ISLAMABAD: Japan wants to revive its archaeological mission in Pakistan to discover, preserve and promote Gandhara heritage, said Dr Satoshi Naiki, a professor at the Kyoto University and an expert on Gandhara civilisation.

He was giving a talk with the help of digital slides and maps on the ‘Japanese Archaeological Mission in Pakistan’ at the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS) on Thursday.

Dr Satoshi is currently leading a Japanese archaeological mission in Pakistan.

He spoke about various phases of excavations of Buddhist remain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Swat and Taxila and established the historical and cultural links between Japan and Pakistan.

Members from academia, students and cultural and research organisations, including Professor Esther Park, an expert on Buddhist heritage, Sri Lankan Ambassador Noordeen Shaheid, Japanese cultural attaché and wife of the Japanese ambassador attended the event organised by the Centre for Culture and Development (C2D) in collaboration with the Japanese embassy.

Dr Satoshi said though Japan and Pakistan were geographically situated at a distance of 6,000km from each other, both were linked through the Gandhara civilisation.

He said Buddhism and temples were integral parts of Japanese culture and society and traced its roots to Gandhara civilisation. “The art of sculptures came to Japan from Julian, Taxila, the seat of learning,” the professor said.

Dr Satoshi also mentioned the sculptures, artifacts, stones and potteries discovered from Yungang caves in China during 1936-48. The stone carving art came to China from Swat and Bamiyan, he said.

He explained the drawings, motifs the geometrical designs, the technique of rubbing to get sketches found from the caves as well as the sunlight reflectors to the caves.

Speaking about the activities of Japanese mission in Pakistan led by Professor Seiichi Mizuno of the Kyoto University, Dr Satoshi said it made discoveries from 1959 to 1992 at Chanaka Dheri, Mekhasada, Taxila, Udyana, Zar Dheri in Mansehra, Ranigat at Shahbaz Garhi near Takht Bai and Thareli.

He also mentioned the discoveries by a 10-member team of experts, led by Prof Koji Nishikawa, Director of Kyoto University Scientific Expedition to Gandhara. The team undertook a pilot excavation at the site of Ranigat located in the Buner district, 140km from Peshawar and the largest Buddhist monastic complex.

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019