page_title: France–Asia relations
section_title: Hasekura Tsunenaga (1615)
hierarchical_section_title: France–Asia relations / Commercial, religious and military expansion (16th-18th century) / Early-modern contacts with East-Asia (1527-) / Hasekura Tsunenaga (1615)
context_page_description: France–Asia relations span a period of more than two millennia, starting in the 6th century BCE with the establishment of Marseille by Greeks from Asia Minor, and continuing in the 3rd century BCE with Gaulish invasions of Asia Minor to form the kingdom of Galatia and Frankish Crusaders forming the Crusader States. Since these early interactions, France has had a rich history of contacts with the Asian continent.
context_section_description: France-Japan relations started in 1615 when Hasekura Tsunenaga, a Japanese samurai and ambassador, sent to Rome by Date Masamune, landed at Saint-Tropez for a few days. In 1636, Guillaume Courtet, a French Dominican priest, would reciprocate when he set foot in Japan. He penetrated into Japan clandestinely, against the 1613 interdiction of Christianity. He was caught, tortured, and died in Nagasaki on 29 September 1637.
caption: Hasekura Tsunenaga initiated France-Japan relations when he landed in Saint-Tropez in 1615.
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