Masamune’s Embassy Travels to Mexico, Spain and Rome
The embassy sailed from Tsukinoura in 1613 aboard the San Juan Bautista, a Western-style ship built for Sendai. Masamune entrusted Hasekura and the Franciscan Sotelo with requests for direct trade with Spanish Mexico and the dispatch of missionaries. About 180 people embarked, including many merchants.
After reaching Acapulco, most passengers remained in Mexico. A smaller delegation of about thirty continued across the Atlantic in 1614. Hasekura met Philip III in Spain and Pope Paul V in Rome, delivering Masamune’s letters. His baptism in Spain and reception in Rome became prominent parts of the mission’s surviving record.
The requests faced a worsening political setting. Japan’s restrictions on Christianity intensified while the envoys were overseas, and Spanish authorities became less willing to support the proposed arrangements. Hasekura returned in 1620 without the intended trade and missionary agreement. Portraits, letters and other objects preserved in Sendai document the journey, but the ceremonial receptions did not amount to successful completion of its negotiations.
