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The Sengoku Jidai: The warring states of Feudal
Japan. This era invokes many romantic images
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of great castles, spectacular battles, and
stoic Samurai adorned in their elegant kimonos
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and top-knotted hair, wielding their iconic
Katanas. What if we told you that among the
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ranks of this ancient warrior-order was a
black man from East Africa? This is the tale
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of Yasuke, the first man from outside Japan
to don the dual Katanas, and the only African
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to do so.
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To begin the tale of the African Samurai,
we must first establish the context: in the
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early 15th century, the Portuguese Empire
had a scattering of trade outposts across
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the Asian Pacific. In the year 1543, they
reached southern Japan. The Japanese relied
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heavily on the import of silk from Ming China,
and as the relations between two states were
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icy, and trade between the two was forbidden
by the Ming Emperor, the Portuguese established
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a niche trade by buying silks in China and
bringing them to Japan. These European merchants
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grew very rich as intermediaries between the
two Asian heavyweights.
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The Portuguese were allowed to build a trading
port at Nagasaki, which quickly became a large
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hub for commerce. And where the Europeans
went, their priests would soon follow. The
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Catholic society of Jesus, also known as the
Jesuits, established a significant presence
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in southern Japan. Their mission was to convert
all Japan to Christianity, spearheaded by
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Priests like Francis Xavier. At the height
of their influence, several Daimyo lords,
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and over 200,000 Japanese were Christian,
mostly in the Kyushu region.
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Of course, the Portuguese and their Jesuit
compatriots were spreading their influence
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on other continents as well. By the 1500s
they had established a foothold in Africa,
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in what is now Mozambique. Here they became
enthusiastic participants in the local slave
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trade, acquiring many poor souls from local
chiefs, who they would in turn ship out for
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labour across their Maritime Empire.
That a dark-skinned man from Africa became
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a Samurai in feudal Japan is considered a
fact. However, we know very little about him.
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Details on his country of origin, early life,
and even his original name are muddy at best.
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We know only the name given to him by the
Japanese: Yasuke. The story we’ve chosen
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to depict here is our personal interpretation
of the few pieces of information we have about
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his life.
We have only theories for the origins of this
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mysterious man. Some say he was born around
the year 1555 in Mozambique, which at the
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time was being colonized by the Portuguese.
He was most likely of the Makua peoples, a
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Bantu tribe. Although some claim that he was
from Ethiopia, and belonged to the Habshi
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people.
Either way, the saga of this East African
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man began in his childhood, where he was most
likely enslaved and given to the local Jesuits.
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He was taught the Christian religion, and
the Catholic lifestyle, and brought up to
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believe in the proselytizing ways of the Jesuit
order. After some time, Yasuke was given to
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the Jesuit inspector Alessandro Valignano.
Valignano’s mission was to audit Jesuit
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activity in Japan, so he sailed east with
his servants and slaves in tow. Thus, in the
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year 1579, the as yet unnamed man of East
Africa first step foot on Japanese soil, behind
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the coat-tails of his Jesuit master.
It is here we should briefly explain the Japan
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that he stepped into. The warring states period,
known as the Sengoku Jidai, was nearing its
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climax. Japan had been divided into many independent
little fiefdoms in 1467. By 1579 however,
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most of these fiefdoms had been conquered
by the ambitious Daimyo Oda Nobunaga of the
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Oda clan, and his vassal Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
In 1581, Valignano brought his African servant
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into Kyoto, the beating heart of Japanese
civilization and seat of Oda Nobunaga. The
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Bantu man had likely never seen a metropolis
of such size and bustle, nor had the people
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of Kyoto ever seen anyone like him. When rumours
spread of a giant man with skin like charcoal,
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the local Kyotans grew so curious that they
broke down the door of the Jesuit Church just
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to get a look at him. The African quickly
achieved status as a local celebrity, for
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the common folk were astonished not only by
his dark skin, but his size and height, as
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he stood a solid foot taller than the average
Japanese man.
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The growing fame of this enigmatic foreigner
eventually piqued the curiosity of Lord Nobunaga,
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who ordered the Jesuits to present the African
to him. When they came face to face, Nobunaga
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was astonished. The warlord did not believe
such a man could exist, and was convinced
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he was actually a Portuguese man who had his
skin dyed with black ink. He had the African
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strip from the waist up, and be thoroughly
scrubbed. This of course proved that his skin
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was naturally dark. Upon realizing this, Nobunaga
took a genuine interest in the man, and it
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was at around then that he finally received
his Japanese name: Yasuke.
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Yasuke soon became more than just a novelty
to Lord Nobunaga. The Daimyo came to appreciate
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the man’s personal integrity, and his physical
prowess. He declared that Yasuke possessed
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the strength of ten men. In the summer of
1581, Nobunaga’s admiration of this strange
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foreigner had become undeniable, and thus
he formally requested that Yasuke enter his
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service. It was official now: the man of humble
Bantu origins was a Samurai.
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Yasuke was afforded all the privileges any
other Samurai would receive. He was granted
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a piece of land and a household upon it, Japanese
garments, and a ceremonial Short Katana. It
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can be assumed that he was taught the Bushido
code, and how to fight as a Samurai. Yasuke
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became one of Nobunaga’s favourite servants,
and was one of the few people afforded the
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privilege of dining with the great Daimyo.
Yasuke soon joined his new lord in his mission
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to conquer all Japan. He likely saw combat
at the Battle of Tenmokuzan, fighting fiercely
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alongside Nobunaga forces to destroy the Takeda
clan. It was the first time any Japanese warrior
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had encountered an African in combat, and
the strength and ferocity of Nobunaga’s
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newest soldier was a thing to behold.
After the engagement, Yasuke rode at Nobunaga’s
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side as the lord surveyed his newly conquered
lands, and one can only imagine the wonder
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that many would have felt, seeing such a giant
of a foreigner riding in such a position of
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prestige at their liege lord’s side. On
their way back to Kyoto, he rubbed shoulders
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with many of Nobunaga’s powerful allies,
names we consider larger than life. One such
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man was Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man who, in time,
would conquer all Japan.
7:36
In June of 1582, Yasuke and Nobunaga arrived
back in Kyoto. Nobunaga split his army and
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sent them forth to conquer the lands of the
Mori, Uesegi and Hojo clans. He retired to
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the Buddhist temple of Honno-Ji, where he
intended to rest. Surrounded only by artists,
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merchants, poets and servants, Nobunaga was
largely unprotected. Yasuke, however, was
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by his side.
Disaster was soon to come. An enemy host surrounded
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the temple. This was a complete shock, for
none of Nobunaga’s foes were supposed to
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know he was there. One of Nobunaga’s most
trusted generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, had betrayed
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him. He took advantage of his knowledge that
Nobunaga was vulnerable, and laid siege to
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the temple where his liege lord stayed.
The treacherous Mitsuhide stormed the temple
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with overwhelming numbers. Yasuke charged
out, mounting a desperate battle against the
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odds, with only a few bodyguards and servants
fighting by his side. He fought bravely, but
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to no avail. Amidst the chaos and fire, Nobunaga
had to commit Seppuku, honourable suicide,
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so as to avoid capture.
Somehow, Yasuke was able to escape Akechi’s
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clutches. He found a horse and rode hard for
Nijo castle, where Nobunaga’s son, Oda Nobutada,
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had mustered his forces. Where he had failed
to protect his lord, Yasuke was now determined
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to protect his son. He arrived just in time,
joining the young lord’s army just as the
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traitor Mitsuhide attacked them. Yasuke fought
hard in the battle that ensued, once more
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engaging Mitsuhide’s Samurai and slaying
many in the defense of young Nobutada, but
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once again, it was for naught.
The Oda forces were routed, and Oda Nobutada
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was captured, and forced to commit seppuku.
Yasuke too was captured, and presented before
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Mitsuhide. The traitorous general had nothing
but contempt for the black man, declaring
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him to be nonhuman, little more than an animal.
Because he was not Japanese, Mitsuhide declared
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that Yasuke was not to be killed, and instead
sent to the Christian Church in Kyoto.
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And thus, after serving as a noble Samurai
for over a year, Yasuke was returned to his
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Jesuit masters. Reportedly, the Christians
eagerly praised god when reunited with the
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man. It would be a nice thing to believe that
Yasuke’s tale had something of a happy ending.
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Unfortunately, we don’t know. All record
of his existence fade away after this point,
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and we do not know what his ultimate fate
was, whether he left Japan with the Jesuits,
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or died on the islands.
From humble beginnings on the East Coast of
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Africa, to the grandeur of the palaces of
Kyoto, the rise of Yasuke from slave to Samurai
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is a unique one to say the least. He may not
have been a Samurai for long, and his influence
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upon the Island nation may not have been as
great as other foreigners who followed him,
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but his story serves as the inspiration of
various pieces of media, such as anime like
10:41
Afro Samurai and games like Nioh. Whether
it be the man himself, or what he represented,
10:47
Yasuke enjoys a special place in the hearts
of many Japanese people today, and is a wonderful
10:53
story of what strange fates can be thrust
upon the humblest of men.
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We will continue this two-part series with
the story of William Adams, the English Samurai,
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