''San Juan Bautista'' (" St. John the Baptist") was one of Japan's first Japanese-built Western-style sailing ships. She crossed the Pacific in 1614. She was of the Spanish

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...

type, known in Japan as nanban-sen (南蛮船, "Southern Barbarian ships"). She transported a Japanese diplomatic mission of 180 people during the first leg of their trip to the Vatican as envoys to

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...

, headed by

Hasekura Tsunenaga was a kirishitan Japanese samurai and retainer of Date Masamune, the daimyō of Sendai. He was of Japanese imperial descent with ancestral ties to Emperor Kanmu. Other names include Philip Francis Faxicura, Felipe Francisco Faxicura, and Phi ...

and accompanied by the Spanish friar

Luis Sotelo Luis Sotelo, in English known also as Louis Sotelo, (September 6, 1574 – August 25, 1624) was a Franciscan friar from Spain who died as a martyr in Japan, in 1624, and was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1867. Early life Luis was born in Sevilla ...

. After transporting Hasekura to Acapulco in the Spanish possession of New Spain, 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 Masamune, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominal ...

'' of Sendai in northern Japan, in Tsuki-No-Ura harbour (

Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...

, Miyagi Prefecture). The project had been approved by the

Bakufu , 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 Kamakura ...

, the ''

shōgun , 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 Kamak ...

''s government in Edo. The ''shōgun'' already had two smaller ships (80 and 120 tons) built for him by the English pilot William Adams. The larger, the ''San Buena Ventura'', was given to Spanish shipwrecked sailors to return to New Spain in 1610. The ''shōgun'' also issued numerous permits for

Red seal ships were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with red-sealed letters patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went ...

, destined for 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

smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

s, and 3000 carpenters. Two Spanish men also participated to the endeavour: the friar

, and the Spanish captain

Sebastián Vizcaíno Sebastián Vizcaíno (1548–1624) was a Spanish soldier, entrepreneur, explorer, and diplomat whose varied roles took him to New Spain, the Baja California peninsula, the California coast and Asia. Early career Vizcaíno was born in 154 ...

. These efforts were seen with disapproval by the Spanish government in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, 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 on October 28, 1613, for Acapulco in New Spain, with around 180 people on board, consisting of 10 samurai of the ''shōgun'' (led by the Minister of the Navy

Mukai Shōgen Tadakatsu Mukai Tadakatsu (1582–1641), more generally known as Mukai Shōgen (Jp:向井将監), was the Admiral of the fleet (Jp:お船手奉行) for the Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu during the beginning of the Edo period, in the early 17th century. Between ...

), 12 samurai from Sendai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors, and servants, and around 40 Spaniards and Portuguese. The ship arrived in Acapulco on January 25, 1614, after three months at sea. After a year in Acapulco, the ship returned to Japan on April 28, 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

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s led by Father Diego de Santa Catalina, sent as a religious embassy to

Tokugawa Ieyasu was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fello ...

also sailed on the ship. The ''San Juan Bautista'' arrived in Uraga, Japan on August 15, 1615. In September 1616 the ''San Juan Batista'' headed again to Acapulco, at the request of Luis Sotelo. She was sailed by Captain

Yokozawa Shōgen was a Japanese samurai of the sixteenth 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 ...

, 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 return trip back to Japan. In April 1618 the ship arrived in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, 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. During his absence Japan had changed quite drastically: Christianity was being eradicated, and Japan was moving towards a period of seclusion. Because of these persecutions, the trade agreements with New Spain he had been trying to establish were also denied. In the end, his efforts seem to have had few results, and he died two years later of illness.

1993 Replica ship

A new ''San Juan Bautista'' was reconstructed in 1993 on the basis of the records of the House of Date. Although its blueprints have not been found, the ship's dimensions were recorded properly, permitting a speculative reconstitution. The ship is currently on display in a theme park in

, in northern Japan, close to the location where she was originally built. The replica survived the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six mi ...

with some damage, and there were hopes in 2011 of using the ship as a symbol of the town's reconstruction. In November 2013 the repaired ''San Juan Bautista'' was rededicated. Assistance had come from a

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

lumber company who supplied the massive logs to create masts that had been damaged in the tsunami. However, the replica ship was deemed to be unsafe to the public due to structural damage from floodwater and other factors, and the Ishinomaki prefectural government decided to demolish the ship rather than to continue repairing it. Dismantling began in November 2021. The government plans to build a new ship in its place, using reinforced plastic and reducing the size to one quarter of the original.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*''The Christian century in Japan 1549–1650'' C. R. Boxer *''Quand le Japon s'ouvrit au monde'' Francis Marcouin and Keiko Omoto

External links

Reconstitution of the San Juan BautistaShip planShip interiorShip gunsVarious views of the ship
{{coord, 38, 24, 32, N, 141, 22, 08, E, display=title, region:JP-04_type:landmark_source:dewiki Replica ships Ships of the Tokugawa Navy Galleons 1610s ships Ships built in Japan