Seminar "New Studies on Japan and Asia" 3rd time 2015

At this seminar, young researchers brought two new studies.

Postgraduate student Pham Hoang Hung (Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies) presented a report on “The issue of women’s inheritance in the 13th century ‘Goseibai Shikimoku – Imperial Success and Failure Law’ (Japan) and the 15th century ‘National Dynasty Penal Code’ (Vietnam). The report summarized the two codes and clarified that both codes recognized women’s right to inherit property. This is a viewpoint that the Chinese model law did not have. From there, the author argued that Vietnam and Japan were feudal countries with an agricultural economy and recognized private property.

Postgraduate student Pham Hoang Hung presented a report on “The issue of women's inheritance in the 13th century 'Goseibai Shikimoku - Imperial Success and Failure Law' (Japan) and the 15th century 'National Dynasty Penal Code' (Vietnam)

Commenting on the article, Associate Professor Dr. Phan Hai Linh (Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies) said that the paper mentioned an interesting issue in the history of Vietnam and Japan, which is the inheritance rights of women in the context of feudal society, and at the same time clarified the main issue of women's inheritance rights expressed in two sets of laws and used many valuable original sources for reference. Associate Professor Dr. Vu Thi Phung (Department of Archives and QTVP) considered this a meaningful topic not only to identify the past but also to show the views of contemporary states on the role and position of women. However, the article needs to analyze more deeply the position of women in contemporary society in Japan and Vietnam, and should refer to some articles on the issue of women's inheritance of property in feudal law in general and the Hong Duc Code in particular.

Dr. Vo Minh Vo (Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies) presented the report “The Presence of Karayuki-san in Southeast Asia from the Late 19th Century to the 1920s”. The report examines the relationship between Japan and Southeast Asia based on the study of the presence of a group of Japanese women working abroad, also known as Karayuki-san, in Southeast Asia from the late 19th century to the 1920s, through Japanese records and statistics. The presence of Karayuki-san abroad, including Southeast Asia, is a social phenomenon that emerged along with the process of a large number of Japanese people migrating abroad.

Dr. Vo Minh Vu presented the report “The presence of karayuki-san in Southeast Asia from the late 19th century to the 1920s”

Commenting on the article, Dr. Pham Van Thuy (Faculty of History) said that choosing a social history issue - the prostitution of Japanese women in Southeast Asia - is a new approach of the author. Dr. Nguyen Manh Dung (Institute of Policy and Management) said that the author has comprehensively and systematically researched the presence of sakayuki-san in Southeast Asia in terms of quantity, age and occupation, but some points need to be clarified such as the presence of karayuki-san in Southeast Asia and Vietnam, the concept of "social phenomenon", and some documents from Japanese oral history.

The seminar series “New Studies on Japan and Asia” sponsored by the Toshiba Foundation aims to promote research activities and academic exchanges among young staff, while promoting the sharing of new scientific research results on Japan in particular and Asia in general.