Sevilla Samurai

A JAPANESE prince is set to visit a small Andalucian town as it celebrates its 400-year relationship with samurai culture.

Tiny Coria del Rio, near Sevilla, will host Crown Prince Naruhito, 53, as he begins a week long tour of Spain next Monday.

Naruhito, who will also meet the Spanish royal family on his trip, will honour the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga who led Japan’s first diplomatic mission of Europe in 1613.

Although Tsunenaga left the town in 1620, a number of his Japanese colleagues are believed to have settled in the town and hundreds of residents now carry the surname ‘Japon’.

The prince will also visit a bronze statue of Tsunenaga while visiting the town before attending a string of cultural events.

While in Madrid, Naruhito is set to see a collection of 17th century Japanese prints currently on display at  the Museo del Prado.

An exhibition about Tsunenaga’s diplomatic mission will also be held at Sevilla’s Archivo de Indias.