Early Japanese Travellers in the West

[Thomson & Thompson]

The Portuguese reached Japan in 1542.
But when did the Japanese travelled to the West for the first time?
The Time Life book "Early Japan" says 1573 but has absolutely nothing to
back this up.
No mention of such travels in Sansom's books (I think).
After the strictures of the Tokugawa shogunate were implemented such travels
became impossible.

[m***@netMAPSONscape.net]

Post by Thomson & Thompson
The Portuguese reached Japan in 1542.
But when did the Japanese travelled to the West for the first time?

The book "Samurai William" mentions them in passing.

Post by Thomson & Thompson
The Time Life book "Early Japan" says 1573 but has absolutely nothing to
back this up.
No mention of such travels in Sansom's books (I think).
After the strictures of the Tokugawa shogunate were implemented such travels
became impossible.

More or less true. The book "The Shogun's Reluctant Ambassadors" by
Katherine Plummer has various accounts of Japanese blown out of
Japanese waters to foreign lands, who were returned to Japan.

An interesting read.

Mike

[j***@csse.monash.edu.au]

Post by Thomson & Thompson
The Portuguese reached Japan in 1542.
But when did the Japanese travelled to the West for the first time?
The Time Life book "Early Japan" says 1573 but has absolutely nothing to
back this up.

Well, legend has it that St Francis Xavier got the idea of going to
Japan when, in 1547, he met a Portuguese-speaking Japanese called
Anjiro (or Yajiro) in Malacca.

You'll find this story at
http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/~d-mccoy/xavier/vara/vara_e04.html
and another version at
http://www.pauline.or.jp/history/e-history01.html#05

Of course Anjiro/Yajiro didn't get to "the West". I don't know about
1573, but a group of "princes" went to Europe in 1582.

[Arturo]

Post by Thomson & Thompson
The Portuguese reached Japan in 1542.
But when did the Japanese travelled to the West for the first time?
The Time Life book "Early Japan" says 1573 but has absolutely nothing to
back this up.

In the year 1582, the Jesuit missionary priest Alessandro Valignano,
who was sent to Japan to inspect the state of the local missions,
thought of sending a delegation of young boys to Europe, and make them
visit the Pope.

The purpose of the delegation was to show them the missionary
achievement of the Society of Jesus in Europe, and to make them
experience the Christian world in Europe. And then, they could share
the highly evaluated experience with their companions in Japan.

On February 20, 1582, together with Valignano and other Jesuits, 10
Japanese left the port of Nagasaki by ship. At that time, the danger
of ship wreck was frequent, and they also had to wait for the
appropriate wind, which made the journey stop for many months.

The youth delegation traveled through Macao, Malacca and to Goa. In
Goa, as Valignano received news of his promotion to Provincial
Superior, Nuno Rodriguez took the responsibility of the delegation.
They went around the Cape of Good Hope, and after 2 years and 6 months
finally arrived to Portugal in August 1584.

At that time, Portugal was governed by a Spanish king. They first went
to visit Cardinal Austoria, and went to Spain. From the time they
visited King Felipe II in Madrid, people began to welcome them with
enthusiasm.

On March 23, 1585, on the day of their official visit to the Pope
Gregory XIII, they were wearing the Japanese kimono, and that made the
people excited with surprise and delight. In the Imperial room of the
Vatican Palace, the letter from the Christian feudal lord has been
read, and they could talk with the Pope with interpretation. The Pope
passed away only 16 days later, some say because of the joy he felt in
receiving visitors that came from such a faraway land.

The new Pope, Sixtus V, also treated them kindly and made them
honorary citizens of Rome. After the visit to the Pope, they got so
many invitations , as many people wished to meet them. In April 1586,
the delegation left Europe, after going to northern Italy. Passing in
India, they could meet Valignano once more in Goa.

Arriving in Macao, they heard the sad news of religious persecutions
in Japan against Christians. And because of this they stayed two years
in Macao. Only in June 1590, after 8 years, they finally could go back
to Japan, with Father Valignano who went to Japan as an assistant
delegate from India.

They are regarded as the first Japanese who ever traveled to the West.