Maybe Japanese history fans, anime lovers, or just weeaboos, have heard about Yasuke, an African who became the personal bodyguard of one of Japan's most famous leaders, Nobunaga Oda. A number of historical records and myths call him the first African samurai. In the gaming world itself his name appears in Nioh, and Netflix has released an anime that revolves around him. 

But who actually is he? Is it true that he was the first dark-skinned samurai ever recorded in Japanese history? Let's take a quick look at Yasuke's life! 

Who Yasuke Really Was?

There are several theories as to Yasuke's origins :

• Yasuke comes from South Sudan, Africa, and was a part of the Dinka ethnic group, which are known to be taller and have a darker skin color than other African races. 
• Yasuke came from Ethiopia and was a 'cafre', the Portuguese term for well-trained and well-built soldiers. The name Yasuke itself may have come from the Japanese pronunciation of the name Yisake, Portuguese’s Isaque, or Yasufe (a common family name in Ethiopia). 
• And the widely believed theory, Yasuke came from Mozambique. This is supported by the notes of a Jesuit priest François Solier Histoire ecclésiastique des isles et royaumes du Japon and the book Discover Africa - History of African image in Japan written by Fujita Midori. According to Midori, the first Africans to come to Japan were from Mozambique in 1546 as shipmates or slaves who served Portuguese captain Jorge Álvares, so there was bilateral relations between Portugal/Mozambique and Japan. Mozambique itself was annexed as a Portuguese colony from 1498 to 1975. 

One thing for sure, Yasuke's name began to appear in Japanese historical records in 1579. He arrived in the country as one of the assistants to the Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano during the Nanban trading period. During his time with Valignano, Yasuke often learned a variety of regional languages and surprised the local populace by being able to speak quite fluently; and that was also the case when they were in Japan. In 1581 Valignano went to Kyoto, Japan’s capital at that time, to meet the daimyo Nobunaga Oda and ask permission to leave Japan. It was here that Yasuke met the legendary commander. 

His presence in Kyoto caused a stir among its residents. They were surprised to see the tall and dark man. Said to be over 180 cm tall and possessing the strength of 10 adult males, Nobunaga was impressed by this strange phenomenon. He even told Yasuke to scrub his own body, thinking his body was painted black. But after he was sure Yasuke was actually dark-skinned, he threw a big party to welcome his guests. 

Shinchou Kouki, collection of Oda Nobunaga's history, recorded the meeting between the two men,

"On the 23rd of the 2nd month [23 March 1581 based on the modern calendar], a black page came from the Christian countries. The man was healthy with a good demeanour and Nobunaga praised Yasuke's strength. Nobunaga's nephew gave him a sum of money at this first meeting."

Because of his height and dark skin (compared to the Japanese population in the 16th century), legend has it that Nobunaga has a "shadow" that always protects his body. From 1581 to mid-1582, the name of a tall, charcoal-skinned man referred to as "Yasuke" also occasionally appeared in the personal records of people who lived close to Nobunaga, such as the Ietada Nikki journal belonging to Ieyasu Tokugawa’s brother, the general Ietada Matsudaira. 

Although his life story is not recorded in minute detail, his track record suddenly stopped after Nobunaga's death in the Honno-ji Incident in June 1582 when one of his generals, Mitsuhide Akechi, staged a coup. 

Yasuke is said to have helped Oda's small army against the Akechi army. Not long after Nobunaga committed seppuku (suicide by cutting the stomach), he was assigned to protect Nobunaga's eldest son, Nobutada. However, Nobutada was caught and forced to commit seppuku by Mitsuhide. When Yasuke was brought to Mitsuhide, the warlord said, 

“The black man was an animal as well as not Japanese and should thus not be killed.”

As harsh as it may sound, there are two theories about the statement. First, Mitsuhide did discriminate against black people and thought that non-Japanese people does not deserve any ordinary death penalty. But this could also be seen as Mitsuhide's way of showing mercy to Yasuke who had escorted Nobunaga to the end by pretending to be racist. But of course no one knows what the real meaning behind those words was. 

After the Honno-ji Incident, it was said that Yasuke was taken to the Nanban-ji Church in Kyoto. Some say that he went to a Jesuit church somewhere. Others say he returned to sailing with other missionaries after being expelled from Japan. What is clear is this: his name disappeared without a trace. 

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Was Yasuke Really a Samurai? 

As a matter of fact, this is still a matter of debate. His name was recorded to be in Japan for three years from 1579 to 1582. From 1581 he worked as a bodyguard for Nobunaga Oda until his lord died the following year. He received a salary, servants, a house and was even given a sword by Nobunaga himself. The sword from a landlord, a daimyo, was an important symbol for any samurai. 

However, to become a "real samurai", you need to go through a long ceremonial and/or legal process of many years. Not to mention that people who have officially become samurai should also end up in any of the official civil registries. Because like the title of knight or knighthood in Europe in the Middle Ages, samurai was not just a title for swordsmen or warlords but during the Sengoku Jidai era they also served as regional officials. So far no official records have been found regarding Yasuke having a proper samurai title. 

On the other hand, in Ietada Nikki dated April 19, Tensho 10 (or May 11, 1582), it is stated that Yasuke joined Nobunaga not as a slave, but as a dependent samurai. 

Thomas Lockley, co-author of African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan, added that in those days anyone who had a weapon and served a landlord could technically call themselves a samurai. Lockley also said that it is very likely that other landlords or daimyo have also employed other black or non-Japanese people, but the records regarding Yasuke are more detailed, mostly due to his relationship with Nobunaga Oda. 

Yasuke in Popular Media 

In video games:

• Yasuke is one of many recruitable characters in the strategy series Nobunaga’s Ambition.
• Yasuke shows up in both Nioh games. He was called the Obsidian Samurai.
• Yasuke will show up in Samurai Warriors 5.

In books dan manga:

• The children's storybook by Yoshio Kurusu and Genjirou Mita about Yasuke, entitled Kurosuke, won the Japan Writers Association for Children award in 1989. 
• Shows up in Hyouge Mono.
• Shows up in Nobunaga o Koroshita Otoko.
• Shows up in Nobunaga's Chef.
• In Nobunaga Concerto, Yasuke is a baseball player from the future.

In films and cartoons:

• The main character of Netflix’s fantasy cartoon series Yasuke.
• In 2019 film production house Picturestart was planning to work on a Yasuke movie with Chadwick Boseman. But with Chadwick now passed away, the work on the movie seemed to have gotten delayed.
• In the same year, MGM is planning another Yasuke movie, with script written by Stuart C. Paul (The Lord of Catan).

Source: TIME, CNN, rfi.fr, African Samurai book.

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Written by Sidharta F. Rasidi: Twitter @StoPlayinGame