Chiba - Sociology - Anthropology - Onati - International prize. Masaji Chiba, Professor Emeritus, Tokyo Metropolitan University, passed away at the age of 90 on the 17th of December, 2009. A leading figure in Japanese Sociology and Anthropology of Law, he devoted himself to the study of indigenous law in Japan and other Asian countries. He gave an inaugural lecture at International Institute of Sociology of Law in Onati in 1989, and received an International Prize from the Law & Society Association in 2003. He was a pure academic and a great mentor to many young scholars.