JAPÓN Families in Spain - A Forgotten Piece of Japanese History for 200 Years (17-19th Century)
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Aoba Castle 青葉城 Sendai was home to the Date clan 伊達氏 The envoy to Vatican was stranded in Spain on their way back because of Tokukawa 德川's persecution of Christians. Date Masamune himself was a colorful daimyo, he was blinded in the right eye owing to a childhood disease, and to prove to his samurais that it would not impair his ability to fight, he actually enucleated that eye, chewed and swallowed it. Hasekura Tsunenaga 支倉常長 (a 17th-century Japanese samurai and retainer to Date Masamune) monuments @Sendai   In 1613 the Sendai daimyō Date Masamune dispatched Hasekura Tsunenaga from Ishinomaki aboard the galleon San Juan Bautista. The mission crossed to Acapulco in 1614, continued via Veracruz to Seville and Madrid, and in 1615 Hasekura was baptized “Felipe Francisco.” That autumn he traveled to Rome and obtained an audience with Pope Paul V before returning through New Spain and the Pacific, reaching Japan in 1620. By then anti-Christian edicts (1614) made treaties and missionaries untenable, and Masamune’s hoped-for trade accord was never ratified. Some delegates remained and settled in Spain; families in Coria del Río still carry the surname Japón. Accounts differ on Hasekura’s own faith after his return amid persecution. He died in 1622, but the embassy marks an early episode of transpacific and Euro-Japanese diplomacy. Lord Daté was a patron of Christianity in Japan. He actually built sea-worthy ships and with which, sent emissaries to Rome to establish diplomatic relations with the Pope. Five members of the expedition stayed in Coria (now Seville) in Spain to avoid religious persecution ordered by the Tokugawa government back home. The descendants adopted a last name "Japón" who now number 600+. Origin Source HERE. This piece of history was forgotten for 200 years until Meiji Era (1868-1912)   In terms of Taiwan history, it's intriguing to look at the 200-years period - Japan reached Europe (Spain and Rome), established back home a long period of isolation. During which times, Taiwan experienced European (Spanish and Dutch) colonializations. In 1895 - 200 years later - Japan ruled Taiwan, bringing in not only Japanese cultures and infrastructures but also their adaptions to the western world. Hasekura Tsunenaga 支倉常長 was considered the first Japanese to have tasted chocolate. My thought is he might have tasted it in Acapulco (Mexico) in 1614 or have access to cocoa powder. A recent article I wrote mentioned chocolate and Japanese - HERE. There is a statue of Hasekura Tsunenaga in Acapulco. .jpg) Observations made from THIS article - What is intriguing was the voyage from Ishimaki (石卷) across the Pacific to Acapulco, then from the east coast of Mexico to Spain, then Rome. Your cousin Ken once shared a story on Manila Manuscript describing a journey from Mexico to Manila, it would appear the Spaniards crossed the Pacific as a routine in the 16-17th century. Read HERE. (The picture above, from the Manuscript, has a headline that reads Tamchuy 淡水. *It is framed by local flora and fauna.* And an aboriginal couple is depicted in astounding detail. Besides garments and weapon, the female is holding a *golden skull*, apparently her victim and prized possession, which, according to the Manuscript, commanded respect from tribesmen for her bravery. ** (My opinion is they don't specifically represent local's. But a set of common (to typical) Spanish 'frame' representing colonial and religious symbolism and power. The woman's holding skull and the man's hand gesture are symbolic to religion/Catholicism as well as Spanish descriptions of local headhunting practice. My opinions are based on European experiences (in particular in Cambridge UK and Portugal)** Around 1630, Dominican Fr Jacinto Esquivel was preaching in Tamsui area, he noticed the continuing headhunting practice of a nearby tribe, the Kabalan 噶瑪蘭, even after other local tribes had made peace among themselves. There is no surprise here as the Taiwanese are familiar with the aboriginal head hunting which last into early Japanese rule. What's interesting is the participation of females in beheading the enemies, apparently in battles.) |
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