This collection surveying Islamic monuments in India is the result of a collaboration between The Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT Libraries and The Research and Information Center for Asian Studies (RICAS) at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (University of Tokyo) and Five Cross Architects (Mumbai, India) to share the data and media compiled by the Mission for Indian History and Archaeology more readily available to researchers via ARCHNET.ORG. 

Surveys Conducted between 1959-1962

The Mission for Indian History and Archaeology was organized by the University of Tokyo as a comprehensive survey of Islamic architecture extant in Delhi from the Delhi Sultanate (early 13th century - mid-16th century). The onsite survey was carried out in two phases from 1959 to 1960, and 1961-1962 and encompassed key Islamic buildings in the Bengal, Deccan, and Gujarat provinces.

The original delegation comprised the following five specialists: 

• Tatsuro Yamamoto (Leader, 1910-2001), Asian History; Professor, University of Tokyo, Faculty of Letters (later Emeritus); 
• Matsuo Ara (Deputy Leader, 1921-2008), South Asian History; Assistant Professor, University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture (later Emeritus); 
• Asashiro Saegusa (1901-95), Archaeological Photography; Commissioned Research Assistant, University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture; 
• Taichi Oshima (ca. 1923- ), Surveying and 3D Photogrammetry; Research Associate, University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science (later Professor Emeritus at Hosei University); 
• Tokifusa Tsukinowa (1932- ), Archaeology and Buddhist History; Master’s Student, University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, and Commissioned Research Assistant, University of Tokyo, Institute of Oriental Culture (later Professor Emeritus at the University of the Sacred Heart)

As outlined, the Mission for Indian History and Archaeology photographed the remains of Islamic sites, made rubbings of inscriptions on structural surfaces, and produced maps and architectural drawings. Approximately 17,000 photographs still exist of almost 750 Islamic Indian structures, of which more than 500 were in Delhi and over 230 in the provinces. These photographs are an invaluable resource showing what the buildings looked like circa 1960, after which they may have been destroyed, carelessly repaired, or subsumed in the urban fabric. Further, since more than half of the photographs were shot using large-format cameras, the images convey a wealth of information.

Currently, the glass photographic plates, film, prints, and digital data are preserved at RICAS, the Research and Information Center for Asian Studies (a branch of the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia at the University of Tokyo). No 35mm black-and-white film survives; only low-resolution digital data of the format is available.

For this project the digital data that had previously been categorized only by film format was sorted into images of individual monuments and structures; also, maps, rubbings, and field notes were digitized for the first time.

Black-and-white negative film

4x5 format: 261 rolls of 12-exposure film (2,919 images remaining)

6x9 format: 283 rolls of 8-exposure film (1,347 images remaining)

6x6 format: 627 rolls of 12-exposure film (4,161 images remaining)

35mm format: 426 rolls of 36-exposure film (3,960 images remaining as digitized data)

Panoramic format: 69 images

Glass photographic plates: 1,259 plates

Contact prints from missing glass photographic plates: 70 images

Color slide film

6x6 format: 718 images 

35mm format: 2,526 images 

24 maps

445 architectural drawings (including preliminary sketches)

58 rubbings

Resurvey of Medieval Architectural Remains in Delhi (2015-2017)

In 2015 and 2017, the Research and Information Center for Asian Studies (RICAS) conducted two onsite surveys of the 385 architectural remains listed in the 1967 publication produced by the University of Tokyo archaeological mission, Delhi: Architectural Remains of the Delhi Sultanate Period, Detailed Report of Archaeological Survey Carried out by the Mission for Indian History and Archaeology, The University of Tokyo, Vol. 1 (General List). These projects were classified as listed below: 

1) RICAS Collaborative Research for the 2015 Academic Year

Urban Development and Heritage Conservation in Historic City Delhi: A History of Medieval Indian Architecture through a Reevaluation of the University of Tokyo Mission for Indian History and Archaeology

2) RICAS Research Project for the 2017 Academic Year

Urban Development and Heritage Conservation in Historic City Delhi: Supplementary Surveys of Delhi and Further Publication of the 2015 Survey Results

Both projects were led by Tomoko Masuya (Professor, University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia), with the following six scholars also taking part in the onsite surveys.

• Naoko Fukami (Cairo Research Station Director, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
• Sou Yamane (Professor, Osaka University, Graduate School of Humanities, Division of Foreign Studies)
• Shu Yamane (Professor, Kwansei Gakuin University, School of Architecture)
• Kyota Yamada (Associate Professor, University of Tsukuba, School of Art & Design)
• Katsumi Shishido (Associate Professor, Kagoshima Prefectural College)
• Tomoaki Okamura (Special Researcher, Kokushikan University, 21st Century Asian Studies, Institute for Cultural Studies of Ancient Iraq)

The onsite survey for the first project was conducted from August 7 - September 15, 2015, with the cooperation of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). After locating structures from the original survey using current maps and Google Earth, the researchers visited the sites to take photographs and produce schematic floor plans. The architectural remains were distributed over a wide area spanning 26 km north-to-south and 14 km east-to-west. The location of the structures was confirmed, with the exception of two structures lying outside the target area and the three structures that the scholars were not permitted to enter.

The results of these surveys, including photographs and architectural drawings, were uploaded to Google Maps in English and Japanese, and published in the 2016 project: Urban Development and Heritage Conservation in Historic City Delhi: Updates to the University of Tokyo Mission for Indian History and Archaeology Website and the New Website for the 2015 Survey Results. 

In the second survey, conducted between March 2 and 12, 2018, all 385 architectural remains were located. In addition, the data on medieval Islamic architecture (up to the year 1550) still extant in Delhi was compared with the information in Monuments of Delhi (1916) and Delhi: The Built Heritage Listing (1999) and then organized by monument number.

Digitization and Assembly of the Archnet Collection (ongoing)

A total of 40,513 digital data from this series of surveys will be shared with the global research community via the IOC| Five Cross Architects| AKDC@MIT Project 2025–26 via the Archnet digital platform. According to the Research and Information Center for Asian Studies (RICAS) at the Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (University of Tokyo),  

"Sharing our data with Archnet ensures that this important material will be preserved even if Tokyo were to be impacted by an earthquake or other natural disaster. It also gives us great pleasure to know that the data is now accessible to researchers around the world. We take this opportunity to express our deepest gratitude to Adil Dholakia, Director of Five Cross Architects, and to Shiraz Allibhai, Matt Saba, and Michael A. Toler from Archnet." - Commendation by Prof. Tomoko Masuya (Professor, University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, Research and Information Center for Asian Studies)

Photograph Digitization 1998–2008

• Naoko Fukami (Cairo Research Station Director, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
• Nariaki Nakazato (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo)
• Takao Hirase (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo)
• Yoshiko Tsuruta (Professor, Showa Women’s University, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences)
• Chizuko Kodera

University of Tokyo : Project Members 2023–24

• Naoko Fukami (Cairo Research Station Director, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)
• Tomoko Masuya (Professor, University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, Research and Information Center for Asian Studies)
• Masatsugu Nokubo (Technical Staff, University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia)

Five Cross Architects : Project Members 2023–Present

• Adil Dholakia (Project Lead and Director, Five Cross Architects)
• Vishakha Gangar (Deputy Lead, Five Cross Architects)
• Viraj Tank (Project Member, Five Cross Architects)
• Trevin D'Souza (Project Member, Five Cross Architects)

The Aga Khan Documentation Center (AKDC) at MIT Libraries : Project Members 2023– Present

• Matt Saba (Program Head)
• Michael A. Toler (Archnet Digital Librarian)