Italy–Japan relations refers to the
bilateral relations
Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between the
Italian Republic and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Bilateral relations between Japan and Italy formally began on 25 August 1866, but the first contacts between the two countries date back at least to the 16th century, when the first Japanese mission to Europe arrived in Rome in 1585 led by
Itō Mancio.
In the 19th century Italy and Japan saw great changes in their political and social structure, with the former gaining national unity in 1861 and the latter entering, from 1868, into a process of profound modernization along Western lines that took the name of the Meiji Restoration. In this same period relations became increasingly close, culminating in the participation of the two countries as allies in both
World Wars.
After the
Second World War, Italy and Japan both experienced a period of strong economic growth, which enabled them to recover from the disastrous situation in which they found themselves after the end of the conflict and to forge renewed economic and
trade agreements, as well as active scientific cooperation for technological development.
Nowadays, Italy and Japan enjoy a cordial and friendly relationship. Italy is one of the best loved countries in Japan and one of the most popular European tourist destinations, thanks above all to the success of the ''
Made in Italy'' brand which has contributed, since the 1990s, to increasing Japanese appreciation of
Italian culture
Italy is considered one of the birthplaces of Western civilization and a cultural superpower. Italian culture is the culture of the Italians, a Romance ethnic group, and is incredibly diverse spanning the entirety of the Italian peninsula ...
.
Italy has an embassy in
Tokyo and Japan has an embassy in
Rome.
Early relations from the 13th Century
Although relations between Japan and Italy formally began with the signing of the first treaty of friendship in 1866, the first contacts between the two nations can be traced back to the 13th century, when
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...
(1254-1324) learned of the existence of Japan, which he called
Cipango (or Zipangu). Although he never set foot on Japanese soil, the Venetian navigator described the Japanese country as a large independent island full of riches. He is credited as being the first person to introduce the "island country" into the European imagination.
Japan remained relatively isolated and therefore immune to Western influence at least until 1543, when a Portuguese ship containing Portuguese and Italian Jesuits was blown off course and landed in the Asian country. The Japanese
Roman Catholic Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
''
daimyōs'' dispatched the
Tenshō embassy
The Tenshō embassy (Japanese: 天正の使節, named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was an embassy sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582. The embassy was led by ...
to
Pope Gregory XIII. This was the first Japanese mission in a foreign land on the initiative of the missionary
Alessandro Valignano and the Christian daimyō
Ōtomo Sōrin,
Ōmura Sumitada and
Arima Harunobu. The delegation consisted of four young dignitaries: Itō Mancio, Giuliano Nakaura, Martino Hara and Michele Chijiwa, joined by the Jesuit Diogo de Mesquita, who acted as their interpreter.
The group arrived in Italy in 1585 and were received in Rome by
Pope Gregory XIII and especially by his successor Pope Sixtus V, who made them a gift of the Church of Santa Maria dell'Orto, which has been the place of worship for the Japanese Catholic community in the Italian capital ever since. In 1615, the
daimyō of Sendai, Date Masamune, sent another delegation headed by the samurai
Hasekura Tsunenaga. The latter met
Pope Paul V, and formally requested a trade treaty between Japan and
Mexico (then Viceroyalty of New Spain), as well as the sending of Christian
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
to Japan.
The 19th Century
During the 19th century Italy and Japan experienced similar historical periods, characterised by huge changes in their political and social structure. Italy achieved national unity in 1861 during the period known as the
Risorgimento, while Japan saw the end of the
Bakufu system and the beginning in 1868 of a process of profound modernization along Western lines that came to be known as the
Meiji Restoration.
This period also coincided with the beginning of formal relations between the two countries: in 1860 the first Italian merchant ship docked in Nagasaki, while the arrival of the military steamer Magenta in the port of
Yokohama (27 May 1866) led to the signing of the
Treaty of Friendship and Commerce on 25 August of the same year, ratified in Edo by Captain
Vittorio Arminjon
Vittorio Arminjon or Victor Arminjon (9 October 1830 – 4 February 1897) was an Italian admiral, explorer and writer.
Arminjon was born in Chambéry to Senator Mathias Arminjon and Henriette Dupy. He joined the Royal Naval School in Genoa in 1842 ...
.
As a result, the Italian ships were able to expand their activities to the ports of
Kanagawa,
Nagasaki and
Hakodate. One year later,
Tokugawa Akitake, younger brother of the
shogun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
Tokugawa Yoshinobu, went to Italy as part of the first official Japanese trip to the European country, which also corresponded to the last official trip organized by the Tokugawa
shogun
, officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...
ate, close to its collapse.
The beginning of official relations was also characterized by an intense commercial exchange, which led Italy, between the end of the
Edo period (1603-1868) and the beginning of the
Meiji period (1868-1912), to absorb up to one fifth of Japanese
silkworm
The domestic silk moth (''Bombyx mori''), is an insect from the moth family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of ''Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. The silkworm is the larva or caterpillar of a silk moth. It is an economically imp ...
eggs exports.
In 1873, the
Iwakura mission arrived in Italy, organized by the new government as part of the series of measures it had taken to renew Japan. A key figure in the relations between the two countries was Count Alessandro Fè d'Ostiani,
designated
Minister Plenipotentiary for China and Japan in 1870, who accompanied the members of the mission during their visit. The mission visited cities such as
Florence,
Naples,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
and
Rome, where it was received by
Victor Emmanuel II. The main interest in Italy was directed towards artisanal works and the different aspects of modernization in the country.
In the meantime, some Italians obtained important public positions in the Japanese government, testifying to the growing influence of Italy in Japan. In 1872,
Edoardo Chiossone became director of the Ministry of Finance's Paper and Securities Workshop, Alessandro Paternostro was legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice from 1885 to 1890, General Pompeo Grillo worked at the Osaka foundry from 1884 to 1888, followed by Major Quaratesi from 1889 to 1890 and Major Scipione Braccialini, who taught ballistics from 1892 to 1893.
Japanese art and culture was also influenced by Italy, not least because the painter
Antonio Fontanesi
Antonio Fontanesi (23 February 1818 – 17 April 1882) was an Italian painter who lived in Meiji period Japan between 1876 and 1878. He introduced European oil painting techniques to Japan, and exerted a significant role in the development of mo ...
, the sculptor
Vincenzo Ragusa and the architect Giovanni Vincenzo Cappelletti came to Japan in 1876. They were invited by the government of
Tokyo, as part of the modernization process strongly desired by
Emperor Mutsuhito
, also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...
. Fontanesi became rector and head of the art department of the Tokyo Technical School of Fine Arts, Ragusa played a significant role in the development of modern Japanese sculpture by introducing bronze casting technologies and other European sculpture techniques, while Cappelletti designed the
Yūshūkan military museum at the
Yasukuni shrine.
The popularity of opera in Italy led to the development of a new musical genre called "Japanese opera", which in turn influenced Italian opera, as in the case of
Giacomo Puccini's
Madama Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...
.
In 1894, a further agreement between the two countries was signed, strengthening the one of 1866, while in 1912 a treaty on trade and navigation was signed. Italy and Japan were also part of the
Eight-Nation Alliance
The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...
that put down the
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
in China between 1899 and 1901.
The World Wars
First World War
During
World War I, they were both members of the
Allied Powers and fought against
Germany from 1914 to 1918. After the war, the Kingdom of Italy turned out to be one of the nations in favor of the clause on
Japanese racial equality proposal put forward by the Japanese Empire during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
Military relations between the two countries also continued during the
intervention in Siberia (1918-1922) during which they fought against
Communists as allies. This operation that took place within the general framework of a larger plan of intervention by the
Western powers and Japan against the Red Army during the
Russian Civil War.
In the meantime, in 1920, pilots
Guido Masiero
'' Capitano'' Guido Masiero (24 August 1895 – 24 November 1942) was a World War I flying ace credited with five confirmed and ten unconfirmed aerial victories.The AerodromRetrieved 30 May 2010. He was a prewar lancer who used his civilian enginee ...
and
Arturo Ferrarin, together with their engine drivers Roberto Maretto and Gino Capannini, successfully completed the '
Rome-Tokyo Raid
The Rome-Tokyo Raid ( it, Raid Roma-Tokyo) was an Italian long-distance air expedition across Eurasia between 14 February and 31 May 1920. It was organised by Gabriele D'Annunzio and Harukichi Shimoi and completed by the aviators Guido Masiero ...
', which writers
Gabriele D'Annunzio and
Harukichi Shimoi
was a Japanese poet and writer that lived in Italy for many years and was influential in introducing the haiku to European literature.
Biography
Born in Fukuoka as , he later adopted the surname of his wife when they married in 1907. He finis ...
had called for, and which represented the first air link between Europe and Japan.
Second World War
In 1940, Italy and Japan were both members of the
Axis Powers after signing the
Tripartite Pact (
World War II). The situation after the end of the First World War and the dissatisfaction with the
Treaty of Versailles of 1919 led Italy to join the
Anti-Comintern Pact in 1937 (an agreement made a year earlier between Japan and
Nazi Germany to counter the work of the Communist International), which gave rise to the tripartite alliance that would be formalized on 27 September 1940 in
Berlin.
In the period between these two agreements, Japan and Italy established important political and diplomatic contacts that resulted in various trade and economic agreements, sealed by the Italian economic mission to
Nagasaki in 1938. Relations between the two countries were facilitated by Japan's recognition of Italy's sovereignty over
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
, which allowed the opening of important trade routes between the latter and the new Italian colonies. In 1923,
Keizō Shibusawa, who in the following years would become first governor of the Bank of Japan and then Minister of Finance, visited Italy on one of his business trips, staying in Rome, Florence and Milan.
Subsequently, other states also joined the coalition by adhering to the
Tripartite Pact (mainly nations dissatisfied with the geopolitical order created after the First World War), forming the so-called
Axis powers, which took part in the Second World War in opposition to the Allied countries. However, with the signing of the
Cassibile armistice
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...
in 1943, relations between Japan and Italy came to an abrupt halt: the Italians who were engaged in military operations in Japan at the time were interned and imprisoned in various prison camps scattered throughout the country. The same fate befell scholars and intellectuals of the time, such as the Florentine orientalist
Fosco Maraini
Fosco Maraini (; 15 November 1912 – 8 June 2004) was an Italian photographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, writer, mountaineer and academic.
Biography
He was born in Florence from the Italian sculptor Antonio Maraini (1886–1963) and Cornelia ...
. The
Japanese Empire
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
maintained political and economic relations with the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
for the whole duration of the latter (1943-1945), although relations between the two states were never idyllic due to basic differences in war aims during the final years of the conflict. After the conclusion of the war, 158 Italian nationals were deported from Japan.
Relations from 1945 to the present day
During the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, Japan and Italy, both nations were defeated in the Second World War. Japan and Italy resumed cooperation and became part of the so-called
Western bloc (led by the
United States of America), which for about half a century was politically and ideologically opposed to the Eastern bloc (
Soviet Union,
Warsaw Pact allies and friendly countries).
At the same time, both countries experienced a period of strong economic growth, which enabled them to recover from the disastrous situation of the years immediately following the end of the war. Italy, thanks to its role as a link between
Western Europe, the
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
,
Central Europe and
North Africa, benefited from substantial aid from the
Marshall Plan from 1947 onwards. This, combined with low labour costs, led to a great expansion of the country's economy in the 1950s and 1960s. Similarly, Japan, thanks to the assistance of the United States of America and the concomitance of some favourable factors (such as the affordable
price of oil, the intervention of the Japanese government to support Japanese enterprises and the determination of the people to get out of the deficit situation quickly), was able to recover quickly and become the third economic power in the world already in the 1960s. Thus, from predominantly rural countries, Italy and Japan found themselves becoming major industrial powers, and although the sectors in which they succeeded differed considerably from one another (think of Made in Italy in Italy and electronic products in Japan), both managed to establish themselves in a similar way in the automotive sector. It was precisely the success of the
Made in Italy brand in the 1990s that led to a considerable increase in Japanese appreciation of Italian culture and tradition. However, after about thirty years of growth, both countries experienced a long phase of economic recession, aggravated by the common phenomenon of an ageing population, which in turn led to an explosion of public debt and a loss of productivity and competitiveness in the production systems of the two nations.
In 2002, the then President of the Italian Republic
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi described relations between the two countries as being based on "an ancient and firm friendship, nourished by a continuous tradition of exchange and cooperation". In 2009, the Japanese government donated more than €6 million to Italy for the project of assistance and reconstruction of the city of
L'Aquila
L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...
, hit by an
earthquake in April of that year. Similarly, Italy was at the forefront of providing humanitarian aid to Japan following the
Tōhoku earthquake and tidal wave in 2011, as well as engaging in solidarity initiatives in the following years, mainly from the private sector. In 2014, Italian Prime Minister
Matteo Renzi described relations with Japan as "absolutely important and crucial".
Today, Italy is one of the most loved countries by Japanese women and young people and one of the most popular European tourist destinations, while the Italian language is one of the most studied languages. In Italy, events dedicated to Japanese culture are very successful, especially those focused on mass culture (
anime,
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
, cinematography) and those dedicated to
Japanese gastronomy,
art and
tradition.
See also
*
Foreign relations of Italy
*
Foreign relations of Japan
Country comparison
References
*Baskett, Michael (2009). "All Beautiful Fascists?: Axis Film Culture in Imperial Japan" in ''The Culture of Japanese Fascism'', ed.
Alan Tansman. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 212–234.
External links
Presenza Italiana in Giappone 2010 ( ja, 日本におけるイタリア企業便覧 2010年版
Archive. Italian Trade Commission.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Italy-Japan Relations
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Bilateral relations of Japan