The Gender and Research Centre at the Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences at the Australian Catholic University invites you to submit an abstract for a workshop on Christianity in Sengoku and Tokugawa Japan, with a focus on two themes that have been overlooked by past literature: emotions and gender.
The workshop will be held on 7th February 2023 (AEDT) in hybrid mode, at the ACU Fitzroy Campus in Melbourne, Australia and online.
We are seeking a selection of papers that engage with gender and/or emotions in the context of Christianity in Japan, from 1549 to 1638. As the performance of gender and feelings is deeply connected, the workshop will give special attention to the intersections of gender and emotions in the work of the Catholic missions in Japan, to fully flesh out the experiences of those who lived and engaged with Japanese Christianity.
Additionally, we would like to form a panel that offers a comparative perspective with other early modern Christian missions, so abstracts on the workshop’s themes that consider different geographical contexts are welcome too.
We are in discussions to publish the full articles prepared from the workshop presentations in a special issue of an international, high-ranked journal.
CONVENORS:
Dr Linda Zampol D’Ortia Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow
Dr Jessica O’Leary Research Fellow
This workshop has received funding for the JSAA 2022 Grant Scheme and the Europea Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under the Marie Skłodowska Curie Grant Agreement No 101028277
Key note details:
Tuesday 7 February 2023, 9-10am AEDT
To be held in room MEL-460.5.15, level 5, 250 Victoria Parade, Melbourne and online via Teams Contact ihss@acu.edu.au for link
Abstract: In this lecture, I would like to discuss my ongoing queries and challenges in my search to come closer to the historical truths about Kirishitan women. These women converted to Catholicism during what we customarily call the Christian century in Japan, ca. 1549–1650. Although we do not have the exact number of these conversions, we know that over 100 Kirishitan women died as martyrs. First, I will pose questions about the documentary sources. As no original writings by these women remain, it is taxing to decipher their inner thoughts and feelings. However, many Jesuit sources provide us with hints. I introduce two categories of these sources: Kirishitanban devotional literature and the Jesuit letters, and make some suggestions about potential ways to read them. Second, I will briefly ponder the terms for and meaning of emotions in studying these Kirishitan women as a non-specialist in the history of emotions. Third, I will introduce examples of Kirishitan women's expectations, experiences, and expressions of the "joy" in persecution from these two categories. Lastly, I will invite other methodological ideas that may help our search for a clearer understanding of the inner world of women in early modern Japan and beyond.
Bio: Haruko Nawata Ward is Professor of Church History at Columbia Theological Seminary. Professor Ward’s research interests include the age of Reformations, the Jesuits, encounters of cultures and religions, women and religious vocation, history of biblical interpretation, history of Christianity in Asia, and justice issues in Church history.