FYI logo

Yasuke: The Black Samurai

The first African man to reach the ranks of samurai in feudal Japan.

By J. SgntPublished 3 years ago 5 min read
3

It's hard to believe that Japan was once closed off to the rest of the world. If you ever get the chance to visit, you will no doubt be in awe of it's tall skyscrapers and big branded offices running parallel to ancient temples and shrines. With record numbers of tourists pouring in from around the globe and the Tokyo Olympics due to take place this summer too, the thought of this highly developed, open society being isolated feels a million miles from the truth.

However in the 1500s, the island nation of Japan decided to isolate itself from the rest of the world. Increasingly concerned about the influence of Christianity from abroad, all outsiders were forbidden to enter in a period known as Sakoku (鎖国, "closed country"). To arrive, you risked arrest and death.

Nevertheless, there were a lucky few who risked everything to make it to the shores of Japan. Portuguese explorers, missionaries, and merchants established long-distance overseas trade routes and braved the journey for the next several hundred years.

When I learned about Japan's history of isolation, I was surprised and intrigued to find out more about a topic so often overlooked by historians. Naturally I was hooked, however the more I read into the subject, the more a name kept coming up as a point of interest, article after article.

Yasuke.

Who was this Yasuke? I had never heard of any Yasuke character in the books I had read, nor any articles I had been scrolling through. An afternoon of more direct searching finally revealed to me a mysterious individual named Yasuke who, against all the odds, travelled the globe to this small, unknown island. From here on he achieved something that no other outsider at the time had managed to do.

Yasuke would become the first African samurai in feudal Japan.

The story of Yasuke

To this day, most historians are not certain which country Yasuke came from originally. The first African people in Japan at the time were from Mozambique, serving as both slaves and free shipmates to the early Portuguese traders at the time. It's likely that Yasuke too was a 16th century Mozambican, but whether he was a free man or a slave is still heavily debated.

In 1579 Yasuke came to Japan by sea in the service of Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano. As mentioned it's unclear if he was Valignano's slave, but what happens to Yasuke next and how he is treated may dispute this theory. He accompanied Valignano to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan, where they were introduced to the Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga, a powerful feudal lord.

"6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal." - Matsudaira Ietada, fellow samurai's account of Yasuke.

When Oda Nobunaga met Yasuke for the first time, he had never seen a person from Africa before. At 6ft2, he towered over the daimyo and his men, the average height at the time for a Japanese person being just 5ft2. Yasuke's appearance was remarkably different than anyone the Japanese had seen before. He caused quite a stir in the community, with many people looking to the black-skinned Buddha statues in their temples and assuming Yasuke to be a divine visitor. On the other hand, a rather skeptical Nobunaga believed that Yasuke's skin must have been coloured with black ink, and even went as far to make him strip from the waist up and scrub his skin. When Nobunaga finally realized that Yasuke's skin was indeed naturally black, he took an immediate interest in him.

It wasn't long before Yasuke was employed as Nobunaga's retainer, the only non-Japanese retainer in his service. Yasuke's presence in Kyoto greatly interested the locals at the time who clambered over each other to get a glimpse of him. He was quick to learn the Japanese language and within a short time, he was assigned his own residence and the respected duty of weapon bearer. Within the year, Yasuke was promoted to samurai and served alongside his friend and master Nobunaga in battle.

What were the samurai?

The word samurai itself comes from the Japanese verb saburau, it's meaning "to serve", a very fitting description for Yasuke's respected role in serving alongside the daimyo. Formed long ago in 10th century Japan, the samurai were a class of brave, highly trained warriors, epically skilled at using both the bow and sword when performing military service throughout the country. Their armor was particularly distinctive to look at and powerful in structure, made up of an intriguing fusion of steel, lace, leather and silk.

In addition to their power and strength, the samurai were exceptionally well read and intelligent in a time when most regular people were illiterate. The daimyo Nobunaga in particular, frequently sought the company of highly disciplined and intelligent people including Yasuke, who spoke at least three languages and had a shared love of Japanese musical theatre, Noh.

Nobunaga greatly admired Yasuke's understanding and dedication to Japanese culture, treating him as favorably as a close member of the family. He enjoyed being entertained by Yasuke's many talents such as dancing and performing Utenzi - a historic form of Swahili narrative poetry celebrating heroic deeds - and would frequently request to hear or see his performances at feasts.

Being samurai however was dangerous in feudal times and a violent death was almost always inevitable. Following the betrayal of the daimyo's top generals, Yasuke witnessed Nobunaga ending his own life in a seppuku ritual suicide. Before he killed himself, he asked Yasuke to behead him and take his head and sword to his son. To the samurai, this was seen as a sign of great trust.

Sadly by 1582, what we know of Yasuke comes to an end. Nobunaga's downfall resulted in the exile of the first black samurai, possibly back to a Jesuit mission in Kyoto where his story began. His journey from here on remains a mystery.

Yasuke's legacy in modern Japan and beyond

In today's Japan, Yasuke is something of a modern legend and hero. He lives on in a variety of platforms such as popular manga comics, anime and storybooks for both adults and children. The most notable and well read in Japan is the award-winning children's book, Kurosuke by Kurusu Yoshio, a book which many Japanese go on to read at school.

Further afield in the US, a film starring Chadwick Boseman was due to be made telling the life of Yasuke. Boseman was set to play the leading role and in addition he was going to be involved in the writing and production of the film itself. Unfortunately since the untimely death of Boseman, the production of this film has since been postponed. Some sources online suggest further that it may even be cancelled for good, due to the loss of Boseman as a major player in the film’s production. We will have to wait and see if this is a story that will be picked up again in years to come. I have no doubt we will see a film in the future about the legend of Yasuke.

Historical
3

About the Creator

J. Sgnt

British person with cats. New to writing, but keen to try for sanity. Also saving money for a house.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.