San Juan Bautista (“St. John the Baptist”) (originally called
Date Maru, 伊達丸 in Japanese) was one of Japan's first Japanese-built Western-style sail warships. She crossed the Pacific in 1614. She was of the Spanish
galleonA galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with demi-culverin type of cannon....
type, known in Japan as Nanban-Sen (南蛮船, lit. “Southern Barbarian ships”).
She transported the first leg of a Japanese embassy of 180 people to the
PopePope Paul V , born Camillo Borghese, was Pope from 16 May, 1605 until his death.-Early life:...
, headed by
Hasekura TsunenagaHasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga was a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyo of Sendai....
and accompanied by the Spanish friar
Luis SoteloLuis Sotelo , was a Franciscan friar who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867....
.
San Juan Bautista (“St. John the Baptist”) (originally called
Date Maru, 伊達丸 in Japanese) was one of Japan's first Japanese-built Western-style sail warships. She crossed the Pacific in 1614. She was of the Spanish
galleonA galleon was a large, multi-decked sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries. Whether used for war or commerce, they were generally armed with demi-culverin type of cannon....
type, known in Japan as Nanban-Sen (南蛮船, lit. “Southern Barbarian ships”).
She transported the first leg of a Japanese embassy of 180 people to the
PopePope Paul V , born Camillo Borghese, was Pope from 16 May, 1605 until his death.-Early life:...
, headed by
Hasekura TsunenagaHasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga was a Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyo of Sendai....
and accompanied by the Spanish friar
Luis SoteloLuis Sotelo , was a Franciscan friar who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867....
. After transporting Hasekura to the Spanish possessions of
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the ship returned to Japan. Hasekura and the embassy went on to Europe, eventually reaching Rome.
Construction
San Juan Bautista was built in 1613 by
Date Masamunewas a Japanese samurai of the Azuchi-Momoyama period through early Edo period. Heir to a long line of powerful daimyo in the Tōhoku region, he went on to found the modern-day city of Sendai. An outstanding tactician, he was made all the more iconic for his missing eye...
, the
Daimyois a generic term referring to the powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan who ruled most of the country from their vast, hereditary land holdings...
of
Sendaiis the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. The city has a population of one million and is one of Japan's seventeen designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyo Date Masamune, and is well known by its nickname, the...
in northern
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, in Tsuki-No-Ura harbour (
IshinomakiIshinomaki is a city located in Miyagi, Japan.As of 2003, the area that the current city occupies had an estimated population of 171,068 and the density of 308.04 persons per km²...
,
Miyagiis a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region on Honshū island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshū, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Ainu and became...
). The project had been approved by the Bakufu, the
Shogun is a military rank and historical title for Hereditary Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces of Japan. The modern rank is equivalent to a Generalissimo...
's government in
Edo, literally: bay-door, "estuary", ), also romanized as Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of the Japanese capital Tokyo, and was the seat of power for the Tokugawa shogunate which ruled Japan from 1603 to 1868...
.
The Shogun already had two smaller ships (80 and 120 tons) built for him by the English pilot
William AdamsWilliam Adams , also known in Japanese as Anjin-sama and Miura Anjin , was an English navigator who travelled to Japan and is believed to be the first Briton ever to reach that country...
, and the larger one, the
San Buena VenturaSan Buena Ventura was a 120 ton ship built in Japan under the direction of the English navigator and adventurer William Adams for the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
, was given to Spanish shipwrecked sailors for their return to Mexico in 1610. The Shogun also issued numerous permits for
Red seal shipswere Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century...
, destined to Asian trade and incorporating many elements of Western ship design.
San Juan Bautista is reported to have required 45 days work, with the participation of technical experts from the Bakufu, 800 shipwrights, 700
smithA metalsmith, often shortened to smith, is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects.In pre-industrialized times, smiths held high or special social standing since they supplied the metal tools needed for farming and warfare.- Etymology of smith :The word smith is cognate with the somewhat...
s, and 3000
carpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who performs carpentry. Carpenters work with wood to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
s. Two Spanish men are also reported to have participated to the endeavour: the friar
Luis SoteloLuis Sotelo , was a Franciscan friar who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867....
, and the Spanish captain
Sebastian VizcainoSebastián Vizcaíno was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Philippines, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Japan.-Early career:...
.
These efforts were seen with disapproval by the Spanish government in
ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
, and Los Rios Coronel suggested that Luis Sotelo should not be allowed into Japan any further (C.R. Boxer).
Two trans-Pacific round-trips
Upon completion, the ship left in 28 October 1613 for
AcapulcoAcapulco is a city, and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay. It is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, United States...
in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, with around 180 people on board, consisting of 10 samurai of the Shogun (led by the Minister of the Navy Mukai Shooken), 12 samurai from Sendai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors, and servants, and around 40 Spaniards and Portuguese. The ship arrived in Acapulco on 25 January 1614 after three months at sea.
After a year in Acapulco, the ship returned to Japan on April 28th, 1615, as Hasekura continued to Europe. It seems that around 50 specialists in mining and silver-refining were invited to Japan on this occasion, so that they could help develop the mining industry in the Sendai area. A group of
FranciscanThe term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic religious orders, also known as the Orders of Friars Minor, that follow a body of regulations known as "The rule of St. Francis", or a member of one of these orders. As well as Roman Catholic there are also small Old Catholic and...
s led by Father Diego de Santa Catalina, sent as a religious embassy to
Tokugawa Ieyasu
also sailed on the ship. The
San Juan Bautista arrived in
Uragais a subdivision of the city of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is located on the south eastern side of the Miura Peninsula, at the northern end of the Uraga Channel, at the entrance of Tokyo Bay.-History:...
on August 15th, 1615.
In September 1616, the
San Juan Batista headed again to Acapulco, at the request of Luis Sotelo. She was sailed by Captain
Yokozawa Shogen' was a Japanese samurai of the 16th century, who served Date Masamune, ruler of the Sendai domain.In September 1616, under an order by Date Masamune, Yokozawa went to Mexico on the San Juan Bautista in order to fetch his compatriot Hasekura Rokuemon who was coming back from an embassy to...
, but the trip went wrong and around 100 sailors died en route.
San Juan Bautista finally arrived in Acapulco in May 1617. Sotelo and Hasekura met in Mexico for the final trip back to Japan. In April 1618 the
San Juan Bautista arrived to the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, where she was sold to the Spanish government there, with the objective of building up defenses against the Dutch. Hasekura returned to Japan in 1620.
By the time Hasekura came back, Japan had changed quite drastically: Christianity was being eradicated since its interdiction in 1614, and Japan was moving towards a period of Seclusion. Because of these persecutions, the trade agreements with Mexico he had been trying to establish were also denied. In the end, his embassy seems to have had little results, and he died two years later of illness.
San Juan Bautista today
A new
San Juan Bautista was reconstructed in 1993 on the basis of the records of the House of Date. Although the exact blueprints have not been found, the ship’s dimensions were recorded properly, permitting the reconstitution. The ship is currently on display in a theme park in
IshinomakiIshinomaki is a city located in Miyagi, Japan.As of 2003, the area that the current city occupies had an estimated population of 171,068 and the density of 308.04 persons per km²...
, in northern Japan, close to the location where she was originally built.
See also
- Manila Galleon
The Manila galleons or Manila-Acapulco galleons were Spanish trading ships that sailed once or twice per year across the Pacific Ocean between Manila in the Philippines, and Acapulco, New Spain . The name changed reflecting the city that the ship was sailing from. Service was inaugurated in 1565,...
- List of ships of the Japanese Navy
- Red seal ships
were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century...
- Ship replica
A ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of a historic vessel...
(including a list of ship replicas)
External links