Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to provide a new perspective on the Japanese legations to Europe during the Modern Age thanks to previously known documentation and unpublished discoveries related to the Keichō embassy, sent by Date Masamune in the early 17th century and its voyage back from Rome through Spain.

Paper long abstract:

Within the historical dynamics in the beginning of the globalisation and the relations between the Iberian Peninsula and Japan, research has focused on the two major embassies to Europe: the Tenshō and Keichō Embassies. Recent research has delved into their passage through different countries or cities, but there has been no monograph or digital platform that breaks down this information in detail. In our country, the most recent studies on their passage through the country are that of J. Selfa (1997) on the passage of the Tenshō Embassy through Murcia, the article by J. López-Vera (2012) on the Keichō Embassy and the book by R. Abad and J. San Bernardino (2019) on Date Masamune's letter to the city of Seville sent within the framework of the latter.

Regarding the Spanish Levant, only the previously mentioned work by J. Selfa exists, but it mentions the area of Alicante briefly, yet is not widely known. During the author's bibliographical compilation for his research on the latter in 2021, new information on the return port of the Keichō Embassy to Spain from Rome and its first stop in our country was located in the local chronicle of the city of Alicante written by Vicente Bendicho in 1640. This information, developed in three lines in the original writing, reveals the port of return of the Keichō Embassy to the Iberian Peninsula from Rome, sometimes attributed to Barcelona, its port of departure to the Eternal City.

The research carried out has allowed us to contextualize more clearly the passage of the two legations through the Spanish Levant and has provided a new perspective on the legation sent by the Date clan to Europe in the Keichō era. Their stop in Alicante and their accommodation in the Convent of San Francisco de Paula (Mutxamel) not only give us a new piece to complete the puzzle of this journey but also information about the ambassadors since it is the first time that their knowledge of Spanish is mentioned in primary sources, as Bendicho was at the Convent during their arrival.