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'''Yasuke''' ({{lang-ja|弥助}} / {{lang|ja|弥介}}, {{IPA|ja|jasɯ̥ke}}) was a man of African origin<ref name="ExcludedPresence" /><ref name="Hitotsubashi" /> who came to Japan with [[Jesuit]] missionaries and served the Japanese [[Daimyo|daimyō]] [[Oda Nobunaga]] for a period of appoximately 15 months between 1581 and 1582, during the [[Sengoku period]], until Nobunaga's death in the [[Honnō-ji Incident]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=López-Vera |first=Jonathan |title=Toyotomi Hideyoshi y los europeos: portugueses y castellanos en el Japón samurái |publisher=Universitat de Barcelona |year=2020 |isbn=978-84-9168-759-7 |series=Transferències 1400-1800 |location=Barcelona |pages=176-177 |language=es |translator=MLT |trans-title=Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Europeans: Portuguese and Castilians in Samurai Japan |quote=La crónica de Ota describe al esclavo como un joven de unos veintiséis o veintisiete años, de apariencia sana, muy fuerte, con todo el cuerpo de color negro «como un buey» y con la fuerza de diez hombres. Nobunaga quedó impresionado por su apariencia, hizo que se desvistiese y les ordenó a unas criadas que frotasen su piel con toda clase de jabones, aceites y ungúentos para comprobar que ese color era natural y no alguna clase de tinte o pintura. Una vez estuvo seguro de que el portento era real, pidió a los jesuitas que el joven se quedase con él, a lo que los religiosos accedieron, regalándoselo. El nombre que se le dio fue Yasuke (h. 1555-?), y desde ese momento acompañó siempre a Nobunaga como una especie de guardaespaldas. Cabe destacar que a partir de entonces dejó de ser un esclavo, puesto que al estar al servicio del daimyo recibió un estipendio como el resto de vasallos, obteniendo así la condición de samurái. |trans-quote=Ota's Chronicle describes the slave as a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, of healthy appearance, very strong, with his whole body black "like an ox" and with the strength of ten men. Nobunaga was impressed by his appearance, had him undress and commanded some servants to scrub his skin with all kinds of soaps, oils and ointments to check that this color was natural and not some kind of dye or paint. When he was sure that the color was real, he asked the Jesuits to keep the young man, to which the Jesuits agreed, giving him to him as a gift. The name given to him was Yasuke (ca. 1555-?), and from that moment on he always accompanied Nobunaga as a kind of bodyguard. It is worth noting that from that moment on he ceased to be a slave, since being in the service of the daimyo he was paid a stipend like the rest of the vassals, thus obtaining the status of samurai.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Atkins |first=E. Taylor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPySEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22%20height%20and%20strength%20(which%20%22surpassed%20that%20of%20ten%20men%22)%2C%20Nobunaga%20gave%20him%20a%20sword%20signifying%20bushi%20status.%20Yasuke%20served%20as%20Nobunaga%27s%20retainer%20and%20conversation%22&pg=PA72 |title=A History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |year=2023 |edition=2nd |pages=72 |isbn=978-1-350-19592-9 |quote=Impressed with Yasuke's height and strength (which "surpassed that of ten men"), Nobunaga gave him a sword signifying bushi status. Yasuke served as Nobunaga's retainer and conversation partner for the last year of the warlord's life, defending Azuchi castle from the traitorous Akechi forces in 1582, where Nobunaga committed ritual suicide (seppuku). Although there are no known portraits of the "African samurai," there are some pictorial depictions of dark-skinned men (in one of which he is sumo wrestling) from the early Edo period that historians speculate could be Yasuke.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Germain |first=Jacquelyne |date=January 10, 2023 |title=Who Was Yasuke, Japan's First Black Samurai? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-yasuke-japans-first-black-samurai-180981416/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Moon |first=Kat |date=2021-04-30 |title=The True Story of Yasuke, the Legendary Black Samurai Behind Netflix's New Anime Series |url=https://time.com/6039381/yasuke-black-samurai-true-story/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Afterwards, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits.<ref name="huffingtonpostyasuke" /> There are no further records of his life afterward.
'''Yasuke''' ({{lang-ja|弥助}} / {{lang|ja|弥介}}, {{IPA|ja|jasɯ̥ke}}) was a man of African origin<ref name="ExcludedPresence" /><ref name="Hitotsubashi" /> who served as a [[samurai]] <!-- Please do NOT alter this statement without discussing it in the talk page.--> to the Japanese [[Daimyo|daimyō]] [[Oda Nobunaga]] for a period of appoximately 15 months between 1581 and 1582, during the [[Sengoku period]], until Nobunaga's death in the [[Honnō-ji Incident]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=López-Vera |first=Jonathan |title=Toyotomi Hideyoshi y los europeos: portugueses y castellanos en el Japón samurái |publisher=Universitat de Barcelona |year=2020 |isbn=978-84-9168-759-7 |series=Transferències 1400-1800 |location=Barcelona |pages=176-177 |language=es |translator=MLT |trans-title=Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Europeans: Portuguese and Castilians in Samurai Japan |quote=La crónica de Ota describe al esclavo como un joven de unos veintiséis o veintisiete años, de apariencia sana, muy fuerte, con todo el cuerpo de color negro «como un buey» y con la fuerza de diez hombres. Nobunaga quedó impresionado por su apariencia, hizo que se desvistiese y les ordenó a unas criadas que frotasen su piel con toda clase de jabones, aceites y ungúentos para comprobar que ese color era natural y no alguna clase de tinte o pintura. Una vez estuvo seguro de que el portento era real, pidió a los jesuitas que el joven se quedase con él, a lo que los religiosos accedieron, regalándoselo. El nombre que se le dio fue Yasuke (h. 1555-?), y desde ese momento acompañó siempre a Nobunaga como una especie de guardaespaldas. Cabe destacar que a partir de entonces dejó de ser un esclavo, puesto que al estar al servicio del daimyo recibió un estipendio como el resto de vasallos, obteniendo así la condición de samurái. |trans-quote=Ota's Chronicle describes the slave as a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, of healthy appearance, very strong, with his whole body black "like an ox" and with the strength of ten men. Nobunaga was impressed by his appearance, had him undress and commanded some servants to scrub his skin with all kinds of soaps, oils and ointments to check that this color was natural and not some kind of dye or paint. When he was sure that the color was real, he asked the Jesuits to keep the young man, to which the Jesuits agreed, giving him to him as a gift. The name given to him was Yasuke (ca. 1555-?), and from that moment on he always accompanied Nobunaga as a kind of bodyguard. It is worth noting that from that moment on he ceased to be a slave, since being in the service of the daimyo he was paid a stipend like the rest of the vassals, thus obtaining the status of samurai.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Atkins |first=E. Taylor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPySEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22%20height%20and%20strength%20(which%20%22surpassed%20that%20of%20ten%20men%22)%2C%20Nobunaga%20gave%20him%20a%20sword%20signifying%20bushi%20status.%20Yasuke%20served%20as%20Nobunaga%27s%20retainer%20and%20conversation%22&pg=PA72 |title=A History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |year=2023 |edition=2nd |pages=72 |isbn=978-1-350-19592-9 |quote=Impressed with Yasuke's height and strength (which "surpassed that of ten men"), Nobunaga gave him a sword signifying bushi status. Yasuke served as Nobunaga's retainer and conversation partner for the last year of the warlord's life, defending Azuchi castle from the traitorous Akechi forces in 1582, where Nobunaga committed ritual suicide (seppuku). Although there are no known portraits of the "African samurai," there are some pictorial depictions of dark-skinned men (in one of which he is sumo wrestling) from the early Edo period that historians speculate could be Yasuke.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Germain |first=Jacquelyne |date=January 10, 2023 |title=Who Was Yasuke, Japan's First Black Samurai? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-was-yasuke-japans-first-black-samurai-180981416/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=[[Smithsonian Magazine]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Moon |first=Kat |date=2021-04-30 |title=The True Story of Yasuke, the Legendary Black Samurai Behind Netflix's New Anime Series |url=https://time.com/6039381/yasuke-black-samurai-true-story/ |access-date=2024-06-27 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Afterwards, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits.<ref name="huffingtonpostyasuke" /> There are no further records of his life.

⚫
There are few historical documents on Yasuke. From the fragmentary accounts, Yasuke first arrived in [[Japanese archipelago|Japan]] in the service of [[Jesuits|Jesuit]] [[Alessandro Valignano]].<ref name="JapanForum" /> Nobunaga summoned him out of a desire to see a black man.<ref name="JapanForum" /> Subsequently, Nobunaga took him into his service, gave him the name Yasuke and granted him a sword, servants, a house and a [[stipend]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jozuka |first=Emiko |date=2019-05-20 |title=The legacy of feudal Japan's African samurai |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/19/asia/black-samurai-yasuke-africa-japan-intl/index.html |access-date=2024-06-27 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Historians believe this was the equivalent to "the bestowing of warrior or '[[samurai]]' rank" during this [[Sengoku period |period]].<ref name="Lockley_Britannica" />


⚫
Few historical documents on Yasuke exist. From the fragmentary accounts, Yasuke first arrived in [[Japanese archipelago|Japan]] in the service of [[Alessandro Valignano]].<ref name="JapanForum" /> Nobunaga summoned him out of a desire to see a black man.<ref name="JapanForum" /> Subsequently, Nobunaga took him into his service, gave him the name Yasuke and granted him a sword, servants, a house and a [[stipend]]. Historians believe this was the equivalent to "the bestowing of warrior or '[[samurai]]' rank" during this [[Sengoku period |period]].<ref name="Lockley_Britannica" />
==Birth and early life==
==Birth and early life==
Yasuke is the earliest known African to appear in Japanese historical records, though few records exist. Much of what is known about Yasuke appears in fragmentary accounts in the letters of the [[Jesuit missionary]] [[Luís Fróis]], Ōta Gyūichi's {{nihongo|''[[Shinchō Kōki]]''|信長公記||Nobunaga Official Chronicle}}, [[Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)|Matsudaira Ietada]]'s {{nihongo|''Matsudaira Ietada Nikki''|松平家忠日記||Matsudaira Ietada Diary}}, [[Jean Crasset]]'s ''{{lang|fr|Histoire de l'église du Japon}}'' and [[François Solier]]'s ''{{lang|fr|Histoire Ecclesiastique des Isles et Royaumes du Japon}}''.<ref name="intojapanwaraku28746">{{Cite web |date=30 August 2019 |title=ハリウッドで映画化!信長に仕えた黒人、弥助とは何者だったのか? |trans-title=Movie made in Hollywood! Who was Yasuke, a black man who served Nobunaga? |url=https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/culture-rock/28746/ |access-date=12 September 2023 |website=WARAKU web |publisher=[[Shogakukan]] |language=ja |archive-date=19 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919001439/https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/culture-rock/28746/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His confirmed period of stay in Japan was about three years, from 17 August 1579 to 21 June 1582.
Yasuke is the earliest known African to appear in Japanese historical records, though few records exist. Much of what is known about Yasuke appears in fragmentary accounts in the letters of the [[Jesuit missionary]] [[Luís Fróis]], Ōta Gyūichi's {{nihongo|''[[Shinchō Kōki]]''|信長公記||Nobunaga Official Chronicle}}, [[Matsudaira Ietada (Fukōzu)|Matsudaira Ietada]]'s {{nihongo|''Matsudaira Ietada Nikki''|松平家忠日記||Matsudaira Ietada Diary}}, [[Jean Crasset]]'s ''{{lang|fr|Histoire de l'église du Japon}}'' and [[François Solier]]'s ''{{lang|fr|Histoire Ecclesiastique des Isles et Royaumes du Japon}}''.<ref name="intojapanwaraku28746">{{Cite web |date=30 August 2019 |title=ハリウッドで映画化!信長に仕えた黒人、弥助とは何者だったのか? |trans-title=Movie made in Hollywood! Who was Yasuke, a black man who served Nobunaga? |url=https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/culture-rock/28746/ |access-date=12 September 2023 |website=WARAKU web |publisher=[[Shogakukan]] |language=ja |archive-date=19 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919001439/https://intojapanwaraku.com/rock/culture-rock/28746/ |url-status=live }}</ref> His confirmed period of stay in Japan was about three years, from 17 August 1579 to 21 June 1582.

Revision as of 14:34, 20 August 2024

For the anime based on him, see Yasuke (TV series).

Yasuke
Bornc. 1555[1]
Portuguese Mozambique (most likely)
DiedAfter June 1582
AllegianceJesuits, Alessandro Valignano
Oda clan, Oda Nobunaga (1581–1582)
Battles / wars

Yasuke (Japanese: 弥助 / 弥介, Japanese pronunciation: [jasɯ̥ke]) was a man of African origin[3][4] who served as a samurai to the Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga for a period of appoximately 15 months between 1581 and 1582, during the Sengoku period, until Nobunaga's death in the Honnō-ji Incident.[5][6][7][8] Afterwards, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits.[9] There are no further records of his life.

There are few historical documents on Yasuke. From the fragmentary accounts, Yasuke first arrived in Japan in the service of Jesuit Alessandro Valignano.[10] Nobunaga summoned him out of a desire to see a black man.[10] Subsequently, Nobunaga took him into his service, gave him the name Yasuke and granted him a sword, servants, a house and a stipend.[11] Historians believe this was the equivalent to "the bestowing of warrior or 'samurai' rank" during this period.[1]

Birth and early life

Yasuke is the earliest known African to appear in Japanese historical records, though few records exist. Much of what is known about Yasuke appears in fragmentary accounts in the letters of the Jesuit missionary Luís Fróis, Ōta Gyūichi's Shinchō Kōki (信長公記, Nobunaga Official Chronicle), Matsudaira Ietada's Matsudaira Ietada Nikki (松平家忠日記, Matsudaira Ietada Diary), Jean Crasset's Histoire de l'église du Japon and François Solier's Histoire Ecclesiastique des Isles et Royaumes du Japon.[12] His confirmed period of stay in Japan was about three years, from 17 August 1579 to 21 June 1582.

The name Yasuke was given to him by Nobunaga.[13] His real name, date and place of birth, native language, and religion are unknown.

Based on Ōta Gyūichi's biography of Nobunaga, Shinchō Kōki, Yasuke was estimated to be in his mid-twenties in 1581.[1] Accounts from his time suggest Yasuke accompanied Alessandro Valignano from "the Indies", a term encompassing Portuguese overseas territories like Goa and Cochin (modern-day Goa and Kochi in India) as well as Portuguese Mozambique.[1] Scholar Thomas Lockley has also proposed that Yasuke might have originated from the Dinka people of what is now South Sudan.[1]

Yasuke had African roots, and both a 1581 letter by Jesuit Lourenço Mexia[14] and a later account from 1627 by François Solier refer to Yasuke as a Cafre.[15][16][a] Solier further described Yasuke as a More Cafre, which has been interpreted as "Moorish infidel", and identified him as a servant from Mozambique.[15][16] Due to these descriptions, some historians have suggested that Yasuke may have been Muslim.[15][16]

Documented life in Japan

Oda Nobunaga, late 16th-century depiction

In 1579, Yasuke arrived in Japan in the service of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano.[10][19] Valignano had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions in the Indies (which at that time meant East Africa, South, Southeast, and East Asia). Valignano's party spent the first two years of their stay in Japan, mainly in Kyushu.[12]

Entering 1581, Valignano decided to visit the capital Kyoto as an envoy. He wanted to have an audience with Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful man in Japan, to ensure the Jesuits' missionary work before leaving Japan.[12] These events are recorded in a 1581 letter Luís Fróis wrote to Lourenço Mexia, and in the 1582 Annual Report of the Jesuit Mission in Japan also by Fróis. These were published in Cartas que os padres e irmãos da Companhia de Jesus escreverão dos reynos de Japão e China II (1598), normally known simply as Cartas.[20][21] On 27 March 1581, Valignano, together with Luís Fróis, who had arrived in Japan earlier, had an audience with Nobunaga, and Yasuke is said to have accompanied them as an attendant.[9]

The Jesuit Luís Fróis wrote that while in the capital, a melee broke out among the local townsfolk who fought amongst themselves to catch a glimpse of Yasuke, breaking down the door of a Jesuit residence in the process and ended in a number of deaths and injuries among the Japanese.[3][10] Luís Fróis's Annual Report on Japan states that Nobunaga also longed to see a black man, and summoned him.[10] Fr. Organtino took Yasuke to Nobunaga, who upon seeing a black man for the first time, refused to believe that his skin color was natural and not applied later, and made him remove his clothes from the belt upwards.[21] Valignano describes how Nobunaga, thinking that he might have ink on his body, made him take off his clothes and wash his body, but the more he washed and scrubbed, the darker his skin became.[9][22] Nobunaga's children attended the event and one of his nephews gave Yasuke a sum of money.[23][21]

The Shinchō Kōki manuscript describes Yasuke as follows:[24][12][3]

On the 23rd of the Second Month, a blackamoor came from the Kirishitan Country. He appeared to be twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Black over his whole body, just like an ox, this man looked robust and had a good demeanor. What is more, his formidable strength surpassed that of ten men. The Bateren brought him along by way of paying his respects to Nobunaga. Indeed, it was owing to Nobunaga’s power and his glory that yet unheard-of treasures from the Three Countries and curiosities of this kind came to be seen here time and again, a blessing indeed.[25]

Alessandro Valignano, late 16th-century depiction

Nobunaga was impressed by Yasuke and asked Valignano to give him over.[10] He gave him the Japanese name Yasuke,[b][4] accepted him as attendant at his side and made him the first recorded foreigner to receive the rank of samurai.[26] Yasuke served as a kind of bodyguard to Nobunaga, was granted the honor of being his sword-bearer, and was occasionally allowed to share meals with the warlord, a privilege extended to few other vassals.[27][28][9]

The Shinchō Kōki of the Sonkeikaku Bunko (尊経閣文庫) archives states:

It was ordered that the young black man be given a stipend (Japanese: 扶持, romanized: fuchi), named Yasuke, and provided with a sword (Japanese: さや巻, romanized: sayamaki)[c] , and a private residence. At times, he was also entrusted with carrying the master's weapons.[32]

Father Lourenço Mexía wrote in a letter to Father Pero da Fonseca dated 8 October 1581:[33]

The black man understood a little Japanese, and Nobunaga never tired of talking with him. And because he was strong and could do a few tricks, Nobunaga took great pleasure in protecting him and had him roam around the city of Kyoto with an attendant. Some people in the town thought that Nobunaga might make him as tono ("lord").

Yasuke next appears in historical records on 11 May 1582. The Ietada Diary of Matsudaira Ietada, a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, mentions that Yasuke accompanied Nobunaga on his inspection tour of the region after he destroyed his long-time arch-enemy, the Takeda clan of Kai.[9][12] The description of 11 May 1582 states:

Nobunaga-sama was accompanied by a black man who was presented to him by the missionaries and to whom he gave a stipend. His body was black like ink and he was 6 shaku 2 bu [182.4 cm or near 6 feet] tall. His name was said to be Yasuke.

Honnō-ji incident

On 21 June 1582, Oda Nobunaga was betrayed and attacked by his senior vassal Akechi Mitsuhide in the Honnō-ji incident, where Yasuke was serving near Nobunaga at this time.[34][4] Nobunaga would perish at Honnō-ji, though Yasuke fled to Nijō Shin-gosho (二条新御所) to alert Nobunaga's heir Nobutada. There he engaged the Akechi forces but eventually surrendered.[34] After being defeated, Nobutada committed seppuku.[35]

A black man whom the visitor [Valignano] sent to Nobunaga went to the house of Nobunaga's son after his death and was fighting for quite a long time, when a vassal of Akechi approached him and said, "Do not be afraid, give me that sword", so he gave him the sword. The vassal asked Akechi what should be done with the black man, and he said, "A black slave is an animal (bestial) and knows nothing, nor is he Japanese, so do not kill him, and place him in the custody at the cathedral of Padre in India."[9]

There are no historical documents to show the true meaning of Mitsuhide's statement, and it is not known whether it was a sign of his discriminatory mindset or an expedient to save Yasuke's life.[9][36]

As a result, Yasuke was sent to the Nanban-ji and treated by Jesuit missionaries.[9][12] It is certain that Yasuke did not die, as Luís Fróis wrote five months after the Honnō-ji Incident, thanking God that he did not lose his life.[12] However, there are no historical sources about him since then and it is not clear what happened to him afterwards.[9]

Possible depictions of Yasuke

Detail from the Sumō Yūrakuzu Byōbu, drawn in 1605. It has been suggested that the black man on the left is Yasuke.

The Sumō Yūrakuzu Byōbu (相撲遊楽図屏風, Sakai City Museum collection), drawn in 1605 by an anonymous artist, depicts a dark-skinned man wrestling a Japanese man in the presence of noble samurai. There are various theories regarding the work: some believe that this samurai is Oda Nobunaga or Toyotomi Hidetsugu, while others believe that the dark-skinned man wrestling in the center is Yasuke and the one further to the right of the wrestlers (not depicted in the detailed image), playing the role of a gyōji (referee), is Oda Nobunaga.[36][37]

Rimpa-style suzuri-bako, depicting a dark-skinned man in Portuguese clothing

An ink-stone box (suzuri-bako) made by a Rinpa artist in the 1590s, owned by Museu do Caramulo [pt], depicts a black man wearing Portuguese high-class clothing. Author Thomas Lockley argues that it could be Yasuke, as he does not appear to be subservient to the other Portuguese man in the work.[38]

However, none of these theories are supported by firm historical evidence. Therefore, it is not possible to determine with certainty whether any of these works depicts Yasuke.[39] Human trafficking was rampant in the world at the time, and it was not uncommon for individual Africans and other people from European colonial areas to come to Japan as followers and slaves of Jesuit missionaries and visitors.[9]

Nanban byōbu (painted by Kano Naizen), Europeans and their African followers

A Nanban byōbu (南蛮屏風, folding screen featuring scenes of Europeans) painted by Kanō Naizen, a painter active in the same period, depicts dark-skinned followers holding parasols over Europeans.[34]

Other references to people who appear to be African can be found in various records from other parts of Japan relating to this period, such as Toyotomi Hideyoshi rewarding the Cafre[a] for their dancing.[24]

  • In 1968, author Yoshio Kurusu and artist Genjirō Mita published a children's book about Yasuke titled Kurosuke (くろ助). The following year, the book won the Japanese Association of Writers for Children Prize (日本児童文学者協会賞, Nihon Jidō Bungakusha Kyōkai-shō).[40][41][42]
  • Yasuke inspired the 1971 satirical novel Kuronbō (黒ん坊) by Shūsaku Endō.[43][44]
  • Yasuke appears in the 2008 novel Momoyama Beat Tribe [ja] as one of the main characters. This novel was later made into a play in 2017.[45]
  • Yasuke plays a minor role in the 2005 to 2017 manga series Hyouge Mono by Yoshihiro Yamada.[46]
  • Yasuke is featured in the 2016 to 2020 manga series Nobunaga o Koroshita Otoko (信長を殺した男, "The Man Who Killed Nobunaga") by Akechi Kenzaburō and Yutaka Tōdō.[46]
  • Yasuke appears as Alessandro Valignano's servant in volume 29 of the ongoing manga series Nobunaga no Shefu [ja] ("Nobunaga's Chef") by Takurō Kajikawa.[46]
  • The ongoing time-travel manga series Nobunaga Concerto by Ayumi Ishii portrays Yasuke as a Black baseball player from the present day.[46]
  • Yasuke was the inspiration for Takashi Okazaki's Afro Samurai franchise.[40]
  • The 2017 video game Nioh and its 2020 sequel feature a portrayal of Yasuke, voiced by Richie Campbell.[44][47]
  • In March 2017, Lionsgate announced plans for a live-action film about Yasuke titled Black Samurai. Michael De Luca and Stephen L'Heureux would serve as producers in a co-production between De Luca Productions and Solipsist Films, with Gregory Widen as the screenwriter.[48] In May 2019, Deadline reported that the film, retitled Yasuke, had left Lionsgate for Picturestart, with Doug Miro replacing Widen as the screenwriter. Chadwick Boseman signed on to portray Yasuke in the film and to serve as a co-producer through his production company, Xception Content.[49][50] In August 2020, Boseman died of colon cancer.[51] As of September 2021, Picturestart's official website states that the film is "in development".[52]
  • In April 2019, MGM announced plans for their own live-action film about Yasuke, to be produced by Andrew Mittman and Lloyd Braun of Whalerock Industries, with a script written by Stuart C. Paul.[53]
  • Yasuke is the main protagonist in the 2021 Netflix anime series Yasuke, created by LeSean Thomas and animated by MAPPA. He is voiced by Jun Soejima in Japanese and LaKeith Stanfield in English.[54][55]
  • Koei Tecmo's 2021 video game Samurai Warriors 5 includes Yasuke as a playable character, voiced by Paddy Ryan.[56]
  • A black samurai inspired by Yasuke, named Nagoriyuki, appears in Arc System Works' 2021 fighting game Guilty Gear Strive.[57]
  • In February 2023, the Brazilian samba school Mocidade Alegre of the São Paulo city carnival performed a samba-song about Yasuke, winning that year's competition.[58]
  • In April 2024, a new feature film spec script titled Black Samurai written by Blitz Bazawule was acquired by Warner Bros. for Bazawule to direct.[59]
  • On 15 May 2024, Ubisoft announced that Yasuke would be a primary character in the upcoming video game Assassin's Creed Shadows.[60] This caused controversy, with some fans complaining that he was not a "real" samurai and criticizing Ubisoft for creating a game set in Japan with one of the leading characters not being Japanese.[61][d] He is voiced by Tongayi Chirisa.[64]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Originally, the Portuguese used the word Cafre, plural Cafres — from the Arabic: كَافِر, kāfir, "infidels", "renegade" — to designate the non-Bantu peoples they encountered in southern Africa, particularly the Khoisan people of present-day Namibia. In Asia, the term was applied to individuals with dark skin, who were often enslaved.[17][18]
  2. ^ The origin of his name is unknown.
  3. ^ A sayamaki could refer to a type of tachi,[29] a chiisakatana,[30] or to a tantō without a guard.[31]
  4. ^ In response to these events, historian Yu Hirayama publicly declared that Yasuke was a samurai, but acknowledged that his enemies did not view him as such,[62] while historian Yuichi Goza argued that Yasuke was likely just granted samurai status formally, similar to sumo wrestlers who became samurai and differentiating him from those who were expected to fight.[63]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d e Lockley, Thomas (16 July 2024). "Yasuke". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  2. ^ Murakami, Naojiro; Yanagitani, Takeo (2002). イエズス会日本年報 上 [Society of Jesus – Japan Annual Report, First Volume]. New Foreign Country (in Japanese). Maruzen-Yushodo. ISBN 978-4-8419-1000-1.
  3. ^ a b c Russell, John G. (1 January 2007). "Excluded Presence: Shoguns, Minstrels, Bodyguards, and Japan's Encounters with the Black Other" (PDF). Zinbun 40, Kyoto University. 40: 15–51. doi:10.14989/71097. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024. The most well-documented case is that Yasuke, a Mozambican brought to Japan by the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano
  4. ^ a b c Wright, David (1998). "The Use of Race and Racial Perceptions Among Asians and Blacks: The Case of the Japanese and African Americans". Hitotsubashi Journal of Social Studies. 30 (2): 135–152. ISSN 0073-280X. JSTOR 43294433. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024. In 1581, a Jesuit priest in the city of Kyoto had among his entourage an African
  5. ^ López-Vera, Jonathan (2020). Toyotomi Hideyoshi y los europeos: portugueses y castellanos en el Japón samurái [Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Europeans: Portuguese and Castilians in Samurai Japan]. Transferències 1400-1800 (in Spanish). Translated by MLT. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-84-9168-759-7. La crónica de Ota describe al esclavo como un joven de unos veintiséis o veintisiete años, de apariencia sana, muy fuerte, con todo el cuerpo de color negro «como un buey» y con la fuerza de diez hombres. Nobunaga quedó impresionado por su apariencia, hizo que se desvistiese y les ordenó a unas criadas que frotasen su piel con toda clase de jabones, aceites y ungúentos para comprobar que ese color era natural y no alguna clase de tinte o pintura. Una vez estuvo seguro de que el portento era real, pidió a los jesuitas que el joven se quedase con él, a lo que los religiosos accedieron, regalándoselo. El nombre que se le dio fue Yasuke (h. 1555-?), y desde ese momento acompañó siempre a Nobunaga como una especie de guardaespaldas. Cabe destacar que a partir de entonces dejó de ser un esclavo, puesto que al estar al servicio del daimyo recibió un estipendio como el resto de vasallos, obteniendo así la condición de samurái. [Ota's Chronicle describes the slave as a young man of about twenty-six or twenty-seven years of age, of healthy appearance, very strong, with his whole body black "like an ox" and with the strength of ten men. Nobunaga was impressed by his appearance, had him undress and commanded some servants to scrub his skin with all kinds of soaps, oils and ointments to check that this color was natural and not some kind of dye or paint. When he was sure that the color was real, he asked the Jesuits to keep the young man, to which the Jesuits agreed, giving him to him as a gift. The name given to him was Yasuke (ca. 1555-?), and from that moment on he always accompanied Nobunaga as a kind of bodyguard. It is worth noting that from that moment on he ceased to be a slave, since being in the service of the daimyo he was paid a stipend like the rest of the vassals, thus obtaining the status of samurai.]
  6. ^ Atkins, E. Taylor (2023). A History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-350-19592-9. Impressed with Yasuke's height and strength (which "surpassed that of ten men"), Nobunaga gave him a sword signifying bushi status. Yasuke served as Nobunaga's retainer and conversation partner for the last year of the warlord's life, defending Azuchi castle from the traitorous Akechi forces in 1582, where Nobunaga committed ritual suicide (seppuku). Although there are no known portraits of the "African samurai," there are some pictorial depictions of dark-skinned men (in one of which he is sumo wrestling) from the early Edo period that historians speculate could be Yasuke.
  7. ^ Germain, Jacquelyne (10 January 2023). "Who Was Yasuke, Japan's First Black Samurai?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  8. ^ Moon, Kat (30 April 2021). "The True Story of Yasuke, the Legendary Black Samurai Behind Netflix's New Anime Series". TIME. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ando, Kenji (6 May 2021). "織田信長に仕えた黒人武士「弥助」の生涯とは?ネトフリのアニメ『Yasuke -ヤスケ-』のモデルに" [What was the life of Yasuke, a black warrior who served Oda Nobunaga? The model for the Netflix anime Yasuke]. HuffPost (in Japanese). BuzzFeed Japan. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f Leupp, Gary P. (March 1995). "Images of black people in late medieval and early modern Japan 1543–1900". Japan Forum. 7 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1080/09555809508721524. ISSN 0955-5803. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  11. ^ Jozuka, Emiko (20 May 2019). "The legacy of feudal Japan's African samurai". CNN. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "ハリウッドで映画化!信長に仕えた黒人、弥助とは何者だったのか?" [Movie made in Hollywood! Who was Yasuke, a black man who served Nobunaga?]. WARAKU web (in Japanese). Shogakukan. 30 August 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  13. ^ Tsujiuchi, Makoto (1998). "Historical Context of Black Studies in Japan". Hitotsubashi Journal of Social Studies. 30 (2): 95–100. ISSN 0073-280X. JSTOR 43294431. Archived from the original on 19 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
  14. ^ Mexia, Lourenço (1598). "Carta que o padre Lourenço Mexía escreueo de Funày ao padre Pero da Fonseca a oito de Outubro de 1581". Segunda parte das cartas de Iapão que escreuerão os padres, & irmãos da Companhia de Iesus. Livro primeiro (in Portuguese). Évora: Manuel de Lyra. p. 17.
  15. ^ a b c Morris, James Harry (2 January 2018). "Christian–Muslim Relations in China and Japan in the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries". Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations. 29 (1): 37–55. doi:10.1080/09596410.2017.1401797. ISSN 0959-6410. Archived from the original on 18 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  16. ^ a b c Thomas, David; Chesworth, John A. (2017). "South-East Asia, China and Japan". South and East Asia, Africa and the Americas (1600-1700). Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History. Vol. 33. BRILL. p. 335. doi:10.1163/9789004335585_007. ISBN 978-90-04-32683-5.
  17. ^ Sousa, Lúcio de (2018). The Portuguese Slave Trade in Early Modern Japan: Merchants, Jesuits and Japanese, Chinese, and Korean Slaves. Studies in Global Slavery. Vol. 7. Leiden ; Boston: Brill. p. 12. ISBN 978-90-04-36580-3.
  18. ^ Arndt, Jochen S. (2 January 2018). "What's in a Word? Historicising the Term 'Caffre' in European Discourses about Southern Africa between 1500 and 1800". Journal of Southern African Studies. 44 (1): 59–75. doi:10.1080/03057070.2018.1403212. ISSN 0305-7070.
  19. ^ Crasset 1925, p. 384 (number of frames 207)
  20. ^ 1581 letters of the Jesuits Luís Fróis and Lorenço Mexia
  21. ^ a b c Cooper, Michael, ed. (1965). They came to Japan : an anthology of European reports on Japan, 1543–1640. Center for Japanese Studies, University of California, Berkeley. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-520-04509-5. OCLC 500169.
  22. ^ Fujita 2005, pp. 8–9.
  23. ^ Lockley 2017, p. 65.
  24. ^ a b "第14回 アフリカの日本、日本のアフリカ 第2章 日本に渡ったアフリカ人" [Part 14: Japan in Africa, Africa in Japan Chapter 2: Africans who came to Japan]. 本の万華鏡 (in Japanese). National Diet Library. Archived from the original on 23 October 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  25. ^ Ōta, Gyūichi (2011). Elisonas, J. S. A.; Lamers, J. P. (eds.). The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga. Leiden and Boston: Brill. pp. 385–386. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004201620.i-510.8. ISBN 978-90-04-20162-0.
  26. ^ Munez, Everett (26 June 2024). "Yasuke". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  27. ^ Lopez-Vera, Jonathan (2020). A History of the Samurai: Legendary Warriors of Japan. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-1-4629-2134-8.
  28. ^ Hernon, Matthew (17 September 2020). "The African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, Japan's Legendary Black Warrior". Tokyo Weekender (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 July 2024.
  29. ^ Cummins, Antony; Minami, Yoshie (16 October 2018). Samurai Arms, Armour & the Tactics of Warfare: The Collected Scrolls of Natori-Ryu. Watkins Media Limited. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-78678-193-2.
  30. ^ Arai, Hakuseki (1913). Arai Hakuseki: The Sword Book in Honchō Gunkikō and the Book of Samé, Kō Hi Sei Gi of Inaba Tsūriō. Privately printed.
  31. ^ 日本国語大辞典, デジタル大辞泉,精選版. "鞘巻(ソウマキ)とは？ 意味や使い方". コトバンク (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. ^ Kaneko, Hiraku (2009). 織田信長という歴史 － 「信長記」の彼方へ [The History of Oda Nobunaga: Beyond the Shinchōki] (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. p. 311. ISBN 978-4-585-05420-7. 然に彼黒坊被成御扶持、名をハ号弥助と、さや巻之のし付幷私宅等迄被仰付、依時御道具なともたさせられ候、
  33. ^ Mexía, Lourenço. "Carta que o padre Lourenço Mexía escreueo de Funày ao padre Pero da Fonseca a oito de Outubro de 1581". Biblioteca Geral Digital. UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  34. ^ a b c Watanabe, Daimon (19 May 2021). "織田信長が登用した黒人武将・弥助とは、いったい何者なのか" [Who was Yasuke, the black warlord promoted by Oda Nobunaga?]. Yahoo! News (in Japanese). Yahoo! Japan. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  35. ^ Turnbull, Stephen (2000). The Samurai Sourcebook. London: Cassell & C0. p. 231. ISBN 1854095234.
  36. ^ a b Ayukawa, Tetsuya (4 October 2020). "信長に仕え本能寺の変を生き延びた"黒人侍"" [Black Samurai who served Nobunaga and survived the Honnoji Incident]. Aera (in Japanese). The Asahi Shimbun Company. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  37. ^ 『第八回特別展 すもう 天下の力士』、葛城市博物館、2007年10p
  38. ^ Lockley 2017, pp. 147–148
  39. ^ Lockley, Thomas (16 July 2024). "Yasuke". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  40. ^ a b Jozuka, Eimiko (19 May 2019). "African samurai: The enduring legacy of a black warrior in feudal Japan". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  41. ^ "Kuro-suke [Black One]". International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  42. ^ くろ助. Digital Daijisen Plus (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021 – via Kotobank.
  43. ^ Bridges, Will (2020). "Genre Trouble: Breaking the Law of Genre and Literary Blackness in the Long 1970s". Playing in the Shadows: Fictions of Race and Blackness in Postwar Japanese Literature. Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies. Vol. 88. University of Michigan Press. p. 137. ISBN 978-0-472-07442-6. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021. ... Kuronbō (Darkie), Endō Shūsaku's (1923–96) 1971 satirical more-fiction-than-history historical fiction of Yasuke and Nobunaga?
  44. ^ a b Berlatsky, Noah (2 May 2021). "The Real Yasuke Is Far More Interesting Than His Netflix Show". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  45. ^ 舞台「桃山ビート・トライブ Momoyama Beat Tribe」. Mottorekishi.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  46. ^ a b c d Kayama, Ryūji (29 April 2021). Netflixアニメ『Yasuke -ヤスケ-』の主人公・弥助、マンガの世界ではどう描かれてきた？. Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  47. ^ "Yasuke Voice – Nioh (Video Game)". behindthevoiceactors.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2022. Check mark indicates role has been confirmed using screenshots of closing credits and other reliable sources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  48. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (23 March 2017). "Lionsgate Taps 'Highlander' Creator Gregory Widen To Script Film On First Black Samurai". Deadline. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  49. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (7 May 2019). "Chadwick Boseman To Play African Samurai 'Yasuke' In Deal With Picturestart, De Luca Productions, Solipsist & X●ception Content". Deadline. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  50. ^ Vlessing, Etan (7 May 2019). "Chadwick Boseman to Star in Samurai Drama 'Yasuke'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  51. ^ Yamato, Jen (28 August 2020). "'Black Panther' star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer at 43". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  52. ^ "Yasuke: Not just an action movie, a cultural event". Picturestart. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  53. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (18 April 2019). "MGM Sets Film On 'Yasuke', History's Sole African Samurai". Deadline. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  54. ^ "Yasuke Anime Unveils Japanese Cast With New Teaser". Anime News Network. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  55. ^ Armstrong, Vanessa (1 April 2021). "Netflix's epic Yasuke trailer finds LaKeith Stanfield as a reluctant ronin in magic & mech-filled Japan". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  56. ^ Romano, Sal (23 April 2021). "Samurai Warriors 5 adds Nobunaga Oda (Mature), Mitsuhide Akechi (Mature), Hanzo Hattori, Sandayu Momochi, Magoichi Saika, and Yasuke". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  57. ^ Walker, Ian (26 June 2021). "Guilty Gear Strive's Vampire Samurai Says Black Lives Matter". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  58. ^ "Watch: Sao Paulo carnival champions tell the story of Mozambique's Yasuke, who was a samurai in Japan". Club of Mozambique. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  59. ^ Jackson, Angelique (10 April 2024). "Warner Bros. Lands 'Black Samurai' Movie From 'The Color Purple' Director Blitz Bazawule (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  60. ^ Assassin's Creed Shadows: Who Are Naoe and Yasuke?. Ubisoft. 15 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024 – via YouTube.
  61. ^ Lee, Chantelle (16 May 2024). "Assassin's Creed Fans Slam Decision to Include Black Samurai in Feudal Japan Story". Time. Archived from the original on 17 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  62. ^ "Why is Assassin's Creed Shadows so controversial? Ubisoft apologises for game set in feudal Japan". Yahoo News. 24 July 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  63. ^ 寛次, 高橋 (5 August 2024). "弥助問題「本人は芸人のような立場」「日本人の不満は当然」 歴史学者・呉座氏に聞く（上）". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 7 August 2024. 「また、侍だったとしても『形の上では』ということもあります。例えば江戸時代、相撲好きの大名にはお抱えの力士がいた。形式的には家臣、侍として召し抱えて帯刀を許可していましたが、たとえ戦（いくさ）が起きたとしても、お抱え力士が戦場で戦うようなことはもちろん、想定されていませんでした」 [Moreover, even if he was a samurai, it might have been in-form only. In the Edo period, for example, a daimyo (feudal lord) who was fond of sumo had a stable of wrestlers. Officially, they were treated as vassals or samurai and permitted to wear swords, however, even if war broke out, it was not expected that the feudal lords would allow such wrestlers to fight on the battlefield.]
  64. ^ ZiFM Stereo [@ZiFMStereo] (16 May 2024). "American based Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Chirisa will feature in the upcoming Assassin's Creed:Shadows game where he voices the character Yasuke" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via Twitter.

Sources

Further reading

  • Matsuda, Kiichi, ed., Jūroku-jūnanaseiki Iezusukai Nihon Hōkokushuu, Hōdōsha, 1987–1998.
  • Ōta, Gyūichi, Shinchō Kōki, 1622.
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