Christian Missionaries and East Asia in the Early Modern Period, Mar, 2015, Waseda University Invited
Christianity was introduced into Northern Vietnam in the first half of the sixteenth century by mendicant orders, including the Franciscans, Dominicans and Augustinians. Jesuits took the lead in missionary work in Vietnam from the beginning of the seventeenth century after expulsion from Japan, where the Christian faith and missionary works were prohibited by the Tokugawa government. in 1611 Tonkin (Northern Vietnam), Cochinchina (Southern Vietnam), Laos and Cambodia were incorporated into the Jesuit administration of Japan, and since then for the Jesuits, Vietnam became "another Japan" as one of its most important districts in East Asia.
Yale University Council on Southeast Asia Studies, Apr, 2014, Yale University Invited
During the 1830's severe restrictions against Christianity were carried out by Minh Mang's central government. These restrictions led to the destruction of theChristian community in Nam Dinh, the Red River Delta. However, Christianity managed to survive in Nghe An, because of the good relationships the missionaries had, with local officials, and because of the officials' desire to preserve a peaceful status quo.
Harvard-Yenching Visiting Scholar's Talk, 2014, Harvard-Yenching Institute Invited
The lecture offers an insight into sociopolitical relations between the Christian community and the local bureaucracy of North Vietnam under the reign of Minh Mang (1820-1841) of the Nguyen dynasty.