Aug. 28 – The Italian Institute of Culture in Tokyo explores the fascinating figure of Hasekura Tsunenaga, a "Roman citizen from Sendai," during a conference scheduled for Monday, September 1 at 6.30pm. Annibale Zambarbieri, Professor of History of Christianity and the Church at the University of Pavia, will discuss the figure of Hasekura Tsunenaga, who during the 16th and 17th centuries was a Japanese samurai and servant of Date Masamune, the Sendai daimyo. Hasekura served at the embassy in Mexico and then, between 1613 and 1620 in Europe. The Japanese delegation also made a stop in Rome, where in 1615 Hasekura obtained an audience with Pope Paul V. The Roman Senate also gave Hasekura the honorary title of Roman citizen, a document now preserved in Sendai. "After taking stoke of the comments of the embassy in Europe from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century - confirmed the statement released by the IIC – Hasekura’s life will be analyzed in further detail, with particular attention to the meaning of the warm welcome and honors he received in Rome."

ANNIBALE ZAMBARBIERI

Hannibal Zambarbieri is Professor of History of Christianity and the Church at the University of Pavia; he published several books and essays on the relationship between culture and religion in Europe from the 18th to the 20th century, with particular attention to the influence on collective mentality. He also studies the history of Japan and, more specifically, its interactions with other cultures from the 16th century to the present.