Yu TAKAHARA (Msc), First Author
Naima BENKARI (PhD), Co-Author, Presenter, and corresponding author
Research paper Title
The community involvement in the construction and management of mosques in Japan
Personal Biography
Dr. Benkari is an Associate professor in the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University. She is also associate researcher fellow at the Institute of Industrial science (University of Tokyo). Dr. Benkari is a trained architect and holds a Master degree in Architectural Engineering and a PhD in Urban Planning from the University Pierre Mendes France (France). She taught and practiced architecture in Europe, North Africa and the GCC. She published extensively in high impact scientific journals, conferences and books on issues related to Vernacular Architecture in Islamic countries, cultural heritage conservation, sustainable architecture, and Architecture education in the global south.
Dr. Benkari is a consultant in Heritage conservation and sustainable development for governmental and non governmental institutions in Oman, Japan, and other sites in world. In her capacity of ICOMOS Expert Member, she performs expertise, desk reviews, evaluation missions, and capacity building on World Heritage sites management and the SDGs. She is regularly collaborating with research centers and international organisms such as the UNESCO, The World Monuments Fund, the Getty Foundation and its GCI program for earthen architecture, and The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN)-Kyoto.
Dr. Benkari received several awards and prizes in recognition of her work in research and teaching. The most prestigious are: The Medal of the Algerian Scholar (2022), Prince Sultan Bin Salman prize for Islamic Urban Heritage (2016), and the 2023 National Research award.
Paper Abstract
The community involvement in the construction and management of mosques in Japan
4th track: Mosque Urbanism & Mosque Communities:
Theme: Communal mosque in Muslim and non-Muslim countries
Abstract
Although Muslim communities settled in Japan as early as the 19th century, their numbers increased relatively slowly. It is only in the early twentieth century that the first mosque was built in the city of Kobe, followed by another one in Tokyo, built by Russian and Tatar dissidents who fled Russia after the revolution. The Jami’ (Camii) of Tokyo, with its ottoman style, is the largest mosque in Japan today. The warm relationship with the ottomans were at the origin of the relocation of many Turks in Tokyo. Since the Second World War, Muslims have settled in Japan for business, work or, more recently, for studies. Since after the WWII, several beautiful mosques have been erected in Japanese cities such as Nagoya, Kobe, Tokyo, or Fukuoka. Though still limited in number, the mosques in Japan incarnate different architectural styles and influences. It is probable that these styles reflect the cultural identity of the communities that stood behind their construction.
The present research addresses the question of the community involvement in the foundation and management of mosques in Japan. Data was collected from the existing literature about this question, onsite observations and documentation of mosques, as well as interviews (directive and semi-directive) with community representatives, and local Japanese authorities. An in-depth analysis was applied on the foundation and management of Tokyo and Kobe mosques, and the communities around them.
The research revealed that, in spite the wide variety of the Muslims’ origins in Japan, the communities in charge of these mosques are generally homogenous in their national or cultural identities. And this homogeneity has influenced, in a way, the architectural style of the mosques. This phenomenon underlines a peculiar relationship between the Muslim community and the local authority in Japan. Contrary to what is observed in Western countries, a certain level of freedom has been guaranteed to the Muslim communities in deciding the style of their mosques and functions adjoined to them
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