substantial reduction in mangrove cover. This is attributed toincreasing anthropogenic activities in the coastal
areas including urbanization, aquaculture, and thedevelopment of roads and reclamation areas that
resulted in a huge reduction in mangrove area.
The undervaluation of mangrove ecosystem services leads to the continuous degradation of mangrove forests not just in the Philippines, but also
globally. According to Valiela, Bowen, and York
(2001), mangrove forests are one of the world’s mostthreatened major tropical environments. At least 35
percent of the world’s mangrove forests have been
lost over the past two decades. Without changes inpractices, policies, and perceptions of the values ofmangroves, the trend in mangrove forest loss will
likely continue.
To address the objective of this study, we usedthe damage cost approach in valuing the protection
services provided by mangrove ecosystems against
typhoon-related damage. This method takes into
account the actual damage caused by supertyphoons in areas with mangrove forests comparedto the damage in areas with or without reduced
mangrove forest. The damage cost approach evaluates the amount of damage that was averted due toCenter for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

035

Fig. 3 Estimated reduction in mangrove cover from 1944 to 2010.

the presence of mangroves or the damage that could
have occurred if there had been no mangroves.
We used data on 384 coastal villages controllingfor historical mangrove cover and other confounding
village level characteristics in examining the influenceof remaining mangrove vegetation on human deaths
and housing damage. Results show that coastal villages with substantial mangrove cover suffered lessdamage compared to coastal villages with reduced
mangrove cover. This life- and property-saving
effects of mangroves is robust across several specifications suggesting that the remaining mangrove
cover played a significant protective role when supertyphoon Yolanda hit central Philippines. The estimated average cost of saving a life, by retaining theremaining mangrove vegetation, amounts to as muchas USD $302,000 (PHP 15 million) while the estimated reduction in compensation for totally damaged houses is around USD $53,000.
Mangroves provided significant protection to communities. Coastal communities with substantial mangrove cover suffered fewer or lesser casualties andlesser housing damage as compared to coastal
communities with reduced mangrove cover. Our
study finds significant evidence on the protectivefunction of mangroves implying that the remaining
mangrove vegetation reduced the number of deathsand damaged houses during the Yolanda incident.
Mangroves can protect us (our lives, livelihood andproperties) from the damaging effects of typhoons.
Mangroves act as natural barriers in coastal areas,
protecting communities from storm surges, waves,tidal currents, and typhoons. The Philippines is hit byan average of 20 typhoons a year, according to thecountry’s weather bureau. Results of the study suggests that we can use mangroves as a natural
defense against the damaging effects of typhoons.
Mangrove protection and conservation has generated renewed attention as one of the feasible
approaches in providing protection to coastal communities. Policy makers should intensify their efforts

grove cover as there is compelling evidence of its
protective function.
The results of the study have been presented tovarious agencies and local government units to campaign for mangrove protection and prevent further
destruction in the remaining mangrove cover. The
study is also featured in a magazine focusing on
environmental issues. Results of the study have been
published by EEPSEA. This study shows the importance of using natural resources as one of the feasible approaches in mitigating the adverse effects ofclimate change.
Fig. 4 Focus group discussions with coastal communities presenting theresults of our investigation.

to conserve mangrove forests as a long-term strategy in providing protection to coastal communities
and better adaptability to typhoon-related disasters.
This is because more frequent and stronger
typhoons are to be expected due to climate change.
Coastal communities and local governments shouldpreserve and not further degrade remaining man-

Moises Neil V. Seriño is an assistant professor and is currently
the head of the Department of Economics based at Visayas
State University (VSU), Visca, Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in statistics and took his MA in
International Development at International University in Japan,
Niigata in 2009. He finished his Doctorate in Economics at Göttingen University, Germany in 2014 under the supervision ofProf. Stephan Klasen. He teaches economic courses, econometrics, agricultural economics both at the graduate andundergraduate level. His research interests include a variety of
topics including valuing protection services provided by mangroves, enhancing productivity among small-scale vegetable
and coconut farmers, investigating climate resilient agricultural
practices and determinants of household carbon emissions.
Recently, he established a socio-economic research center
based at VSU. The center helps in capacitating researchers inthe Visayas region conduct socio-economic research.

References
Das, S., and Vincent, J. R. 2009. Mangroves Protected Villages
and Reduced Death Toll During Indian Super Cyclone. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(18):7357–7360.
Ferrer, A., Hopanda, J., Orquejo, M., Moscoso, A., and Sadaba,
R. 2011. Reversion of Disused Fishpond Lease Agreement
Areas to Mangrove Forest in Region VI, Philippines. Los
Banos Laguna, Environment and Economy Program forSoutheast Asia (EEPSEA).
National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council(NDRRMC). 2015. Final Report on Effects of Typhoon“Yolanda” (Haiyan), Quezon City, Philippines. http://ndrrmc.
gov.ph/attachments/article/1329/FINAL_REPORT_re_
Effects_of_Typhoon_YOLANDA_(HAIYAN)_06−09NOV2013.
pdf. Accessed on August 2016.
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). 2014. The
Philippines: Fifth Progress Report−Millennium Development
Goals Executive Summary. National Economic Development
Authority, Ortigas, Pasig City.

CSEAS NEWSLETTER

Primavera, J. H. 2000. Development and Conservation of Philippine Mangroves: Institutional Issues. Ecological Economics
35: 91–106.
Valiela, I., Bowen, J., and York, J. 2001. Mangrove Forests: Oneof the World’s Threatened Major Tropical Environments. BioScience 51(8): 807–15.

No. 77

Fig. 5 News article presenting the results of the study.

036

Examining Forests Fires and Their Social Impacts
on Local Communities in Central Kalimantan*
Daisuke Naito
Program Specific Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyoto University

Nina Yulianti
Lecturer, Center for International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of
Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP), Palangka Raya University

Masahiro Kawasaki
Guest Professor, Research Department, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature

Introduction
Peatland degradation and forest fire problems areglobal environmental problems that require understanding both in terms of social and ecological contexts. Tropical forests and peatlands are high in biodiversity and concurrently high carbon areas.
However, climate change and human interventions
including economic development and commercial

logging as well as large-scale plantations are negatively affecting these vulnerable and fragile systems.
Forest and land clearing for agriculture and development and degradation from over-extraction of timberand development of oil palm plantation is leading torapid peat decomposition and an increase in theincidences of forest fires. These in turn, can result in
an increase of carbon dioxide emissions and hazecausing incalculable damage to the economy and tothe health of people in the region. This article reflects
over some of these issues and responses to them inthe context of research currently being conductedjointly by both Japanese and Indonesian researchers.
Towards transdisciplinary research on peatland
restoration

Fig. 1 NASA Worldview, September, 2015
https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/

Since 2016, we have been involved in a large-scale
research project led by Emeritus Prof Kosuke Mizuno(CSEAS) and Associate Prof. Osamu Kozan (CSEAS)
on peatland restoration in Indonesia. CSEAS has along history of committing itself to peatland researchin Indonesia since a previous generation of Japanesescholar took an interest in, and pioneered research in

Photo 1 Burned peatland forest & Solar image
under thick haze conditions in 2015, Central
Kalimantan
Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

037* This article was originally written prior to the large-scale fires that swept over Indonesia in mid-2019.

the country (Furukawa 1992; Abe 1993)1.
Since the initiation of a large-scale G-COE project(2007–11)2, Prof. Mizuno and his team started conducting intensive research in Riau, and the project
now continues a new research initiative entitled“Toward the Regeneration of Tropical Peatland Societies: Establishment of an International Research
Network and Proposals for the Future” (2017–22) at
Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN),
Kyoto.
After forest fires swept across parts of Indonesia
in 2015, the Indonesian government established thePeatland Restoration Agency (Badan Restorasi Gambut (BRG)) and Dr. Haris Gunawan, a graduate of
ASAFAS, and a peatland scientist at Riau University,
was appointed to Deputy of Research and Development, BRG. This relationship led to concluding an
MOU between Kyoto University, RIHN and BRG. The
Kyoto university team participates in this project as
an active support member for research initiatives.
BRG is a government organization empowered to
implement peatland restoration activities in degradedpeatland areas with a mandate to work with local
and international researchers who participate in solving problems on the ground with the aim of restoring
degraded peatland throughout Indonesia.
In 2015, a series of severe forest fires and subsequent haze swept across parts of Indonesia. The
concentration of particulate matter (PM10) in Palangka
Raya (Central Kalimantan) reached extremely high levels. According to technical guidelines for calculating
and reporting as well as air pollution standard index
information, the safe limit for human health PM 10 is<400 ug/m3. If this threshold is passed, the Air Pollution Standard Index (ISPU) is interpreted to be in very
unhealthy and can cause increased sensitivity in

Photo 2 Faculty of Medicine, Palangka Raya, University, 2019

patients with asthma, bronchitis, and other relateddiseases. In particular, haze affects the health of children, pregnant women and the elderly.
To facilitate research on mitigation measures tominimize haze’s impact on health, in February 2019,
an Implementation Agreement was signed between
CSEAS and the Faculty of Medicine, University of
Palangka Raya. Research headed by Dr Donna Kahanjak (Faculty of Medicine), in collaboration with Dr.
Kayo Ueda (Faculty of Engineering and the Graduate
School of Global Environmental Studies) from Kyoto
University will be conducted by both local key
partners.
Air quality monitoring is essential to understandthe risk of haze. However, monitoring stations forparticulate matter such as PM2.5 and CO are limited
in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan. To improve
this situation, our group members, Profs. Masahiro
Kawasaki and Osamu Kozan (Kyoto Univ. and RIHN),
Kenichi Tonokura (Tokyo Univ.), Yutaka Matsumi(Nagoya Univ.), Masafumi Ohashi (Kagoshima Univ.)and Mikinori Kuwata (Nanyang Tech. Univ.) are currently working with the local meteorological and geophysical agency (BMKG Kepala Stasiun: Catur Winarti) and municipal environmental and other relevant
agencies, to assess a low-cost and easy-handling air
quality monitoring system.
The image below in figure 2 shows CO data at
BMKG in Palangka Raya, in which the BG level is
only slightly higher than in the left figure at Buntoi
during the wet season. However, in October during
dry season, a strong increase is seen due to peatland fires in Palangka Raya.
Investigating the causes and impacts of forest
fires and haze

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77038

Fig. 2 The image below in figure 2 shows CO and PM 2.5 data at Palangka
Raya have a strong correlation during this fire season. PM 2.5 levels
are six times higher than the Indonesian guideline for the PM pollution.

The Center for International Forestry Research(CIFOR) is one of the key international research institutions based in Indonesia working on peatland
issues. Since 2017, we started a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries (MAFF) funded project
entitled “Enhancing climate-resilient livelihoods inboreal and tropical high carbon forests and peatlands” with inter-disciplinary teams based in theregion (2017–2020). For collaboration, we work with
the Center for International Cooperation in Sustain-able Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP) asa local partner to implement research on the field.
CIMTROP has been working on peatland issues incollaboration with transdisciplinary stakeholders running workshops and trainings on peatland management and the effects of peatland deforestation on climate change. CIMTROP has also tested theeffectiveness of fire suppressant technology, including firefighting foam and peatland restoration.
In collaboration with CIFOR and CIMTROP, University of Palangka Raya, we have been working onforest fires and haze in Central Kalimantan with atransdisciplinary research team of experts fromJapan and Indonesia. The objectives of the MAFFCIFOR project are as follows:
1) To understand the policies and socio-economic
drivers of deforestation, climate events and forest
fires in boreal and tropical forests and peatland
ecosystems;2) To investigate the causes of fires in forests andpeatlands in order to assess the effects of various
land use and land management systems at local
and regional levels;
3) To examine the various impacts of climate change
and variation as well as of forest fires on local livelihoods and land and resource use practices;
4) To investigate appropriate climate-resilient livelihood options in the region through collaboration
with stakeholders at local and national levels andto explore specific climate change mitigation andadaptation actions.
Our team has focused on investigating patterns ofland-use change through various types of landbased development and the impacts of forest fires inboreal and tropical forests and peatlands. Furthermore, we are collecting social and ecological baseline data at research sites and aim to assess theimpacts of fire and haze events on local livelihood.
So far, we have focused on the social impact of for-est fires including those on livelihood and health.
Through these activities, local researchers are trying
to minimize the effects of forest fires and air quality
monitoring and mitigation measures.
CIFOR’s research work focuses on field researchand typically consists of Focus Group Discussions(FGDs) and a household survey. At each site, three
FGDs will be organized with key informants. The
objective of the FGDs is to gain an overview on
demography, land use, and livelihood strategies aswell the impact of forest fires and climate change
events, including risk coping strategies and how local
people adapt to and mitigate activities in forest areas
with appropriate climate-resilient livelihood options.
We also aim to look for possible locations for installing portable PM2.5 sensors to construct an air quality monitoring system. In addition, FGDs allow us to
explore discussions on migration and mobility, andhow these influence (or not) changes in land use.
FGDs in this document are facilitated group discussions with a focus to seek solutions with thecommunity and community leaders and to gather
information about a specific or focused topic in agroup. So far, we have conducted interviews in twoareas in 2018; one is in Buntoi, and the other in Tumbang Nusa village, both in Pulang Pisau district. We
aim to conduct several FDGs throughout 2019.
The FDGs we are conducting are analyzing community perception and fire risk with the aim of capturing information about a household’s strategies andsocial networks. In particular the team from CIFOR
have been looking for information in regards to thefollowing:

The 2019 Weak El Nino Fire in Central Kalimantan

039

Photo 3 MAFF-CIFOR project meeting at Center for International
Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatland (CIMTROP),
University of Palangka Raya

In mid-2019, Indonesian peatlands fires raged and alarge number of people suffered from the resulting
dense haze. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) classified 2019 as a weak El
Niño year from a NOAA running 3-month mean SST

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

1) History of fire and fire risk in Central Kalimantan,
especially within Pulang Pisau district.
2) Community farming and land use practice.
3) Land use change and the different actors that
influenced it or have been influenced through thehousehold.
4) How fires have impacted the health, economy,
education, and livelihood of communities.
5) The different risks affecting incomes and the variety of mechanisms that are used to cope with fireand haze.
6) The sharing of knowledge regarding household’s
livelihood strategies.

Fig. 3 NASA Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) in September 2019

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77040

anomaly for the Niño 3.4 region (i.e., 5 o N-5 o S,
120o-170oW). Resulting forest and land fires brought
about a severe trans-boundary haze and covered
Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Riau, Jambi
and South Sumatra as well as other neighboring
ASEAN countries. Between January to October there
were a total of 11 fires in Central Kalimantan processed from NASA hotspot data and 86% occurred
during two months in the dry season (September –October 2019). Those districts that experienced theseverest fires were Pulang Pisau (98% were in peatlands), Palangka Raya (85% in peatlands) and
Kapuas (60% in peatlands). Fig. 3 shows the haze
conditions that blanked the city of Palangka Raya
from NASA Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) in Fig. 3.
A collaborative research team from University of
Palangka Raya, Kyoto University and CIFOR funded
by MAFF has been conducting ongoing social impact
studies in seven villages in four regencies in Central
Kalimantan prior to and during the fire season in
2019. In this current ongoing research, there arethree levels of analysis, namely household surveys,
Focus Group Discussions (FGD) and key informant
interviews (KII). Each village has stated that thesource of fire in their villages varied greatly depending on household information, population, educationlevel, land use, and livelihood activities and local
socio-economic issues. Forest fires have greatly disrupted the health, economy and social life of local
communities and as a result of this, a large numberof villagers have been seeking for help with inexpensive non-burning farming methods, adequate healthfacilities, and socialization for early warning firesystems.
As a result of this, since early 2019, we haveinstalled CO and PM 2.5 devices in Palangka Rayaand Pulang Pisau to collect data. So far, this has
shown a clear increase in the concentration of bothparameters since the beginning of August, in otherwords, about one month after the first fire. This hazeworsened air quality and visibility in both Palangka
Raya and Pulang Pisau areas. We have also installed
CO and PM 2.5 tools in an area with more better air

quality in the southern part of Palangka Raya (Mandomai Village, Kapuas) and in the north (Tangkiling
Village, Palangka Raya) after the fire season. As ofthe end of 2019, transdisciplinary research activities
are planned in SDN 4 Ukit Tunggal (one of the hazeaffected areas in Palangka Raya) with the aim of creating haze free space model for elementary school
students and also to create a manual for fire prevention and protection for local communities in Palangka
Raya, and Pulang Pisau. Concurrently, we will carryout further public health research to investigate theimpact of haze on local fire-fighting teams, students
and villagers.
Conclusion
In trans-disciplinary research, co-design, co-production, co-dissemination are all key elements for successful collaborative activities. This requires moretime and effort to understand each other’s strength.
When we interview several key informants in different
sectors, we have encountered many people who areconcerned about how to respond to the next El Niño.
Measures are also being planned at the state level,
however, more efforts are needed to prepare for allcontingencies. Although the current initiatives have
limited manpower and resources, we hope that wecan provide clearer scientific evidence throughresearch, discussions and negotiation to set up mitigation measures. These will ultimately help us understand the needs of local communities who face thebrunt of changes that play out in their everyday lives
but impact the region at a macro-level.
Notes
1 Professor Hisao Furukawa (1940–), former professor at theCenter for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS).
2 The Global COE Program, “In search of a Sustainable
Humanosphere in Asia and Africa,” ran over five years
between 2007–2011. The result were published in a volume
in 2016, Mizuno et al (2016).
References
Abe, Kenichi. 1993. Peat Swamp Forest in Sumatra: A Perspective. Tonan Ajia Kenkyu, 31(3):192-205.
Furukawa, Hisao. 1992. Indonesia’s Swamps ( インドネシアの低湿地 Indoneshia no teishicci). Tokyo: Keiso Shobo.
Mizuno, Kosuke et al (eds.). 2016. Catastrophe and Regeneration in Indonesia’s Peatlands: Ecology, Economy and Society. Kyoto CSEAS Series on Asian Studies 15. Singapore:
NUS Press.

Library Collection

The Grand Rituals at Besakih Temple in Baliand the Historical Moment of Hinduism 		
in Indonesia
Yasuyuki Nagafuchi
Emeritus Professor, Nagoya Institute of Technology

In 1993, large-scale rituals were held at Besakih temple in Bali. Realization of such spectacular rituals at the grand head temple of Hinduism in Indonesia seems to assure the establishment of the religion, even as a minority. In the background, however, there was a deepening conflict between theBali-centrists, who regarded rituals and practices in Bali to be essential to Hinduism in Indonesia,
and the faith-centrists, who adhered to Hinduism as a faith that has spread across the globe. At theturn of 21st century, the representative institution, supposed to protect Hinduism, failed to resolve
the conflict, which has resulted in a schism.

Large Scale Rituals and Manuals

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Manuals041

In 1993, a series of large-scale rituals were carriedout in the central temple of Besakih in Bali, Indonesia. Since the centennial ceremony held in 1979 at
the same temple had turned out to be lacking someparts, they were carried out in 1993. Despite being
called centennial, the only proof available is the palmleaf manuscript reporting the existence of the rituals,
hence, it is not certain if they had really been conducted a century ago. Furthermore, according to an
essay written by a traveler from the Netherlands, thecountry that had colonized Indonesia, the temple hadcollapsed and not been functioning as a temple prior
to an earthquake in 1917. Though the rituals held in
1993 were based on the dates on the calendar, they
only existed in documents and not in the memory of
the living people. In other words, they were brandnew rites that had not been embedded in theirpractice.
As such, how was it possible to perform such new
grand rites? The only way to construct the rituals
was to refer to names of the rites and offerings
recorded in documents and to know them throughanalogies. The thick yellow book with the name of
the rites inscribed on its cover is what it called amanual with descriptions of the formulated ritual pro-ceedings. And the rituals were reduced to practices
based upon this manual. The practices prescribe theprocedures, yet this does not mean there was any
precedent for them to be manualized. This manual
was the source of the reconstructed grand rituals as
they were, that no one had ever seen before.
The rituals were grandiose, in the sense that they
accompanied multiple rites held in each temple of
Besakih, as a complex of multiple temples, and thatthe scale and the number of offerings involved ineach rite could amount to a maximum. The offerings
included performances of gamelan music and dance.
Everything was written down in the manual in chronological order, such as how the priests conduct eachAccepting holy water with the temple

CSEAS NEWSLETTER

rite, offerings and work groups for preparations.
The enormous preparatory works were shared
among parties including groups which possessed
temples, as well as different districts constituting theprovince of Bali. In each district, they followed
instructions given by the designated priests to proceed with works. Such division of labor was enabledby the cooperative system between the representative institutions of Hinduism in Indonesia, known as
Parisada Hindu Dharma (Parisada) and the provincial
government of Bali that had begun to be formed
prior to 1979, culminating in the 1990’s.
As Parisada’s priests specified the details of therites, two committees, the central one established in
Besakih and the local one in each district, gave
instructions for the works. The highest position in thecentral committee was held by the provincial governor, while the second highest, were occupied bythose inspectors including the Hindu Department
head of the Ministry of Religious Affairs alongside the
district governor. Though executed through thechannels of the provincial administration, this was anindication that the Hindu rituals were for the whole
nation. And what was handed out at the general
meeting of the central committee was this manual. It
was only delivered to the parties to the conference
and was of course, not for sale. However, it was
obtained by one of my research collaborators who
had attended the meeting as a note-taker.

No. 77The Individual and the Symbolic Cosmos

042

What kind of funds helped to realize the grand rituals
in 1993? The provincial government had provided

reserves prior to the rituals, though they were
untouched in the end. The grand rituals themselves
were fully funded by donations from individuals andorganizations.
For the implementation of the rituals, the provincial
government had prepared booklets for the individuals that described the guidelines and significance ofthe rites, the way to receive consecrated water, as
well as ritual procedures to be observed at individual
homes and villages in tandem with those at Besakih
temple. It also referred to appropriate manners as agood Hindu to participate in rituals. To be more specific, it obviously suggested that they are required tohave a clean mind, speech and deeds in order toaccomplish the sacred rites, and that they shouldtake part in the rites, offering material or monetarycontributions for the rituals willingly and according totheir own capacities. Material contributions implicate
rice, fruits as ingredients for the offerings as well assweets and so on.
For individuals, clear prescriptions on how toreceive consecrated water was very significant. Whatis fundamental to rituals in Bali is the priest who turns
the water sacred through rites and those individuals
who receive it. In the case of a large-scale ritual, theywould specify the date, time and place for the delivery of consecrated water to be picked up by village
representatives, who would then distribute it to eachhousehold. Thus, as the flows of materials and financial participation from below and distribution of consecrated water from above were united through thefairly modern technology of duplication, in otherwords, in the form of leaflets, the rituals were transformed into reality as a grandiose universe.

Consequently, the rituals of 1993 had collected
rather excessive funds from contributions by individuals and organizations. Considering this fact, it is possible to estimate that the level of approval and asense of participation in the rites were substantiallyhigh. On the other hand, however, it is hard to denyan ostentatious display of greed drenched in vanity,
which could be seen through the purchase of private
cars and homes as well as by the use of expensive
clothes in 1990’s Bali, all of which were accumulated
wealth from tourism. As a matter of fact, the namesof donors and the amount of contributions were
published in newspapers and the way the amountsurged as the dates drew nearer to rituals was anindication that the large-scale rituals were a new siteof showing off one’s conspicuous consumption andprestige. Making some donations to the rituals at
Besakih temple had turned into a new means of“being ostentatious.”On the other hand, since individual participation in
the rituals was realized through the distribution ofconsecrated water via villages, it also brought to lightthe existence of those who couldn’t take part in therites. Those born in and commuting to schools andworking in Denpasar, the capital city of Bali province.
Since their relationships with their parents’ villages
have already become tenuous, they could not partici-

pate in the village-based rituals. It was a Hindu
framework, which could accommodate such people
including globally expanded religious Hindu groups
such as Saibaba and Hare Krishna.
Such religious bodies would sharply criticize theHinduism defined by Parisada, for being dependent
on the community of Bali as well as binding people
to authority, offerings and androcentrism. In contrast,
these organizations held regular gatherings to discuss their matters and had been helping each otherin their daily lives. As the voices of those born in
Denpasar had become a large number to the extent
that they couldn’t be ignored any more, Parisada had
no choice but to acknowledge their existence as
schools of Hindu (Bernafaskan Hindu). This was oneof the triggers leading to their fragmentation, which
will be mentioned later.
Representative Institutions of Minority Religions
The religious majority in Indonesia are Muslims, while
Hindus are the minority who account for less than 10
percent of the population. The government hasestablished its own system to authorize religions tohandle the situation, in which religious minorities exist
apart from the dominant majority. As a central government office, they have set up a Ministry of Reli-

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University043

Saibaba’s Meeting Place in Denpasar

Parisada Headquarters

gious Affairs to designate the official religions (agama)and to distinguish them from other religious practices
regarded as faiths (kepercayaan), while approving
various rights given to the official ones, such as theright of education at schools. It is a well-known factthat the system originated from the Ministry of Religious Affairs which had been established during theJapanese military regime period with an aim of pacifying in Muslims.
Hinduism was authorized as an official religion in
1958. After a long period of negotiation between theBali government and the Ministry of Religious Affairs,
the provincial government finally received official recognition for Hinduism. In the following year, Parisada
was established as a representative institution for
Hinduism in Indonesia. For the Balinese, it was anachievement of their long-held dreams. Not only religious people, but also politicians and intellectuals of
the province came together under Parisada.
Acquiring official recognition meant that theiractivities across Indonesia were admitted. As they
have expanded, there is no province at present, that
doesn’t have a branch of Parisada, excluding theprovince of Aceh. With the exception of Bali, where
Hindus are a majority, the religion is a minority inother parts of the country. Not only in terms of its
institutional acknowledgement, but also in considering their protection from the surrounding Muslim
populations, the existence of Parisada in regions outside Bali is significant for Hindus.
CSEAS NEWSLETTER

Schism or Historical Moment of Hinduism inIndonesia

No. 77044

At the turn of the 21st century, Parisada fragmented
in Bali. In retrospect, it could be said that the split
was inevitable, because of a head-on confrontation
within the institution of Parisada, between the Bali-

centrists, who regarded rituals and practices in Bali
to be essential to Hinduism in Indonesia, and thefaith-centrists, who believed in the quintessence ofthe faith to be providing support for each person in
their daily life and maintained this idea under thebanner of democratization of Hinduism.
Since the 1980s, indications had begun to surface. In 1984, they were trying to form a nationwide
mass organization under Parisada, however, theyfailed, due to the secession of Wayan Sudhirta andothers. Thus, the mass organization first split. Wayan
Sudhirta was the very person, who was later setting
up a group, calling themselves Pemuda Hindu (YouthFighter of Hindu), whose operational center in Denpasar turned into a base for the movements of thefaith-centrists. In 2004, he ran in the provincial
assembly election and made a summary of his publicpledge in a leaflet. At first, at a conference called
Mahasabha, a gathering of representatives of the
branches across the nation was convened in 1986,
which was then followed by Lokasabha, the provincial assembly of Bali. This was a prelude to the splitting of the Bali branch off from the totality ofParisada.
In 1991, after the 6th general meeting, those who
had been unhappy with Bali-centrism organized theForum Cendekiawan Hindu Indonesia and began toactively discuss the ideal of Hinduism as a faith.
Then, after going through the Asian currency crisis in1997 and the fall of Suharto regime in 1998, thebreakup was conclusive since some members of
Parisada Bali, leaning toward Bali-centrism, walked
out of the integral Parisada in 2001. Thus, the resolution of the 8th general meeting was dismissed at a
subsequent local conference in Bali.
People centered around Denpasar assembled
under the movement to promote the democratizationof Hinduism. Those included Pemuda Hindu at thecenter, along with groups of “shared origins” (groups
based upon the idea of sharing an ancestral origin ofbirth. Those with their own temples, ceremonies andpriests.) as well as members of Saibaba and Hare
Krishna, mentioned above. The members of thegroups of shared origins criticized the Bali-centrists
for being privileged in two ways. They argued thatthe Bali-centrists based in Ubud were actually collaborators to colonial rule with some privileges
granted by the colonial government, while at thesame time, they were bowing to the Suharto regime
to monopolize the benefits of tourism. Unlike theirs,
priests belonging to groups of shared origin could
not participate in the rituals at Besakih temple, sothey insisted that such a fact be democratized andthe priests of all kind of groups should be allowed totake part in rites. People centered around Denpasar

claimed they were also the Hindus and demandedvoting rights in Parisada, which had not been
accredited to them. As the resolution of the 8th general meeting had accepted these claims, Parisada
Bali did not approve them.
It is possible to say that ritualism versus fideism is auniversal composition of conflict at the heart of any
religion. In the case of Bali, there is ritualism on one
hand, rooted in village life and fideism on the other,accommodated through globally expanded religious
activities. Furthermore, there were criticisms from adecolonialized perspective and accusations againstmonopolizing self-interests dependent upon the centralized administrative system. Hinduism has turned
into a framework, under which respective discrete
agents in strained relations would develop their own
claims. In 1993, just before the fall of the Suharto
regime, they barely managed to carry out the grandrituals of Besakih temple. Yet, after the collapse of
the regime, the tension was explicitly exposed andas it was irretrievable, the representative institution of
Hinduism, which was meant to protect the minority,
split. Materials here shed light on the very historicalmoment in which Hinduism in Indonesia finds itself
located.

References
Below are the materials on Hinduism in Indonesia given to
CSEAS, including manuals of rituals at Besakih temple and proceedings of Parisada et al.
Piodalan Ekadasa Warsa Parisada Hindu Dharma, 1959-1970:
om dirghayur astu H. U. T. Ke-XI, Denpasar. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma, 1970. (Call No. IV In/3/1137)
Seminar Tampaksiring tgl. 30 Djuni s/d 5 Djuli 1968. Kebajoranbaru: DPP. AMHI & Jajasan Dharma Dutta Dhana, 1968. (IV
In/3/1138)

Originally published: Sambutan: Amanat dan Pengarahan,
1980. (IV In/3/1145)
Laporan Pertanggung Jawaban Parisada Hindu Dharma Pusat
Dalam Maha Sabha IV: pada tanggal 24 s/d 27 september
1980 di denpasar. Parisada Hindu Dharma Pusat, 1980. (IV
In/3/1146)
Himpunan keputusan Seminar Kesatuan Tafsir Terhadap AspekAspek Agama Hindu I-IX. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma
Pusat, 1983. (IV In/3/1147)
Ketetapan/keputusan Pesamuhan Agung Parisada Hindu
Dharma, Tanggal 24 s/d 27 april 1984 di Denpasar. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma Pusat, 1984. (IV In/3/1148)
Keputusan/ketetapan Maha Sabha V Parisada Hindu Dharma
se Indonesia, Tanggal 24 s/d 27 Pebruari 1986 Di Denpasar.
1986. (IV In/3/1149)
Ketetapan/keputusan Pesamuhan Agung Parisada Hindu
Dharma Indonesia, tahun 1987,1988, 1990. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Pusat, 1990. (IV In/3/1150)
Himpunan Keputusan Seminar Kesatuan Tafsir Terhadap
Aspek-Aspek Agama Hindu, I-XV. Proyek Penerbitan BukuBuku Agama Pemda Tingkat I Bali, 1990. (IV In/3/1151)
Keputusan dan ketetapan Maha Sabha VI: Parisada Hindu
Dharma Indonesia, Tanggal 9-14 september 1991 Di
Jakarta. Jakarta Pusat: Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia
Pusat, 1991. (IV In/3/1152)
Keputusan dan ketetapan Maha Sabha VI: Parisada Hindu
Dharma Indonesia, Tanggal 9-14 september 1991 Di
Jakarta. Jakarta Pusat: Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia
Pusat, 1991. (IV In/3/1152a)
Lokasabha II: Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Propinsi Bali.
Denpasar Bali: Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia, 1991. (IV
In/3/1153)
Guide book: Mahasabha I (the 1st general assembly) and the
5th Asean Hindu youth exchange programme Asean Hindu
youth council: Bali, Indonesia, 15th to 17th nov., 1996.
Jakarta: Ganeca, 1996. (IV In/3/1154)
Perhimpunan Pemuda Hindu Indonesia (Peradah Indonesia).
Hasil-hasil Mahasabha VI. Jakarta: Dewan Pimpinan Nasional Peradah Indonesia, 2003. (IV In/3/1155)
Perhimpunan Pemuda Hindu Indonesia (Peradah Indonesia).
Hasil-hasil Mahasabha VI. Jakarta: Dewan Pimpinan Nasional Peradah Indonesia, 2003. (IV In/3/1155a)
Hasil-hasil Maha Sabha IX Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia.
[Jakarta]: Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, 2006. (IV In/3/1156)
Upacara tawur panca wali krama tgl.10 april 1978 di Pura
Agung Besakih. Bali: Panitia Pelaksana Karya Panca Wali
Krama, Betara Turun Kabeh dan Eka Dasa Rudra, 1978. (IV
In/3/1157)

Parisada Hindu Dharma. Sekretariat. Sedjarah Parisada Hindu
Dharma. Bag.: Penjalur-Penerbitan P.H.D. Pusat, 1970. (IV
In/3/1140)

Penjelasan tentang Karya Eka Dasa Rudra di Pura Besakih. Bali
Denpasar: Kantor Wilayah Deppen Prop., 1979. (IV
In/3/1158)

Pesamuhan agung Parisada Hindu Dharma Pusat: 21 s/d. 24
Pebruari 1971 di Jogjakarta. Parisada Hindu Dharma, 1971.
(IV In/3/1141)

Pura Besakih. Dati i Bali: Dinas Kebudayaan Propinsi, 1987.(IVIn/3/1159)

Hasil-hasil Maha Sabha Ke I s/d Ke III 1964. 1968. 1973 di
Denpasar. Parisada Hindu Dharma, 1973. (IV In/3/1142)
Om Swastyastu: Hasil-hasil Maha Sabha Ke III Parisada Hindu
Dharma Seluruh Indonesia, Tgl. 27 s/d 29 Desember 1973
di Denpasar-Bali. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma Pusat,
1973.(IV In/3/1143)

Inventarisasi dan Dokumentasi: Pura Besakih. Dati i Bali: Dinas
Kebudayaan Propinsi, 1988. (IV In/3/1160)
Rencana induk pembinaan dan pengembangan Pura Besakih.
Bali: Dwipa, 19--?. (IV In/3/1161)
Tim Penyusun. “Upacara pan̄ cawalikrama di Pura Agung
Besakih.” [Proyek Penerbitan Buku-Buku Agama], 1990. (IV
In/3/1162)
Drs. Nyoman Putra Suarjana, Iwayan Artha Dipa, sh. Pura pasar
agung besakih kahyangan jagat (Gunung agung). Amlapura:
Pantia Pembangunan Pura Pasar Agung Besakih, 1992. (IV
In/3/1163)

Hasil-hasil Maha Sabha IV Parisada Hindu Dharma se Indonesia, 24 s/d 27 Septemper 1980 di Denpasar Bali. Reprint.

Yasa Kerti Umat Hindu Dalam Rangka Menyongsong Kerya
045

Hasil-hasil Maha Sabha IV Parisada Hindu Dharma se Indonesia, 24 s/d 27 Septemper 1980 di Denpasar Bali. Reprint.
Originally published: Keputusan dan Ketetapan Maha Sabha
IV Parisada Hindu Dharma se Indonesia, 1980. (IV In/3/1144)

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Sambutan dan Hasil Keputusan Sabha (Kongres) II: Parisada
Hindu Dharma Seluruh Indonesia, Tanggal 2 s/d 5 Desember
1969 di Denpasar - Bali. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu Dharma
Kabupaten Badung, 1970. (IV In/3/1139)

Agung Tri Bhuwana, Candi Narmada, Panca Wali Krama
Ring Danu dan Bhatara Turun Kabeh Tahun 1993. Parisada
Hindu Dharma Indonesia Pusat, 1992. (IV In/3/1164)
Karya agung candi narmada, panca walikrama ring sagara
danu, tribhwana dan bhatara turun kabeh pura agung
Besakih: ngurah oka supartha. Panitia Pelaksana Karya
Agung Candi Narmada, Panca Walikrama Ring Sagara
Danu, Tribhwana dan Bhatara Turun Kabeh, Pura Agung
Besakih, 1993. (IV In/3/1165)
Karya agung candi narmada, panca walikrama ring sagara
danu, tribhwana dan bhatara turun kabeh pura agung
Besakih: ngurah oka supartha. Panitia Pelaksana Karya
Agung Candi Narmada, Panca Walikrama Ring Sagara
Danu, Tribhwana dan Bhatara Turun Kabeh, Pura Agung
Besakih, 1993. (IV In/3/1165a)
Palihan Upakara: karya agung tri bhuwana, candi narmada,panca wali krama ring danu miwah bhatara turun kabeh.
Tahun: Panitia Karya Agung Tri Bhuwana, Candi Narmada,
Panca Wali Krama Ring Danu Miwah Bhatara Turun Kabeh,
1993. (IV In/3/1166)
Tjokorda Raka Krisnu. Yasa kerti umat hindu menyongsong
karya agung candi narmada, nyegjegang bhatri danu, tri
bhuwana dan bhatara turun kabeh. Tahun: Dipersembahkan
Dalam Rangka Persiapan Karya Agung Candi Narmada,
Myegjegang Bhatari Danu, Tri Bhuwana Dan Bhatara Turun
Kabeh, 1993. (IV In/3/1168)
DPD Tk. I Bali Peradah Indonesia (Perhimpunan Pemuda Hindu
Indonesia). Gunung Agung, Pura Agung Besakih, dan kita.
DPD Tk. I Bali Peradah Indonesia, 1993. (IV In/3/1169)
DPD Tk. I Bali Peradah Indonesia (Perhimpunan Pemuda Hindu
Indonesia). Gunung Agung, Pura Agung Besakih, dan kita.
DPD Tk. I Bali Peradah Indonesia, 1993. (IV In/3/1169a)
Hasil Paruman Sulinggih Tingkat Propinsi, Yahun 1994/1995.
Proyek Bimbingan dan Penyuluhan Kehidupan Beragama
Tersebar di 9(sembilan) dati II, TH.1994/1995. (IV In/3/1170)
Ida Bagus Gede Agastia. Eka Dasa Rudra, Eka Bhuwana. Parisada Hindu Dharma Indonesia Pusat, 1996. (IV In/3/1172)
Palihan Indik Upakara Labuh Gentuh Panca Bali Krama Miwah
Bhatara Turun Kabeh Pura Agung Besakih, Isaka Warsa:
1920; buku 1. Panitia Pelaksana Karya Agung Panca Bali
Krama dan Bhatara Turun Kabeh Pura Agung Besakih,
1999. (IV In/3/1173)
Panca Bali Krama: Pura Agung Besakih. Baliethnic, 1999. (IV
In/3/1174)
Jro Mangku Made Pinda. Geguritan Pura Agung Besakih: lan
indik nangkilang Dewa Hyang. Besakih: [Jro Mangku Made
Pinda], 2003. (IV In/3/1175)
Menjadi pelayan umat. Denpasar: Parisada Hindu DharmaIndonesia Propinsi Bali, 20--? (IV In/3/1176)
Pura basukian puseh jagat: pemugaran, pamelaspas dan ngenteg linggih 2002-2004. Panitia Pemugaran dan Pantia Karya
Ngenteg Linggih, 2004. (IV In/3/1177)
Kahyangan jagat pura samuantiga: Bedulu, Blahbatuh, Gianyar.
Panitia Karya Padudusan Agung Pura Samuantiga, 2004. (IV
In/3/1178)

CSEAS NEWSLETTER

Keputusan/Ketentuan pasamuhan agung III maha semaya
warga pande propinsi Bali: tanggal 10 Juni 2001 di wantilan
sri kesari warmadewa mandapa pura agung Besakih. Denpasar: Maha semaya warga pande Propinsi Bali, 2001. (IV
In/3/1179)

No. 77

Karya pemarisudha karipubhaya tawur agung, tawur gentuh lan
pekelem di desa adat kuta, badung, Bali. Propinsi Bali: Panitia Pemarisudha Karipubhaya Tawuragung, Tawur Gentuh
Lan Pakelem, 2002. (IV In/3/1180)

Institut Hindu Dharma: Buku Pedoman 1984/1985. Denpasar:
Kampus Tembau Penatih, 1985. (IV In/3/1181)
Kantor Agama Propinsi Bali Denpasar. Tri-sandhya. Denpasar:
Bhuvana Saraswati, 19--?. (IV In/3/1182)
Upadeśa tentang ajaran-ajaran agama Hindu. Surabaya: Penerbit Pāramita, 2001. (IV In/3/1183)

046

Library Collection

Materials on Christianity and Spanish
Documents in the Foronda Collection
Yuki Moriwaki
University of Tokyo Graduate School of Economics

T

he Foronda Collection in the library of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS) offers a rich assortment of invaluable material on the history, social sciences, arts, literature, religion and folklore of the Philippines amassed over four decades by Dr. Marcelino Foronda (1907–1997), a renowned Filipino historian andscholar.
I do not specialize in research on the Philippines or even on Southeast Asia. My focus is on the history of
Christianity in 16th and 17th century Japan, but it just happens that I am currently conducting research on thepreservation of European rare books, historical documents and manuscripts, and in relation to this the Foronda
Collection is of special interest to me. I have had the good fortune to examine the 11 manuscripts included in
the Collection’s roughly 7,000 items. In perusing the contents of those written in Spanish or having to do with
Christianity, I found two works which I introduce below to be of particular interest.

(1) [Untitled prayer book in Ilocano] (No. 6429)

the Ilocano language and so cannot determine
whether the Ilocano prayers are translations of the
Spanish and Latin text, or whether they are separate
prayers to be used in conjunction with the Spanish
and Latin prayers. In either case, this is clearly an
important manuscript for understanding the place ofCatholicism in the Ilocano-speaking regions at thetime.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

This is an untitled Christian prayer book believed todate from the end of the 19th century. It appears tobe missing an opening text and instead starts
abruptly with text written in the Ilocano language.
There are passages sprinkled throughout, however,of prayers written in Spanish (such as prayers for the
first Communion and a novena –a set of prayers
repeated for 9 successive days) and Latin (litanies
and antiphonies). Unfortunately, I am not familiar with047

(2) Colección de nombres sustantivos, adjetivos… (No. 6427)

This is an alphabetical list of Spanish words, theirparts of speech, and meanings explained in the Ilocano language; in essence a type of vocabulary
book. The title page indicates it was compiled in thecity of Vigan in the province of Ilocos Sur on March 5,1898, just before the outbreak of the Spanish-American War that would eventually lead to the independence of the Philippines. It is an intriguing fact that
this vocabulary book must have been used to study
Spanish at a time of rising nationalism in thePhilippines.

While such Japanese scholars as Ikehata Setsuho
and Sugaya Nariko have carried out some outstanding research on the Philippines during its Spanish
colonial period, research relating to the Ilocano language is still sparse. In this regard, the Foronda Collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the Philippines under Spanish rule and Catholicism in the Ilocanospeaking regions. We can only hope that specialists
will take advantage of this rich resource to further
research into the colonial period.

Collection Materials
1895. Colección de Nombres sustantivos, adjetivos, participios, advervios, modos adverviales, interjecciones, etc., en hispano Ilocano y pertenece al uso de Vigan 3 de Abril del año de 1895 [A Collection of Substantive Names, adjectives, participles, adverbs,
advervial modes, interjections, etc., in Hispanic Ilocano pertaining to the use of Vigan, April 3, 1895] (Marcelino A. and Cresencia R.
Foronda, A Filipiniana Bibliography, 1743-1982 : A classified listing of Philippine materials in the Marcelino A. And Cresencia R.
Foronda Private Collection, Manila: Philippine National Historical Society, 1981, Call No. 6427)
n.d. Untitled Prayer book in Ilocano (Call No. 6429)

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77048

Publications

http://www.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/edit/

Kyoto CSEAS Series on AsianStudies

Kyoto CSEAS Series on
Phillipine Studies

Wahyu Prasetyawan.

Michal D. Pante.

Networked: Business and Politics in Decentralizing
Indonesia, 1998-2004.

A Capital City at the Margins: Quezon City and
Urbanization in the Twentieth-Century Philippines.

Kyoto Area Studies on Asia

Kyoto Area Studies on Asia (inJapanese)

SHIMIZU, Hiromu.

HAYAMI, Yoko, ed.

Grassroots Globalization:
Reforestation and Cultural Revitalization in thePhilippine Cordilleras.

Potentialities of Care in Southeast Asia: Practice ofLife’s Connectivities.

Kyoto University Press/ NUS Press. 2018.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

Kyoto University Press. 2019.

049

Translated by Alexander Brown.
Kyoto University Press. 2019.

Ateneo de Manila University Press/ Kyoto University Press.
2019.

SAITO, Teruko.

TOMINAGA, Yasuyo.

Debt-Slave and Land Mortgage Contracts in the
18th-19th Centuries Burma: Another Interpretationof Early Modern Southeast Asian Societies.

A Study on Kartini’s Letters: Comparing Door Duisternis tot Licht with Brieven.
Kyoto University Press. 2019.

Kyoto University Press. 2019.

Series Asia Pacific Studies (in Japanese)

MURAKAMI, Yusuke, ed.

HAMAGUCHI, Nobuaki, ed.

Political Dynamics of "Populism": Deepening Social
Cleavages and Authoritarianization.

Income Disparity in Latin America: Historical Origin, Globalization, and Social Policy.

Kokusai Shoin. 2018.

Kokusai Shoin. 2018.

Information and Field Science (inJapanese)

CSEAS NEWSLETTER
No. 77050

NAKAYAMA, Taisho.

YANAGISAWA Masayuki.

Remaining Japanese Sakhalin and Post-war Japan:
Postwar History in the Japan-Soviet Boderland.

Toward an Understanding of Nature-human Relation Embedded in the Landscape

Kokusai Shoin. 2019.

Kyoto University Press. 2019.

Center for Southeast Asian Studies Kyoto University

051

Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University, 46 Shimoadachi-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
Tel: +81-75-753-7302 Fax: +81-75-753-7350
京都大学東南アジア地域研究研究所 〒606-8501 京都市左京区吉田下阿達町46 Tel: 075-753-7302 Fax: 075-753-7350
Editors: Mario Lopez
Date of Issue: Spring/Summer 2019

〈編集〉マリオ・ロペズ

ISSN 2185-663X