The Story of Christopher - A Japanese Man Who Traveled to Elizabethan England

there have been many popular fish outof Water Tales of foreigners who journeyed to Japan from that of yasuke who many believe may have been the first and only ever African man to perhaps become a samurai William Adams and his fictional counterpart John Blackthorne in the story of Shogun by James clavell and Je brune and his fictional counterpart Nathan algren in The Last Samurai such tales as these bring forth a romance of Discovery as each of these figures not only face the culture shock of their new environments but also come to respect it along with the lifestyle and mindset of the Japanese these stories have resonated with many people outside of Japan as they can relate very closely to them if slash when they first traveled to Japan for the first time themselves seeing the country with their own eyes and learning about the fascinating culture it's no mystery why these stories have captured people's imagination for years but on the flip side of that there are also stories of Japanese who went abroad as well uncovering the world outside of their Homeland and coming to learn much about not only their neighbors in Asia but also the empires and kingdoms of Europe such Tales can be seen in that of the Tino Embassy the travels of hasekura taga and of course later during the bakumatsu period when Japan having reopened to the West began sending delegates abroad but one story you may not have heard occurred late in the 1500s this is the story of a Japanese man who had been given the name Christopher Christopher's Journey would lead him across the oceans to finally the court of Queen Elizabeth his fantastic true adventure is detailed within the new book from author and Professor Thomas lley who you may already know from his previous work regarding the story of yasuke he is a good friend I have had the pleasure of working with on several occasions before and he was kind enough to even send me a review copy of this new book so that I can share my thoughts of it with you here the book titled a gentleman from Japan will be released on May 21st and if you have read his previous book on yasuke it flows pretty similar it is a unique combination of narrative storytelling mixed with sections of fascinating real historical detail and just like with the story of yasuke what lley does here is to the absolute best fill in historical gaps in the most plausible way we don't know every single detail about figures like Christopher or yase so what ly does is apply the most accurate historical knowledge to attempt to bridge these gaps in ways that would make the most sense what would these figures have experienced who might they have met where might they have traveled all things which are covered here yet these stories go Way Beyond just that as of course they also follow the main events of the real history they are surrounded by as well and this brings us to The Amazing Story of Christopher as I mentioned before there are plenty of details about Christopher's life that are not completely known yet from what we do know we can try to piece things together he had been born in Japan during the Great Age of War chaos and evolution that is known as the soku jidai when many Samurai Warlords or Dao had fought for regional dominance and some eventually for control of all the land Christopher had likely come from a Coastal Village in southern Japan although other accounts insist he had come from Kyoto this is very likely untrue as it is believed he had been taken captive by Wako Pirates while still quite young he may have even come to serve aboard a pirate vessel for a Time earning his keep until later being captured by the Spanish who would have seen to his Catholic baptism and unfortunately enslavement throughout the 16th century Asia and the Pacific had seen an increase in the efforts of Western Powers such as Spain and Portugal as well as later England and the Dutch they had made their presence known through trade colonization and of course the spread of Christianity his capture by the Spanish is likely where Christopher acquired the name we know him as the only name he is remembered by today being that his original Japanese name has been lost it is likely he may have even forgotten his real name in any memory of his homeland despite his situation however he would benefit from his position not only being seen for his experience at sea but also acquiring new Knowledge from his Spanish Masters for a Time Christopher was put to work in the port of Manila at this time a Spanish colony in the Philippines he would remain there for some time until boarding a large gallion known as the Santa Ana which set out to chart the Western American Coast yet it would be on this perilous Journey that the Spanish Expedition would be attacked by English Explorer and Privateer Thomas Cavendish who himself was leading his own expedition into the Pacific cavendish's victory over the Spanish Expedition and capture of its loot was a great Triumph indeed however he may have never expected one of its greatest prizes would be the Japanese man Christopher Cavendish would quickly discover how significant Christopher was upon Christopher telling him of his journey up to that point as a pirate and later Spanish slave but perhaps one of the most significant things to him may have been the simple fact that Christopher was indeed Japanese Japanese traveling to Europe was quite a new phenomenon and there was much the people of Europe had wanted to learn about these fascinating strangers from the East England would miss out on the recent Teno Embassy a group of Japanese Catholic converts from the domain of the otomo clan which traveled to Rome in the 1580s thus the envy and Prestige of meeting the Japanese was high Cavendish now had a Japanese man in his possession who he could take back to England and present to the queen in fact he had two as he had also acquired another Japanese man went by the name Cosmos the Journey of these two men Christopher and cosmos had been one which had seen them ripped away from their Homeland and given new lives abroad as captives and slaves however Cavendish would never present them as such in fact he wouldn't even present them as mere trophies instead he would present them as sophisticated Japanese gentlemen something which would be far more civilized noteworthy and even celebrated Cavendish after all being a proud English explorer was after recognition for his accomplishments bringing back two fine Japanese gentlemen to England would be something he hoped would earn him great Fame and reward thus Christopher swiftly went from captured Spanish slave to Noble gentlemen to add to this though there was much Christopher in particular could teach Cavendish helping him learn about Manila Spanish Naval technology and even understanding a map of China Christopher was indeed a valuable asset in his own right and worthy of the production in England which Cavendish intended to deliver the Voyage Home would be quite an effort indeed but eventually they would arrive in England upon their arrival in Plymouth Christopher and Cosmos would become the first Japanese men to ever set foot on English soil Christopher's role there would be quite significant as he arrived as now a gentleman who would also become fluent in English and thus could Converse directly with those around him he is even believed to have met Queen Elizabeth herself Cav ish had of course tried to prop up Christopher and Cosmos as having more significant lineage than they actually did perhaps claiming their nobility and propagating the story that they had been born in the imperial capital Kyoto and not just humble fishing villages on the coast however Kevin Dish's ruse was likely later revealed which bore him no help in acquiring greater Renown despite this Revelation Christopher's unique knowledge and insight he had acquired throughout his adventurous life still managed to help establish him as quite a knowledgeable figure in England Christopher became known as somewhat of an Asian Sage but in reality it is here he begins to be described as a naturalist which at the time was a precursor to what we would later simply call a scientist he would impart significant Botanical knowledge and even help Inspire the advancement of English nautical technology in such ways as the adaption of Chinese style compasses which proved to be more sophisticated and reliable than the typical ones of Europe Christopher became an invaluable tool to the English and a banee to their enemies eventually England's dreamed to compete with their Spanish and Portuguese enemies in Asia and the Pacific would lead to a new Expedition one which could lead to the establishment of a new English presence in Japan a place they had not yet been once again Thomas Cavendish would be an instrumental figure in this harrowing Journey however just as important would be Christopher who upon arriving in Japan could act as a translator the appearance of the English in Japan with an already experienced translator to mediate would be a tremendous Boon for their efforts to wrestle influence in Japan in their Direction it was something which their enemies could not allow sadly although this final Expedition would begin to great success in the end it would not turn out as planned and the conclusion of Christopher's own Journey remains unknown now obviously there is so much more to this story so many more details and Revelations which are uncovered in the book my main goal here is just to introduce this story to you because the Journey of Christopher his life and travels across the globe is a fascinating tale that has unfortunately not yet garnered the recognition it so rightly deserves what truly makes his Adventure Stand Out among other contemporary counterparts both Japanese who visited Europe and foreigners who visited Japan is Christopher's role in being trafficked and later used to serve greater aims only to persevere to take command of his position and ultimately leave a lasting impact it wasn't ever his choice to go to England as it had been other's decision to Journey from Europe to Japan or from Japan to Rome Christopher was Instead at the mercy of Fate but his story illustrates he had the intelligence willpower and Charisma to truly Define his path despite the circumstances he is someone who should be greater recognized and I believe held in the same regard as other figures like yase or or even William Adams enlarg thanks to the significant contributions he left behind this is why I 100% recommend checking out this new book a gentleman from Japan by Thomas lley so that you too can learn about the fascinating adventure of Christopher I will leave a link below to where you can get yourself a copy when it releases on May 21st once again I want to thank Thomas lley for kindly sending me a review copy of this book so that I could share word of it with you here today after having just recently watched the new adaptation of shun this real historical tale is a unique foil to it in many ways and one I think many of you would definitely enjoy being that this video is coming out so close to when the book actually releases I imagine plenty of you will soon enough pick it up and have your own thoughts regarding it so with that said once you have read it I'd love to see your comments regarding what you thought of this amazing true story but for now thank you for watching and don't forget to like subscribe and ring that notific ific ation Bell if you enjoyed this video and found it to be most interesting [Music]