– XXXVII –

In which the Pope is sly

Camillo Borghese received them in the Map Room. He was seated on an elevated throne flanked by Cardinals and sixty members of the Swiss Guard in full array. The setting, with its enormous, vivid frescoes painted by Ignazio Danti, was calibrated to present an image of spiritual magnificence and geographical domination. Father Sotelo, in a state of high excitement, beamed at the surroundings as if to say to his Asian guests, ‘This is where I come from. This is what I and my God represent.’

Excerpt from an account written by Father Luis Sotelo, De ecclesiae Iaponicae statu relatio:

When we got there by the aid of God in the Year of Our Salvation 1615, not only were we kindly received by His Holiness the great Pope, with the Holy College of the Cardinals and a gathering of bishops and nobles, and even the joy and general happiness of the Roman People, but we and three others (whom the Japanese Christians had specially designated to announce their condition with respect to the Christian religion) were heard, rested, and just as we were hoping, dispatched as quickly as possible.

Hasekura Tsunenaga and Shiro, impressed as they were, privately judged the enormous hall to be ostentatious and overdone. They preferred the luxurious austerity displayed in Philip the Third’s Spain. The baroque papal presentation did not intimidate them, for they had the throne rooms in Edo and in Kyoto and in Osaka for use as comparison, rooms that derived their splendor from exquisite design and a minimal intrusion of furniture. Nevertheless, they bowed repeatedly and rendered a convincing show of awe and modesty in the hope it would help obtain the realization of Date Masamune’s wishes.

Translation of the Latin letter from Date Masamune to the Pope:

Kissing the Holy feet of the Great, Universal, Most Holy Lord of The Entire World, Pope Paul, in profound submission and reverence, I, Date Masamune, King of Sendai in the Empire of Japan, suppliantly say: The Franciscan Padre Luis Sotelo came to our country to spread the faith of God. On that occasion, I learnt about this faith and desired to become a Christian, but I still haven’t accomplished this desire due to some small issues. However, in order to encourage my subjects to become Christians, I wish that you send missionaries of the Franciscan church. I guarantee that you will be able to build a church and that your missionaries will be protected. I also wish that you select and send a bishop as well. Because of that, I have sent one of my samurai, Hasekura Tsunenaga, as my representative to accompany Luis Sotelo across the seas to Rome, to give you a stamp of obedience and to kiss your feet. Further, as our country and Nueva España are neighbouring countries, I beg your intervention so that we can discuss with the King of Spain, for the benefit of dispatching missionaries across the seas.

The Pope seemed receptive and genuinely curious, and he agreed to the dispatch of additional missionaries to Japan and sanctioned the idea of Sotelo’s church. But on the topic of trade, he decided to defer to Philip the Third.

‘When you return to Madrid, tell the King you have my blessing and that I shall defer to his decisions in all matters nonspiritual.’

It was a start, or so they convinced themselves. Hasekura Tsunenaga’s portrait was painted by Claude Deruet, and the Ambassador was made an honorary citizen of Rome. Shiro was pained and surprised to hear Date Masamune’s recognition of Father Sotelo’s desire for a church to be built in Sendai and hoped it was a ruse. The language employed in the letter to the Pope was most unlike him, and Shiro clung to that.

At the reception afterwards, Cardinal Roberto Bellarmino, prompted by Father Sotelo, paused to speak with Shiro, who told him that the King of Spain had made him a gift of the Cardinal’s book, the ‘Doctrina Cristiana.’ Flattered to the core and after an extended exchange of pleasantries, the Cardinal took an interest in the young man’s damaged hands.

‘I have an acquaintance who may be of use to you, an astronomer with an artistic bent who has many friends among the best doctors and surgeons in Rome. I shall have you presented to him if you so desire, but on one condition.’

‘My Lord?’ Shiro asked.

‘That you not allow him to addle your soul with his sinful rant about the Earth not being at the center of the universe.’