Ogawa, Hitoshi (2026). “Contextualizing the Keichō Mission (1613–1620): New Sources from the Vatican Library”, Shūen shiryō to tōzai gengo sesshoku, bunka kōshō no shosō (Kansai University Institute of Oriental and Occidental Studies, Research Series 18), pp. 217–232.
Most histories of the Keichō Embassy treat Scipione Amati as a passive chronicler, a translator who simply recorded the journey of Date Masamune’s delegation from Sendai to Rome. This view assumes his published accounts were neutral reports of a diplomatic event, written to inform a European audience about a distant land. It overlooks the fact that Amati was a careerist operating within the complex patronage networks of early modern Rome, where information was currency and access to the Pope was the ultimate prize.
Ogawa Hitoshi’s study dismantles this passive image by treating Amati’s writings not only as historical records, but also as documents that served his ecclesiastical advancement. The central argument is that Amati, very probably, actively contextualized his service as an interpreter and historian as a pivotal element of his personal career, leveraging the embassy’s prestige to climb the ecclesiastical ladder. He did not merely witness the mission; he used his proximity to it as a negotiating tool. The text argues that Amati used his role with his Colonna patrons and to court the Barberini family, turning his diplomatic experience into a rhetorical tool for securing benefices and titles.
The evidence for this claim rests on a meticulous reconstruction of Amati’s career trajectory using newly discovered primary materials. Ogawa cross-references Amati’s published works with autograph letters and unpublished manuscripts held in the Colonna Archives and the Vatican Library. A key piece of evidence is a letter written by Amati on December 8, 1615, addressed to Filippo Colonna I. Amati did not just write this letter; he appears to have written it on rare Japanese paper (washi), probably obtained from a member of the embassy. Ogawa reads this as a calculated move, using a physical artifact of the mission to attract the favor of a powerful patron when requesting a letter of recommendation for an ecclesiastical benefice. The study shows that the role kept serving him: the Considerationi civili of 1623 explicitly cites his diplomatic role in recommending him as a mediator for the Colonna family, marking a significant step in his rise from Archpriest to Vicar General and finally to Protonotary Apostolic by 1634.
The analysis extends to Amati’s textual output, revealing how he shaped his narratives to serve his ambitions. The “Brief Account of Japan,” preserved in the Vatican Archive’s Borghese collection, is shown to be heavily focused on political history, comprising 55% of the text. This structural choice reflects an intent to interpret Japan’s political situation through the lens of contemporary Christian political theology and Tacitean historiography, rather than offering a balanced ethnography. By framing Japanese politics through a Christian moral framework, Amati made the text useful to Italian elites and the Papacy, reinforcing the supremacy of the Roman Catholic Church while showcasing his own unique expertise. Furthermore, in his later treatise on the Solemn Procession of the Most Holy Sacrament, Amati makes an abrupt insertion of his embassy experience. This is not a casual reminiscence; it is a deliberate assertion of status, driven by a fear that the embassy would be forgotten after the papal succession, in a treatise that also flatters the Barberini family.
This work is most useful for readers who already know the basic timeline of the Keichō Embassy and want to understand the personal mechanics behind the historical record. It introduces Scipione Amati and Date Masamune, and it does not require specialized training in Latin or Japanese paleography. The study is concise, drawing its conclusions from a tight cluster of documents spanning 1613 to the 1630s. It leaves aside the broader diplomatic outcomes of the embassy or the full scope of the Jesuit mission in Japan, focusing strictly on Amati’s individual trajectory and his use of the event to advance his career.
For the Nanban.pt audience, this study offers a crucial correction to the romanticized view of the embassy as a purely spiritual or diplomatic endeavor. It complements our articles on the mechanics of the Keichō mission by revealing how its most famous European chronicler turned it to his own advantage. The 16-page chapter, in Japanese, is a dense but rewarding read for anyone curious about how early modern individuals leveraged global encounters for local advancement. It is available through the research series of Kansai University’s Institute of Oriental and Occidental Studies, providing a direct window into the archives that shaped Amati’s legacy.
Reviewed by Nanban.pt editorial, 2026-10-05.