The Mystery Of The Samurai In Venice

Summary by Krater

This video explores a historical mystery involving two letters found in Venice archives dated 1813, written by a Japanese diplomat and referencing a 16th-century feudal lord and a delegation to Rome, examining how Japanese history, the Tensho Embassy, Christianity in Japan, and a Franciscan friar named Luis Sotelo connect to date Masamune's ambition to trade with the West.

From the video

Answers: Why do two 1813 letters in the Venice archives mention a 17th-century Japanese samurai named Hasekura Rokuyemon?

• Iwakura Embassy
• Tensho Embassy
• Sakoku
• Sengoku period
• Edo period
• Meiji era
• Christianity in Japan
• Luis Sotelo
• Date Masamune
• Battle of Sekigahara
• San Felipe incident

What it concludes

• The dates on the 1615/1616 letters found in Venice do not match the historical timeline of Hasekura Rokuyemon's life or the Tensho Embassy.
• Christian missionaries in Japan often aligned spiritual outreach with economic and trade relationships between Japanese lords and Europe.
• Hideyoshi issued an expulsion edict against Christian missionaries in 1587 and ordered the crucifixion of 26 Catholics in Nagasaki following the San Felipe incident in 1596.
• Date Masamune supported the Franciscans and sent Luis Sotelo and Hasekura Rokuyemon on an embassy to Europe to build trade relations and increase the power of his domain.