Japanese Stamps Digital Museum

天正遣欧少年使節400年 << 1982年(昭和57年) 9月20日 >> 2-4-455

400th Anniv. of Boy's Delegation to Europe
Issued on September 20, 1982 (Showa 57)

400th Anniv. of Boy's Delegation to Europe
Issued on September 20, 1982 (Showa 57)
The Tensho embassy of European boys is a delegation centered on four boys dispatched to Rome in 1582 on behalf of the Christian daimyo in Kyushu at the suggestion of Jesuits. They returned to Japan in 1590. This delegation made Japan known to Europe, and the Gutenberg printing press they brought back made the first typographic printing of Japanese books (Christian edition). The stamp was issued in commemoration of the 400th anniversary, and the "Nanban Ship and Old Map" is designed.