Yeah, so gather round, kids, it's time for #FridayNightHistory and a chat about galleons, samurai in Mexico and Rome, and that time the house of Date tried to use the Pope as a weapon against the shogun.

You just can't make this shit up. #japanesehistory #womenalsoknowhistory

Okay, so here we go. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu led the eastern coalition to victory and in 1603, was declared shogun by Emperor Goyozei. The title became hereditary. But the Tokugawa clan's power was far from secure.

Our old pal Date Masamune, far to the north, was one of Ieyasu's key allies, and kept the Uesugi clan off his back during the campaign in 1600. Battle of Hasedo is to Sekigahara as East Cavalry Field is to Cemetery Hill.

Thing is, Masamune is also a rival.

Tokugawa clan doesn't have the ability to go march an army up north and kick everyone's ass in person, it's easier and more cost effective to just threaten them and otherwise have them as allies, up there-- chief among them the house of Date.

But Masamune had PLANS, friends.

He sets up a new castle and thus establishes the modern city of Sendai, welcomes foreigners and also Japanese Christians to come set up in his domain, and as of 1603 still has a large, powerful army with cutting edge muskets and an excellent record in the field.

He's also kinda miffed that as powerful as he is, he wasn't able to recover his clan's historic territories just south, in what's now Fukushima Prefecture. So, while Masamune continues to build up his domain and military power, he also works on cultivating international relations

Mind, being friendly to Japanese Christians doesn't mean HE was Christian. There was a gradual crackdown enacted by the Shogunate across decades. It was politically expedient for Masamune to position himself as a champion to the people the shogun alienated-- Japanese or otherwise

And eventually, in the interest of taking shit to the next level, Masamune ordered the construction of a Spanish-style galleon, which he named the Date-maru, and which the Spaniards called San Juan Bautista.

AND THUS IT WAS THAT IN 1613, THE HOUSE OF DATE SENT A DIPLOMATIC DELEGATION TO ROME!

(Pictured, the modern replica San Juan Bautista, moored at Ishinomaki, on the far side of Sendai Bay from modern Sendai)

The ship went to Cape Mendocino (in modern California), and thence to Acapulco. Then it was received in Mexico City, Veracruz, and finally boarded ships to cross the Caribbean and Atlantic. After a stopover in Havana, the delegation arrived in Spain in late 1614.

In Spain, Hasekura Tsunenaga, leader of the delegation, delivered a letter from Masamune, requesting diplomatic relations, and trade from King Philip III-- the request was granted, and Hasekura was baptized by the King's personal chaplain.

After a stopover in France-- the first example of Franco-Japanese relations-- the delegation arrived in Rome in 1615, where Hasekura was received in audience before the Pope, to whom he delivered ANOTHER letter from Masamune.

Remember, at this point, the Pope is a political and military leader as well as the head of the RC Church. So to get his support means to court political and military assistance as well.

Here's a photo from the top of the original letter from Masamune.

"To the great and universal father of the world, Pope Paul V, I, Date Masamune, King of Oshu in the Empire of Japan, humbly kiss your feet and say as a supplicant..."

I'll share a link to an old translation of the full letter later, but the gist of it is this: "You are so awesome, your religion is so awesome, send me conquistadors and friars to help me conquer Japan and I will make everyone be Catholic when I'm done."

Again, we really need to bear in mind: this is NOT any proof that Masamune was interested in being Christian. But kissing the church's ass was politically expedient, so he said what he had to say, in order to get that sweet sweet firepower in hand.

MEANWHILE BACK IN JAPAN, though!

Things had changed. At that very moment, Masamune was leading his army in Osaka, not against the shogun, but for him, as an ally in the final fight against the Tokugawa shogunate's remaining major rival in central Japan.

The persecution was also intensifying, to the point that when Hasekura went back to Spain, word had come in that this was happening, so some of his fellow Date vassals who were sincerely Christian decided to stay behind in the town of Coria del Río.

Their descendants, still in Coria del Río, are surnamed Japón ("Japan").

The rest of Hasekura's delegation returned to Japan via Mexico and the Philippines by 1620. The trusty Date-maru/San Juan Bautista was sold in Manila, where it disappears from history.

So the mission came to nothing. But, it was another example of Date engagement with new ideas and technologies, and with international relations. Even in the isolationist centuries that followed, the Date had no choice but to keep aware of it, as Russian power grew.

There's a story about Masamune. The third shogun Iemitsu had just met him, and so Iemitsu, his father Hidetada, and Masamune were having a tea ceremony.

Masamune made the tea. Iemitsu asked, "How do I know that's not poisoned?"

Masamune smiled and said "If I wanted to kill your father I could've done it a long time ago."

I think it says something about Masamune's contingencies, and his ultimately frustrated plans.

Here's a link to Masamune's letter to Pope Paul V: Latin first, then the English, as translated in 1898. https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3gYAAAAYAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&pg=PA66#v=onepage&q&f=false

Hasekura survived, his descendants continued as Date vassals through 1871, and they still live in Sendai, where several local museums preserve some of the things he brought home from Rome, Spain, and Mexico.

Masamune's mausoleum was destroyed during the firebombing of Sendai in 1945. When it was rebuilt several years later, his grave was exhumed, his remains studied, and his burial goods photographed.

Buried with him was a monocle from Italy.

I wonder what the old man used to daydream about, later in life. Did he dream about what might have been?

The mind boggles.

To support #FridayNightHistory and the rest of my work, sign up at http://patreon.com/riversidewings .

I'm Nyri and this has been Friday Night History.

Now-- questions?

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