Samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga

Secrets of the Dead “A Samurai in the Vatican”


Premieres Wednesday, November 17 at 10 p.m. 

In 1613, feudal lord Date Masamune sent a Japanese diplomatic mission to Europe to negotiate with the Pope and the King of Spain in hopes of opening a new trade route. Led by samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga and Franciscan monk Luis Sotelo, the expedition spent seven years traveling one-third of the globe. Discover the fate and legacy of these men caught up in the first stages of globalization and facing religious and political tensions.

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