In 1613 a samurai traveled to Europe, met the Pope and King of Spain. Watch the video.

[Buntaro]

"In 1613, feudal lord Date Masamune sent a Japanese diplomatic mission to Europe to negotiate with the Pope and the King of Spain in hopes opening a new trade route. Led by samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga and Franciscan monk Luis Sotelo, the expedition spent seven years traveling one-third of the globe."

(By the way, the video plays for me in Chrome but not in Firefox.)

Secrets of the Dead | A Samurai in the Vatican | Season 19 | Episode 5

In 1613, a Japanese samurai was sent to Europe to negotiate opening a new trade route.

www.pbs.org

 

[thomas]

Works fine for me on Firefox. We also have an article on Tsunenaga:

Hasekura Tsunenaga

Hasekura Tsunenaga, also known as Hasekura Rokuemon Tsunenaga (支倉六右衛門常長, 1571-1622) led a Japanese embassy to Mexico City, Madrid, and Rome in the years from 1613 to 1620. He was the first official Japanese envoy to visit the American continent...

jref.com