The USSH inaugurate the library on May 20.

Dr. Nishimura Masanari was born in 1965. He was a Japanese scholar who has over 20 years of experience in Vietnamese studies in the fields of archaeology, history, culture and anthropology. Dr. Nishimura Masanari spent the most time on his archaeology studies. On June 9, 2013, Dr. Nishimura Masanari suddenly passed away after an accident. This is a huge loss not only to his family, relatives and friends but also a major loss to regional and Vietnamese archaeology.
With a good understanding of Vietnamese archaeology, Dr. Nishimura Masanari worked with many experts from the USSH, Vietnam Institute of Archaeology and National Museum of History to carry out many archaeological excavations, explorations and investigations in Vietnam, as well as in the Southeast Asian region. He possessed a wealth of valuable material on the history of archaeology, culture and anthropology not only in Vietnam but also in the region.
Wishing to bring advancement to Vietnam in archaeological research, he opened many classes and training courses on excavation and field processing skills and techniques for Vietnamese students.
Along with his partner, Dr. Noriko Nishino, he was very interested in the field of community-based archaeology in Vietnam. The couple built the first two community museums in Vietnam: the Duong Xa Ceramic Museum (Bac Ninh) and the Kim Lan Commune Historical and Ceramic Museum (Hanoi). He also established the Foundation to Safeguard Underground Cultural Heritages in Southeast Asia (2001) and joined training courses for students and young officials on heritage protection in Vietnam.
For his great contributions, he has been awarded many honourable awards, including the Friendship Order in 2013 for his active contribution to archaeology in Vietnam and to the development of friendly relations between Vietnam and Japan.
To honour his love for Vietnam, the country he considered his second home, Nishimura Masanari’s family decided to donate more than 7,000 books, magazines and maps to the library named after him. Including, Stone Age, Early Agriculture, Dong Son Culture and Drum, East and South East Asia ancient citadels, and ceramics and pottery history of East Asia and Southeast Asia.
On the occasion, Dr. Nishimura Masanari’s parents also donated JPY50,000 from their pension to the Faculty of History and the USSH to preserve and help operate the library in the most effective way.