ABSTRACT
The question that this chapter addresses is: given the long interaction between Japanese and Indian thinkers and art historians in the 19th and early 20th centuries, how has the legacy been carried forward in the 21st century? It is the contention of this chapter that post-World War II and Indian Independence, both countries turned their gaze in the field of culture from the international arena to the national. This is nowhere more apparent than in the field of cultural heritage. The focus here is on heritage, especially World Heritage, which is seen as a powerful diplomatic tool worldwide and is considered above the coercive sphere of politics, economics, or military aspirations. This chapter discusses the trajectory of cultural heritage in India and Japan from the perspective of the World Heritage Convention, established by UNESCO in 1972. India joined the Convention in 1977 and to date has inscribed 36 properties on the World Heritage list, of which 28 are cultural, 7 natural, and 1 is in the mixed category. Japan joined the Convention much later, in 1992, and has 17 cultural and 4 natural monuments and sites inscribed on the list. How many transnational sites have been proposed jointly by India and Japan? A distressing response to the question of Indo-Japan collaboration in the field of heritage shows that the only transnational site including both India and Japan was inscribed on the World Heritage list in 2016 and relates to the Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (1887–1965), an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement. It comprises 17 sites spread over seven countries: Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan, and Switzerland. This chapter will propose other possibilities for transnational cooperation between the two countries in the field of cultural heritage and diplomacy.
