IAS Center at the Toyo Bunko (TBIAS)

Documentation Center for Islamic Area Studies, The Toyo Bunko (Oriental Library)

Aims and Mission

In order to understand the culture, society, and politics of Islamic areas as viewed from within, local source materials written in regional languages are of fundamental importance. At the Toyo Bunko, we have been fully involved in the collection of local material from the Middle East since as early as the 1960s. Currently in Japan, over 90 universities and research centers are in possession of more than 110,000 volumes of local source materials from Islamic areas. The Toyo Bunko claims the largest of these collections, with 11,000 volumes in Arabic, 11,000 in Turkish, and 7,500 in Persian, as of 2003. Still, the expansion of our library is an urgent task, considering that universities in Europe and the U.S. house collections surpassing 100,000 volumes each.

At present, there is an increase in institutions collecting large quantities of local source materials in regional? languages. These include the University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Sophia University, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and the Institute of Developing Economies. It is of importance that these institutions work in tandem towards the systematic acquisition and collective usage of sources. As part of the previous Islamic Area Studies Project (1997-2002), Toyo Bunko worked jointly with the National Institute of Informatics to complete an Arabic alfabet database of bibliographical data? in order to facilitate the search and use of local source materials.

Having established the Documentation Center for Islamic Area Studies at the Toyo Bunko Research Department, we work here to facilitate systematic cross-library research of source materials in regional languages. Also, in support of researchers and librarians, and in order to facilitate their cooperation, we will break fresh ground for the study of Islamic source material, which hitherto had not been studied systematically. Thus, the role of TBIAS is to support the network-based Islamic Area Studies Program as a whole, in order to prepare the groundwork on which the next generation of Islamic area studies may take a substantial leap forward.

Core Members

Director:

MIURA Toru

Ochanomizu University;

The Toyo Bunko

Members:

HORIKAWA Toru

Kyoto University of Foreign Studies

The Toyo Bunko

KONDO Nobuaki

Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies,

OKAWARA Tomoki

Tohoku University

The Toyo Bunko

ISOGAI Kenichi

The Toyo Bunko

AKIBA Jun

Chiba University

WATANABE Koichi

National Institute of Japanese Literature

YANAGIYA Ayumi

National Institutes for the Humanities;

The Toyo Bunko

Stefan KNOST

Japan Society for the Promotion of Science;

The Toyo Bunko

Overseas Research Affiliates:

Randi DEGHUILHEM

CNRS, France

Research Theme: Constructing a System of Collecting and Studying Source Materials for Islamic Area Studies

Research Plans (2006~2011)

At the Documentation Center for Islamic Area Studies, we work in tandem with the other IAS Centers to acquire source materials for research, and to facilitate their use. It is our aim to contribute to the development of bibliographical studies and related area studies through the systemization of bibliographical information.

Specifically, our activities can be outlined according to three pillars as follows:

1. The systematic collection of local source materials in regional languages, including manuscripts and historical documents
2. The development of bibliographical databases and network for librarians
   1. To encourage the use of the Arabic alfabet bibliographical database (in coordination with the National Institute of Informatics)
   2. To maintain and update, with the Japan Association for Middle East Studies, the existing Bibliographical Database of Middle East Studies in Japan
   3. To create a network of librarians on Middle Eastern studies, foster librarians with expertise on the Middle East, and to build a solid basis in bibliographical studies for forthcoming research in cooperation with researchers and librarians.

3. Comparative studies by historical documents

   Through the study of historical documents (especially Islamic court records), as well as comparative analyses by region, we aim to further understanding of the society of Islamic areas. In order to grasp the extent of the sources available, the statistical analysis and comparative study of a large quantity of material will be necessary. We will undertake this project in coordination with institutions both within Japan and abroad which are involved in bibliographical studies programs.

   1. The comparative study of sources from Japan, China, Korea, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Joint research with the “Multilateral Comparative Study of the Historical Archives” Project (National Institute of Japanese Literature) as well as the Research Project for Ancient Central Asian Texts (Kyoto University of Foreign Studies).
   2. The development of studies concerning sources on Islamic court and the waqf.