Haruko Nawata Ward is a religious historian currently teaching church history at Columbia Theological Seminary. She is known primarily for her work on women religious leaders, history of Christianity in Asia, history of the Christian Reformation, encounter of cultures and religions and justice issues throughout the history of the church.[4]


Haruko Nawata Ward
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity (Presbyterian)
ChurchPresbyterian Church (USA)
Ordainedc. 2003[1]
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisWomen and the Jesuits in the Christian Century (1549–1650) in Japan[2] (2001)
Doctoral advisorJane Dempsey Douglass[3]
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-disciplineEcclesiastical history
School or traditionFeminism
InstitutionsColumbia Theological Seminary

Career edit

Ward received a BFA from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music (1976), a MA from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of New York University (1980), a MDiv from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (1983), a ThM (1993) and a PhD (2001) from Princeton Theological Seminary. During her time here she served as a Teaching Fellow and an occasional lecturer (1996–2001). She was ordained as a minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and began teaching at Columbia Theological Seminary as the assistant professor of Church History (2002-2008) and then associate professor of Church History (2008–2016). She is currently the Professor of Church History at Columbia Theological Seminary.

Thought edit

Ward, "a self-proclaimed feminist historian,"[5] is most widely known for her research on women throughout the history of the Christian church who have been largely ignored, especially in Asia. She states the "social historians have surveyed the activities of lay Kirishitan male leaders, but not paid attention to their female counterparts."[6] In this research Ward seeks to re-emphasize the voice of women throughout history and to reinterpret Christian history through these voices. Additionally, her work also seeks to reveal how the "Christian mission had a significant cultural and social impact on Japan"[7] throughout its history.

Works edit

  • Women Religious Leaders of Japan’s Christian Century: 1549–1650. Series Women and Gender in the Early Modern World. Aldershot, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2009.[5][6][7][8][9](Nominated for Gordon Book Prize from the Renaissance Society of America in 2009.)
  • Christian Theology of Martyrdom and Women Martyrs in Early Modern Japan (In Progress).

References edit

  1. ^ https://archive.org/details/inspire713unse/page/n80
  2. ^ Ward, Haruko Nawata (2001). Women and the Jesuits in the Christian Century (1549–1650) in Japan (doctoral dissertation). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Theological Seminary. ProQuest 276243423.
  3. ^ Ward, Haruko Nawata (2001). Women and the Jesuits in the Christian Century (1549–1650) in Japan (doctoral dissertation). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Theological Seminary. p. 1. ProQuest 276243423.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-11. Retrieved 2017-02-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ a b Ballhatchet, Helen. "Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650. (Review)". internationalbulletin.org. International Bulletin of Missionary Research.
  6. ^ a b Nam‐lin, Hur. "Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650 Review". oxfordjournals.org. The American Historical Review. Archived from the original on 2015-06-27.
  7. ^ a b Farge, William. "Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650 Review". Catholic Historical Review. Archived from the original on 2016-04-11. Retrieved 2016-03-30.
  8. ^ Ryan, James (2010). "Review Reviewed Work: Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650 by Haruko Nawata Ward". Renaissance Quarterly. 63 (3). The University of Chicago Press: 943–945. doi:10.1086/656969. JSTOR 10.1086/656969. S2CID 162348854.
  9. ^ Robarts, Julie. "Women Religious Leaders in Japan's Christian Century, 1549–1650 (review)". researchgate.net. Parergon.

External links edit