14 junio-15 agosto 2013

Lugar: Archivo General de Indias.

Avda. de la Constitucin s/n. 41004 Sevilla.
Telfono: (34) 954 500 528
Horario:
De lunes a sbado de 9:00-16:45.
Domingos y festivos de 10:00-14:00.
Entrada gratuita
Las visitas de grupos deben ser previamente concertadas en:
Archivo General de Indias.
Telfono: (34) 954 500 528. Fax: 954 219 485
Correo-e: agi2@mecd.es
Comisarias de la exposicin:
M Antonia Colomar Albjar
Pilar Lzaro de la Escosura
Diseo: Quintero&Loarte Gestin Grfica, S.L.
June 14 - August 15, 2013
Schedule:
Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:45 pm.
Sunday and Holidays, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.
Entrance is free
Group visits must be previously arranged
Information about visits:
Archivo General de Indias.
Tel: (34) 954 500 528. Fax: 954 219 485
E-mail: agi2@mecd.es
Commissioners of the Exhibit:
M Antonia Colomar Albjar
Pilar Lzaro de la Escosura
Design: Quintero&Loarte Gestin Grfica, S.L.

NIPO: 030-13-103-0
Depsito legal: SE 1202 - 2013

ARCHIVO GENERAL DE INDIAS

DE JAPN A ROMA BUSCANDO EL SOL DE LA CRISTIANDAD:

LA EMBAJADA DE HASEKURA
(1613-1620)

En este ao 2013 se cumple el cuarto centenario de la salida

del puerto japons de Tsukinora, con destino a Roma, de la
embajada del samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga conocida como
Embajada Keicho. Con este motivo se ha organizado en el
Archivo General de Indias una exposicin patrocinada por el
Ministerio de Educacin, Cultura y Deporte, que estar
abierta al pblico desde el 14 de junio hasta el 15 de agosto.
La Misin Keicho no constituye un hecho histrico aislado
sino que se enmarca en las relaciones bilaterales entre Japn
y Espaa. stas se establecieron a travs de las Islas Filipinas,
a partir del asentamiento espaol en dicho archipilago
(1565), inicialmente con algunos de los seores feudales
o daimyos, y tras la unificacin del pas, con los shogunes o
jefes del gobierno.

En las visitas y embajadas que se intercambian entre ambas

partes, subyacen dos objetivos: uno de tipo misional, por el
que compiten las distintas rdenes religiosas presentes en
Japn, y otro de tipo comercial en el que Espaa busca
neutralizar la influencia portuguesa y holandesa en esas
islas, y Japn pretende la apertura del comercio con Nueva
Espaa e incluso Europa, sin el intermedio de Manila.
Precedida por la Misin Tensho, de los jesuitas a Roma
(1582-1586), y la embajada a Espaa del franciscano Alonso
Muoz (1610), la de Hasekura se produce en el llamado
Periodo Keicho, etapa de la unificacin (octubre de
1596-julio de 1615), de ah su nombre. La Embajada Keicho
fue patrocinada en 1613 por el daimyo Date Masamune,
seor del reino de Boj y estaba dirigida por el franciscano
Luis Sotelo y el samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga. Deba
encaminarse a Madrid y a Roma, con el fin de lograr del rey
Felipe III y del papa Paulo V, aparte de los objetivos antes
mencionados, un obispado para el franciscano y la apertura
del comercio independiente con Nueva Espaa e incluso
Sevilla, para el reino del daimyo.

Sin embargo, el nuevo rumbo de la poltica del shogn

Tokugawa Ieyasu, orientado hacia el aislamiento
internacional y la prohibicin del cristianismo, supuso
que, antes del regreso a Japn, el xito de la expedicin
fuera imposible. Aunque no logr sus objetivos, esta larga
peripecia diplomtica, que dur siete aos (1613-1620) y
dej su huella en la poblacin sevillana de Coria del Ro,
signific uno de los escassimos contactos directos de los
japoneses en Europa antes del siglo XIX.

FROM JAPAN TO ROME IN THE QUEST OF THE LIGHT OF CHRISTIANITY:

THE EMBASSY OF HASEKURA

(1613-1620)

2013 is the year of the fourth centenary of the departure,

from the Japanese port of Tsukinora with destination to
Rome, of the embassy leaded by the samurai Hasekura
Tsunenaga, widely known as the Keicho Embassy. In
commemoration of this anniversary an exhibition, with the
patronage of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport,
has been organized in the General Archive of The Indies, and
will remain open to the public from June the 14th to August
the 15th.
The Keicho Mission is not an isolated historical fact, but only
one conspicuous element among those that constitute the
history of the bilateral relationships between Japan and
Spain. Those relationships were established through the
Philippine Islands since the Spanish settlement in that
archipelago (1565), with the feudal lords or daimyos in a
first moment, and then, once the country got unified, with
the shoguns (prime ministers).

Two main purposes underlay those exchanges of missions

and ambassadors: a first one, with an evangelism aim, in
which the different religious orders established in Japan
were pitted against each other; and, in a second term,
a commercial goal, in which Spain tries to neutralize the
Portuguese and Dutch influence on that area, while Japan
desires to open trade routes directly with New Spain, or even
with Europe, avoiding the intermediation of Manila.
Preceded by the Tensho Mission that had sent Jesuits to
Rome (1582-1586), and the embassy sent to Spain, led by
the Franciscan Alonso Muoz (1610), the embassy of
Hasekura took place in the Keicho Era, when the country
was unified (October 1596 July 1615), reason for that it is

also known under the name of Keicho Mission. That

embassy was endorsed by the daimyo Date Masamune,
Lord of the Kingdom of Boju, and was conducted by the
Franciscan Luis Sotelo and the samurai Hasekura
Tsunenaga. It had the objective to arrive to Madrid, and
then to Rome, and to obtain from the King Philip III and
the Pope Paulo V, the opening of an independent trade
route linking Boju with New Spain -or even with Seville-,
and a bishopric for Sotelo.
Nevertheless, the new political path of the shogun
Tokugawa Ieyasu, focused towards international
isolationism and the banning of Christianity, prevented
the success of the Mission prior its return to Japan. But
even if the main purposes were unachieved, this long
diplomatic journey, that lasted seven years (1613-1620),
left a mark in population of the sevillian town of Coria del
Ro, which meant one of the few direct contacts with
Japanese people before the 19th Century.
Traduccin: Guillermo Morn Dauchez