About 600 years before the Roman Catholic Church began missionary work in China, Nestorian missionaries had already arrived at Chang'an, the Chinese capital at that time. Nestorians left behind cultural goods like books, especially translations of the Bible, and institutions such as hospitals along their way from Mesopotamia, the birthplace of Nestorian Christianity, to China. Even today one can find traces of a Nestorian heritage in the culture, religions, ethics, and science of the countries along the Silk Road.
The lecture will address the question if the Nestorian Christianity reached Japan. This question has been asked by many historians since the beginning of the 20th century, and yet even today there is no clear answer. It is generally accepted that Nestorian Christianity did not come to Japan, because no records or archeological traces of any Nestorian missions to Japan exist.
