Join us for an engaging webinar exploring the intersections of religion, state power, and missionary activity in the early 20th century history of Manchuria. This webinar brings together three papers that explore the contested history of Manchuria in the early twentieth century from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese perspectives. Once a geopolitical crossroads shaped by imperial ambitions, migration, and revolutionary movements, Manchuria offers a rich site for examining the overlapping and often conflicting narratives of East Asia’s modern history. Our panel brings together three scholars examining different facets of religious influence in this contested region. Dr. Jungsun (Sun) Kim will discuss the strategies used by Western and Korean missionaries in their evangelization efforts, shedding light on the complex interactions between faith and local societies. Karli Shimizu will examine Shinto shrines in Manchuria, focusing on their ambiguous role within both religious and political spheres. She will also touch on shrine policies influenced by Korea and their broader implications. Ziyi Zhang will present on state rituals in Manchukuo, particularly how the Japanese government sought to create an “ideal type” of religion-state relations. Together, the presentations invite a multi-vocal and comparative understanding of Manchuria’s pivotal role in shaping the trajectories of East Asia’s modern transformations. We look forward to seeing you in this thought-provoking discussion.
Jungsun Kim: a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. Her research focuses on Korean churches and missionaries in early 20th-century Manchuria, examining how Christianity shaped identity, mobility, and resistance under colonial rule. She has led multidisciplinary, grant-funded projects on religiosity, intercultural development, and transnational history. Drawing from history, religious studies, and education, her work highlights the role of faith-based networks in shaping inter-Asian connections and sheds light on the cultural dynamics of empire in East Asia.
Karli Shimizu: An affiliated researcher at the Research Faculty of Media and Communication of Hokkaido University, Japan. Recent publications include “The Legacy of Shinto Shrines at the Borders of Imperial Japan” in Heritage, Contested Sites, and Borders of Memory in the Asia Pacific (2023, Edward Boyle and Steven Ivings, eds.) and the monograph Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire (2022). Her research interests lie in the legacy of Shrine shrines located outside of Japan and the construction of colonial and postcolonial secularisms.
Ziyi Zhang: Born in Beijing, China, and is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program at the University of Tokyo, specializing in the history of the relationship between religions and state in modern Japan. My research focuses particularly on how state and individual relationships are expressed through “Shinto rituals.” I am specifically interested in the process of formulating the shrine system and the institutional connections between overseas and Japanese shrines.
Jonathan Pettit, Associate Professor of Daoism, Department of Religions & Ancient Civilization, UHM
Join us for an engaging webinar exploring the intersections of religion, state power, and missionary activity in the early 20th century history of Manchuria. This webinar brings together three papers that explore the contested history of Manchuria in the early twentieth century from Korean, Japanese, and Chinese perspectives. Once a geopolitical crossroads shaped by imperial ambitions, migration, and revolutionary movements, Manchuria offers a rich site for examining the overlapping and often conflicting narratives of East Asia’s modern history. Our panel brings together three scholars examining different facets of religious influence in this contested region. Dr. Jungsun (Sun) Kim will discuss the strategies used by Western and Korean missionaries in their evangelization efforts, shedding light on the complex interactions between faith and local societies. Karli Shimizu will examine Shinto shrines in Manchuria, focusing on their ambiguous role within both religious and political spheres. She will also touch on shrine policies influenced by Korea and their broader implications. Ziyi Zhang will present on state rituals in Manchukuo, particularly how the Japanese government sought to create an “ideal type” of religion-state relations. Together, the presentations invite a multi-vocal and comparative understanding of Manchuria’s pivotal role in shaping the trajectories of East Asia’s modern transformations. We look forward to seeing you in this thought-provoking discussion.
Jungsun Kim: a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Purdue University. Her research focuses on Korean churches and missionaries in early 20th-century Manchuria, examining how Christianity shaped identity, mobility, and resistance under colonial rule. She has led multidisciplinary, grant-funded projects on religiosity, intercultural development, and transnational history. Drawing from history, religious studies, and education, her work highlights the role of faith-based networks in shaping inter-Asian connections and sheds light on the cultural dynamics of empire in East Asia.
Karli Shimizu: An affiliated researcher at the Research Faculty of Media and Communication of Hokkaido University, Japan. Recent publications include “The Legacy of Shinto Shrines at the Borders of Imperial Japan” in Heritage, Contested Sites, and Borders of Memory in the Asia Pacific (2023, Edward Boyle and Steven Ivings, eds.) and the monograph Overseas Shinto Shrines: Religion, Secularity and the Japanese Empire (2022). Her research interests lie in the legacy of Shrine shrines located outside of Japan and the construction of colonial and postcolonial secularisms.
Ziyi Zhang: Born in Beijing, China, and is currently enrolled in the Doctoral Program at the University of Tokyo, specializing in the history of the relationship between religions and state in modern Japan. My research focuses particularly on how state and individual relationships are expressed through “Shinto rituals.” I am specifically interested in the process of formulating the shrine system and the institutional connections between overseas and Japanese shrines.
Jonathan Pettit, Associate Professor of Daoism, Department of Religions & Ancient Civilization, UHM
