Acta consistorii publice exhibiti a S.D.N. Gregorio Papa XIII. regum Iaponiorum legatis Romae die XXIII. Martii, M.D. LXXXV.

£12,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

The very rare Milan edition of the official account of Pope Gregory XIII’s (1502-1585) reception of the first Japanese embassy to Europe, the so-called Tensho Embassy. The delegation was comprised four young envoys: Mansho Ito (c.1569-1612) and Miguel Chijiwa (1569-1632) were the ‘ambassadors’ representing three daimyo (Otomo Sorin, Omura Sumitada, and Arima Harunobu); accompanied by two nobles Julian Nakaura (ca. 1568-1633) and Martino Hara (ca. 1569–-1629). All were 14 years old when they left Japan. The legation also included two Japanese Jesuit brothers, Costantino Dourado (1567?-1620) who spoke fluent Portuguese (possibly because his father was Portuguese), and Jorge de Loyola (1562-1589). Both acted as translators and servants to the other four, and they had been specifically selected to learn printing techniques on a press which they in fact brought to Japan on their return journey in 1590. The embassy had the four-fold aim of obtaining exclusive rights for the Jesuits to expand the mission in Japan, to raise the profile of the mission in general and obtain funds, and furthermore to make Europe known to the Japanese and to impress them with the fruits of western civilisation. Not only was it the first time that Japanese culture became visible in Europe, it demonstrated to both Monarchs and the Catholic hierarchy that the Jesuits were essential conduits for influence and power. Meanwhile, the Pope was able to claim that his reach had expanded into the furthest ccorner o

• Binding: Hardcover

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