In the framework of the cycle Prometeo en el jardín, organised by the Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales (CCHS) of the CSIC, with the collaboration of Casa Asia and the Red de Bibliotecas Municipales de Madrid, next Thursday 7th March at 7pm, the Biblioteca Pública Municipal Eugenio Trías (Paseo de Fernán Núñez, 24) will present the dialogue La Embajada Tenshō, un intercambio entre la Monarquía Hispánica, Roma y Japón (The Tenshō Embassy, an exchange between the Hispanic Monarchy, Rome and Japan).
In this dialogue, participants will delve into the Tenshō mission (1582-1590), a key encounter between Momoyama Japan, Rome and the Iberian worlds. More than four hundred years ago, a small group of young Japanese embarked on a journey to discover Renaissance Europe. There they were received by the elites of the Old Continent with great expectation, as they were considered “princes” and “ambassadors” of a territory as distant as it was unknown. Using the avenues of diplomacy, both sides sought to know and showcase distant worlds through the power of spectacle and gifts, from luxurious screens to detailed atlases of the globe.
The story of the “princes” illustrates the role played by embassies as engines of knowledge in the altomodern world: a space where the need to see and the desire to show, the exchange of objects, the spectacular nature of power and its echoes in time come together.
The event will be moderated by Isabel Fernández Morales, Dissemination, Scientific Culture and Digital Publishing Unit, CCHS-CSIC, with the participation of Salvador Valera-Paterna, FPU pre-doctoral researcher, IH-CSIC, and Juan Pimentel, scientific researcher, IH-CSIC. Free admission until full capacity is reached.
