Photographs from the 1956-1957 seasons of Japanese Investigations in Iran

Photographs from the 1956-1957 seasons of Japanese Investigations in Iran

The present database registers a selected corpus of the photographs taken by the Tokyo University Iraq-Iran Archaeological Expedition, headed by the late Professor Namio Egami, during its 1956–1957 fieldwork in Iran. The photographs document a wide range of the expedition’s research activities, including excavations, site reconnaissance surveys, and museum studies. Also included are sources for the everyday life of the local people. As the expedition was the first dispatched from Japan to investigate the archaeology of the Middle East, its photographic records retain historical significance as well as highlighting its scientific contributions. Further, given the rapid changes in the cultural landscape of Iran during this period of more than a half century, the corpus should be of value to research in ethnography and history.

This database was made with a grant-in-aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (#21HP8007). Its printed version, which provides more texts with descriptions of the background and processes of the fieldwork, will be published shortly as a volume of Materials Reports by the University Museum, the University of Tokyo. When it is published, the present electronic version will be updated accordingly.

May 2022
Yoshihiro Nishiaki
The University Museum, The University of Tokyo