Том 10, № 1 (2024)

The article presents the Tibetan birchbark manuscripts kept in the Serindian collection of the IOM, RAS. The five birchbark manuscripts exhibit common codicological and paleographic characteristics, and the texts within them demonstrate a functional congruence, primarily associated with the rituals of consecration and empowerment. The objective of the conservation efforts was to flatten the birchbark fragments to both identify and preserve the inscribed texts. The fragments were sufficiently moistened in the birch sap as a plasticizer instead of regular water, given that it is a natural substance inherent to birch bark. The birch sap for conservation was hand-harvested from an ecologically pristine area. The soaking process in warm birch sap softened the fragments, and they were also cleansed of surface impurities. Damaged areas of the birchbark fragments were reinforced using Japanese conservation paper. For subsequent use and preservation, the fragments were stored in envelopes made of high-quality Melinex polyester film. Owing to the restoration work, five Tibetan birchbark manuscripts were described and transliterated.

The article explores the impact of the Nadir Shah’s Indian campaign on the region of Kashmir in the 18th c., according to the Persian-language manuscript written by Muhammad ‘Azam Didamari. The manuscript provides unique insights into how Nadir Shah’s actions affected Kashmir, including the appointment of a new subahdar and a rebellion of the local population. Contrary to a popular belief, the author suggests that after the campaign the Mughal Empire retained control over Kashmir, highlighting the complex relations between Iran and the Mughal Empire. The study calls for a reevaluation of historical accounts of Nadir Shah’s campaign and emphasizes the need for further research of the role of Kashmir in this significant event. The information presented in the work of Muhammad ‘Azam encourages researchers to reconsider the history of Nadir Shah’s Indian campaign in order to more accurately determine the boundaries between the Mughal Empire and Iran after this event. The mention of Kashmir in the context of these events adds particular value to the study, since other sources on Nadir Shah and his military campaigns either do not mention Kashmir at all or only briefly touch on the region. In this context, the presence of this plot in the work of Muhammad ‘Azam is unique and calls for further research and analysis.

The article traces the formation and development of the Northern Studies Collection at the Hokkaido University Library, the largest collection of Japanese written sources on the history of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the 17th–19th cc. in Japan and beyond. This region was involved in trade relations with Japanese merchants under the control of the Matsumae clan, and later was partly administered by the Tokugawa shogunate. The Northern Studies Collection of the Hokkaido University Library is based on written sources that were collected and copied nationwide for the compilation of an official history of Hokkaido under the auspices of the island’s governorship in the 1910s–1930s. During the preparation of the catalog in the 1970s and 1980s, the collection was also enriched with copies of many sources from other collections in Japan. Thus, the Northern Studies Collection can be used to reconstruct a map of all the centers for storing sources on the history of the region in Japan. As this extensive collection is closely related to the history of the Northern Studies Collection Department and its predecessor, the Northern Cultures Research Department of the Hokkaido University, the history of these two branches is also traced in the article.

This article introduces several handwritten materials in Japanese from the personal archive of O.O. Rosenberg (1888–1919) now kept at the Archive of Orientalists, IOM, RAS. These handwritten texts reveal new details about O.O. Rosenberg’s interaction with Japanese Buddhist scholars and publishers before and after the publication of his two dictionaries in 1916 in Japan. In addition to academic activities, O.O. Rosenberg had to deal with financial and legal matters, maintained contacts with printing company staff, discussed various diplomatic procedures. He also had a wide network of contacts in Japan, including other foreigners. Relying on this network and his fluent knowledge of Japanese, handwritten Japanese in particular, O.O. Rosenberg was able to complete his publication projects successfully. This study presents O.O. Rosenberg’s dictionaries as an important component of the project led by Th.I. Stcherbatsky to restore the terminology of Sanskrit philosophical treatises. Future work plans outlined by the young scholar demonstrate his exceptional diligence and competence in matters of Oriental philology. All documents, translated from Japanese by A. Lushchenko, are published for the first time.