A TESTIMONY OF THE 400th ANNIVERSARY OF MEXICO - JAPAN
RELATIONS SPECIAL EXHIBITION:
THE DREAM OF FRIENDSHIP CARRIED BY THE GALLEONS |
 |
2010/1/23(Sat.) - 2/28(Sun.)
2009 marked the 400th anniversary of relations between Japan and Mexico. For
it was in the year 1609 that Rodrigo de Vivero , on completing his tour of office
as Interim Governor of the Philippines, boarded the galleon San Francisco bound
for his home in New Spain (now Mexico, then a Spanish Viceroyalty). The ship
was caught in stormy seas near Japan and ran aground off what is now Onjuku-machi
in Chiba Prefecture. Rodrigo, whose life was saved thanks a selfless rescue effort
by nearby villagers, had audiences with the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada at
Edo Castle and Tokugawa Ieyasu at Sunpu Castle. This gave him the opportunity
to lobby for friendly relations between Japan, New Spain and Spain, an idea to
which both Ieyasu and Hidetada were well disposed. Encouraged by their reply,
Rodrigo then boarded a galleon commissioned by the shogunate and returned to
New Spain in 1610.
But when Japan closed her doors to these countries in 1624, Rodrigo’s dream of friendship between Japan and New Spain was dashed. It was not until 1888, after the veil of isolation had been lifted and Japan started entering trade agreements, that relations between the two countries were resumed. For it was in that year that Japan signed the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation with Mexico (which had gained independence from Spain in 1821), the first such treaty concluded under equitable terms for both countries. And now, more than a century later, those ties of friendship are stronger than ever.
In this Special Exhibition to mark the 400th anniversary of relations between Japan and Mexico, we introduce the history of exchanges between Japan and New Spain (Mexico), as well as the galleon trade between Acapulco in Mexico and Manila in the Philippines. It is thanks to this trade, after all, that the San Francisco and Rodrigo de Vivero sailed so close to Japan in 1609.
|
|
Boat-shaped incense burner Second half of the 18th century New Spain
(México)
Museo Franz Mayer México
Photo by Jorge Vértiz |
