Mancio Ito
top from left to right: Julião Nakaura, father Mesquita, Ito Mancio.
Bottom left to right: Martinão Hara, Miguel Chijiwa.
Mancio Ito ( Japanese 伊 東 マ ン シ ョ , Itō Mansho ; * 1570 as Itō Sukemasu ( 伊 東 祐 益 ); † 1612 ) was a Japanese nobleman and the first official Japanese envoy to Europe.
The idea of sending a Japanese embassy to Europe was originally conceived by the Jesuit Alessandro Valignano and supported by the three Christian daimyōs Ōmura Sumitada , Ōtomo Sōrin and Arima Harunobu . Ito Mancio was selected to act as spokesman for the group chosen by Ōtomo Sōrin, the most powerful daimyō in Bungo Province in Kyushu and close relatives of Mancio's father, Itō Shurinosuke ( 伊 東 祐 青 ). Ito left Nagasaki on February 20, 1582, accompanied by three other nobles:
- Miguel Chijiwa ( 千 々 石 ミ ゲ ル , Chijiwa Migeru )
- Julião Nakaura ( 中 浦 ジ ュ リ ア ン , Nakaura Jurian )
- Martinão Hara ( 原 マ ル チ ノ , Hara Maruchino )
They were accompanied by two servants and their tutor and translator, Diego de Mesquita . Her mentor Valignano only accompanied her as far as Goa in India , where he took on new tasks. On their way to Lisbon , where they arrived in August 1584, they spent nine months visiting Macau , Cochin and Goa. From Lisbon the ambassadors traveled to Rome , the main destination of their trip. There Mancio Ito became an honorary citizen and was accepted into the ranks of the European nobility with the title Cavaliere di speron d'oro (" Knight of the Golden Spur "). During their stay in Europe they met with King Philip II of Spain , Francesco I de 'Medici ; Grand Duke of Tuscany , Pope Gregory XIII. and his successor Pope Sixtus V together.
The ambassadors returned to Japan on July 21, 1590. They had been asked to keep records for their eight year journey. These formed the basis for the writing De Missione Legatorum Iaponensium ad Romanam Curiam ("On the mission of the Japanese legants to the Roman Curia"), which was published in Macau by the Jesuit Duarte de Sande in 1590. The four were subsequently ordained by Alessandro Valignano as the first four Japanese Jesuit padres ever.
See also
- Hasekura Tsunenaga , another Japanese ambassador to Europe in 1615
literature
- CR Boxer: The Christian Century in Japan 1549-1650 . Carcanet Press, ISBN 1-85754-035-2
- Seiichi Iwao: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese History . Tokyo 1978
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Ito, Mancio |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Itō Mansho; 伊 東 マ ン シ ョ (Japanese); 伊 東 祐 益 (maiden name, Japanese); Itō Sukemasu (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Japanese nobleman and diplomat |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1570 |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1612 |