Personnalité historique

Itō Mancio

Principal envoy of the Tenshō Embassy

Itō Mancio, known in Japanese as Itō Sukemasu (c. 1569 – 1612), was the principal envoy of the Tenshō Embassy, the first Japanese mission received in Europe. Born at Tonokōri Castle, the seat of the Itō clan on the plateaus of present-day Saito in Hyūga, he was the grandson through his mother of the daimyo Itō Yoshisuke. The defeat of the Itō at the hands of the Shimazu sent him as a child onto the roads of exile towards Christian Bungo, where the Jesuits trained him. He left Nagasaki in 1582 under the name of Ōtomo Sōrin, was received by Gregory XIII in Rome in 1585, returned to Japan in 1590, was ordained a priest in 1608, and died in Nagasaki in 1612.

Portrait de Itō Mancio
Naissancev. 1569, château de Tonokōri (Hyūga)
Décès13 novembre 1612 (21e jour du 10e mois de Keichō 17), Nagasaki
FonctionPrincipal envoy of the Tenshō Embassy
MaisonClan Itō de Hyūga
ÉpoqueAzuchi-Momoyama / early Edo
Histoire & patrimoine

Tonokōri, castle of a princely childhood

Tonokōri Castle, founded in the fourteenth century by Itō Sukemochi, the clan's first lord in Hyūga, was for two centuries the centre from which the Itō extended their domain over the middle of the province. Mancio was born there when the family was at its height; a few years later, after Kizakihara (1572), the stronghold passed to the Shimazu and the child left for Bungo. The site was designated a national historic site in 2000.

Château de TonokōriChâteau de Tonokōri
Frise chronologique

Repères dans sa vie

v. 1569

Born at Tonokōri Castle, son of Itō Sukesada and a daughter of Itō Yoshisuke.

1572

Defeat of the Itō by the Shimazu at Kizakihara, marking the beginning of the clan's decline.

v. 1577

At about eight years of age, he is taken to Bungo when the Itō positions fall.

20 février 1582

The Tenshō Embassy, which he leads in the name of Ōtomo Sōrin, departs from Nagasaki.

23 mars 1585

Received by Pope Gregory XIII in consistory in Rome.

21 juillet 1590

Return to Japan; audience with Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1591.

1608

Ordained a Jesuit priest together with Harada Martinho and Nakaura Julião.

13 novembre 1612

Dies of illness in Nagasaki, where he was teaching at the college.

Patrimoine associé

Les châteaux liés à cette personnalité

1 lieu
Réseau historique

Personnalités liées

Portrait de Itō Yoshisuke
Itō Yoshisukematernal grandfatherDaimyo of Hyūga.→
Portrait de Ōtomo Sōrin
Ōtomo SōrinsponsorMancio speaks on his behalf.→
Portrait de Arima Harunobu
Arima Harunobuco-sponsor of the embassyChristian daimyo of Hizen.→
Portrait de Grégoire XIII
Grégoire XIIIpapal hostAudience of 1585.→
Portrait de Itō Sukemochi
Itō SukemochiChâteau en commun→
Portrait de Shimazu Yoshihisa
Shimazu YoshihisaChâteau en commun→
Approfondir

Itō Mancio dans l’histoire

The voyage to Europe

Chosen by the Jesuits as principal envoy because of his ancestry, Mancio spoke on behalf of Ōtomo Sōrin, alongside the envoys of Ōmura Sumitada and Arima Harunobu. Departing in 1582, the embassy travelled through Portugal, Spain and Italy; Domenico Tintoretto then painted his portrait. The return, in 1590, took place in a Japan where Hideyoshi had already restricted Christianity.

Documentation

Sources de la fiche

Cette synthèse croise plusieurs sources pour documenter les lieux, événements et relations historiques.