Hasekura Tsunenaga: From Japan to Rome and Back

Date Masamune had a galleon, the San Juan Bautista, built in 45 days to carry an embassy to Mexico. It left Tsukinoura with about 180 people aboard: samurai of the shogun and of Sendai, merchants, sailors and some forty Spaniards and Portuguese. The Japanese chronicle dates the departure to the 15th day of the ninth month; in our calendar that is 28 October 1613. Hasekura Tsunenaga, a Sendai retainer, led the mission to Mexico, Madrid and Rome.

Location precision: The chronicle names the port as Tsukinoura; the pin marks the Tsukinoura area of Ishinomaki, not a documented quay.

After three months at sea the ship reached Acapulco on 25 January 1614. The Japanese were received with great ceremony, but had to wait for orders on how the rest of the journey should be organised. Tempers frayed: fights broke out with the Spaniards, and the annalist Chimalpahin noted that the Spaniard Vizcaíno was beaten and stabbed. Orders issued on 4 and 5 March told everyone to treat the visitors properly.

Location precision: The sources name the port, not a quay; the pin marks the old centre of Acapulco on the bay.

The embassy entered Mexico City on 24 March 1614 and was received with great ceremony. Hasekura lodged in a house next to the Convent of San Francisco and met the Viceroy. On 9 April twenty Japanese were baptized, and twenty-two more on 20 April. Hasekura himself waited, and was said to want baptism in Spain. He left some of his men to trade and sailed from Veracruz on 10 June.

Location precision: The convent next to Hasekura's house is not pinned here; the pin marks the Zócalo, the city's central square.

In July 1614 the embassy stopped in Havana and changed ships, staying six days. It was a short stop, yet Cuba remembers it: a bronze statue of Hasekura was erected on 26 April 2001 at the head of Havana Bay. From here the fleet carried the Japanese on towards Spain.

Location precision: The sources give the bay, not the exact spot where the embassy stayed; the pin marks the Havana waterfront by the monument.

Visitor guidance: The bronze statue stands at the head of the bay.

The fleet reached Sanlúcar de Barrameda on 5 October 1614. In Madrid, on 30 January 1615, Hasekura met King Philip III and handed over Date Masamune's letter. The king replied that he would do what he could to accommodate the requests. On 17 February Hasekura was baptized at the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales and renamed Felipe Francisco, with the Duke of Lerma as his godfather.

Visitor guidance: The pin marks the Convent of Las Descalzas Reales, where he was baptized.

Leaving Spain in August 1615, the embassy sailed for Rome, but bad weather forced them to shelter for a few days in the harbour of Saint-Tropez. The local chronicle recorded the visitors in detail: they ate with two small sticks, and their swords could cut a sheet of soft paper blown against the edge. The visit is the first recorded instance of France-Japan relations.

Location precision: The sources give the harbour and the year, not a day; the pin marks the port of Saint-Tropez.

The embassy reached Rome in the autumn of 1615 and met Pope Paul V on 3 November. Hasekura handed over two gilded letters, one in Japanese and one in Latin, asking for a trade treaty and for missionaries. The Pope agreed to send missionaries but left trade to the King of Spain. The Roman Senate made Hasekura a Roman noble and citizen. The letters can still be seen in the Vatican archives.

Location precision: The sources do not say where the audience was held; the pin marks the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican.

Hasekura and Luis Sotelo reached the Philippines in April 1618 aboard the San Juan Bautista. The Spanish government bought the ship to strengthen its defences against Protestant powers. Hasekura used the stay to buy goods for Date Masamune and had a ship built for the last leg home.

Location precision: The sources name the Philippines and Manila, not a specific site; the pin marks Intramuros, Manila's old walled city.

Hasekura came back in August 1620, reaching the harbour of Nagasaki. Japan had changed: Christianity had been under attack since 1614, and news of it had made European rulers reluctant to answer his trade and missionary proposals. He brought back a portrait of Pope Paul V and one of himself in prayer, now in Sendai, where the Roman citizenship document he carried home is also preserved.

Location precision: The sources name the harbour of Nagasaki; the pin marks the port area, not a specific quay.