page_title: Pope Paul V
section_title: Relations with Japan
hierarchical_section_title: Pope Paul V / Papacy / Foreign relations / Relations with Japan
context_page_description: Pope Paul V, born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the Papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries. In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.
context_section_description: In November 1615, Paul V welcomed the embassy of the Japanese samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga in Rome.
  Hasekura gave the Pope a letter (from Date Masamune) which requested a trade treaty between Japan and New Spain.  The letter also asked for Christian missionaries to be sent to Japan. The Pope agreed to the dispatch of missionaries, but left the decision for trade to the King of Spain.
caption: Pope Paul V welcoming the embassy of the Japanese samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga in Rome in 1615.
   Japanese painting, 17th century.
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