THE STORIES ABOUT CULTURAL EXCHANGE BETWEEN FOREIGN COUNTRIES AND KYUSHU

Japanese People who Served in the Tenshō Embassy

Ito Mancio was born in Saito City, Miyazaki Prefecture, in 1569. He enrolled in Arima Elementary School (seminary) in Nagasaki Prefecture, and at age 13 became the primary delegate in the Tensho embassy and was sent to Rome along with three other youths.
In 1585, the delegation received an audience with the pope at the papal palace in Rome and then with the Doge of Venice at the Doge’s Palace in Venice. A portrait of Ito Mancio commissioned at the time by the Venetian Senate was discovered by the the Trivulzio Foundation in 2014, more than 400 years later.
The delegation then visited various places, including the island of Murano, where they watched glass making. In 1590, they returned to Japan carrying European cultural items, a printing machine, musical instruments and more. They subsequently worked as priests and dedicated their lives to the welfare of the people.

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