In a small town near Seville, hundreds of people bear the surname Japón — "Japan". They are thought to descend from samurai of Hasekura's embassy who reached Spain in 1614 and never went home.

1614

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The event

• A samurai embassy reaches Spain1614 · Coria del Río. An embassy sent by the daimyo Date Masamune under Hasekura Tsunenaga crossed via Mexico to Spain in 1614 and met Pope Paul V in Rome in 1615. Some of the Japanese stayed in Coria del Río near Seville, where hundreds of people today bear the surname Japón.

17th century

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