I'd like some reading recommendations on the history of Roman Catholicism in the early days of direct (western) European contact with China and Japan, namely when the Portuguese and Spanish arrived in SE Asia and East Asia.
In particular I'm interested in the suppression of the Catholic minority in Japan, and in learning how things were in the late Ming to Qing eras.
Thanks in advance for your recommendations!
I'm not too sure about Roman Catholicism in China and Japan; but a great and quite short book to start of with is 'Conquerors : How Portugal seized the Indian Ocean and forged the First Global Empire' by Roger Crowley. It details the Portuguese expedition by Vasco de Gama to the governorship of Alfonso de Albuquerque.
It doesn't focus fully on the conversion of natives to Christianity, however it does discuss religion as one of the key drivers of Portuguese exploration. A quite interesting part is that Vasco de Gama thought the local Hindus were Christians because they shouted "Christ!" when shown a picture of the Virgin Mary. However they were most likely shouting "Krishna!"
Source: 'Conquerors : How Portugal seized the Indian Ocean and forged the First Global Empire' by Roger Crowley