The 50th public lecture series, “The Future of Central Eurasia and Japan” was held on December 20, 2024. Prof. Humoto SONO, Assistant Professor at the University of Tsukuba, delivered a lecture titled “Changing Lifestyle in Uzbekistan and Handicrafts: The case of woolen textile production.” 
Prof. Sono specializes in Central Asian regional studies and cultural anthropology, and received her PhD from Kyoto University in 2014. Prof. Sono has been studying handicrafts and social relations in Uzbekistan through long-term fieldwork over the past 15 years.
In this lecture, Prof. Sono discussed the rapid decline in woolen textile production in Uzbekistan in recent years and the social background underlying the change. After its independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has been promoting handmade crafts as a national project. However, in recent years, there has been a crisis in the inheritance of traditional skills due to social changes such as the emergence of a gap between successful and struggling craftsmen, the influx of cheap “Uzbek-style” imported souvenirs, and the outflow of skilled workers to fast fashion factories and other businesses run by foreign companies.
In the lecture, Dr. Sono talked about the changes in woolen textile production between around 2010-2011 and 2024, based on her fieldwork in rural villages in the Chiroqchi District. First, she explained the situation around 2011, including the types of woolen textiles produced in the region, the production process, and the social meanings of the practice of carpet-making and carpets as objects, accompanied by a series of vibrant photographs, drawing the audience into the world of Uzbek woolen textiles. In the second half, the audience was taken on a journey to unravel the mystery of the rapid decline in woolen production seen in the 2024 interviews, and the weavers’ seemingly mysterious explanations about the reasons. While acknowledging that her analysis was still in its early stages, Dr. Sono pointed out that the decline in handicraft production, which had previously been attributed to the rise of more financially rewarding competing jobs, might not only be a result of economic factors. Other contributing factors could include the diminishing status of handicrafts as “interim work,” as well as a loss of motivation due to the reduced “multiplicity of value” in woolen textiles. In a world characterized by globalization and digitalization, the decline of traditional crafts may be just a familiar story. However, Prof. Sono emphasized that studying the decline of woolen textile production in Uzbekistan could serve as a valuable area of research which could offer insights into the characteristics of woolen textile production among the other handicrafts and highlight the unique cultural context of Uzbek society.
In the subsequent Q&A session, the audience raised many questions about other potentially related factors in wool production, the current situation regarding the industrialization of carpet production and supply chains in Central Asia, among many other topics, and the lecture concluded on a lively note.
