Yasuke: The African Samurai

Fan Art made of Yasuke (No Actual Images Exist)

Background:

Yasuke (弥助 or 弥介) was a man of African origin who served as a retainer and weapon-bearer to the Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga. He was the first foreigner to achieve Samurai status. Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 in service of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, who 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). He accompanied Valignano when the latter came to the capital area in March 1581 and his appearance caused much interest with the local people. When Yasuke was presented to Oda Nobunaga, the Japanese daimyō thought that his skin must have been colored with black ink. Nobunaga had him strip from the waist up and made him scrub his skin.^[21] These events are recorded in a 1581 letter of the Jesuit Luís Fróis 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. When Nobunaga realized that the African's skin was indeed black, he took an interest in him.

The Lord Nobunaga Chronicle (信長公記, Shinchō Kōki) corroborates Fróis's account. It describes the meeting thus: "On the 23rd of the 2nd month [23 March 1581], a black page (黒坊主, kuro-bōzu) came from the Christian countries. The man was described as robust, black as a bull, and of fine character.^[24] Nobunaga's nephew gave him a sum of money at this first meeting." On 14 May, Yasuke departed for Echizen Province with Fróis and the other Christians. During this trip, they met local warlords such as Shibata Katsutoyo, Hashiba Hidekatsu, and Shibata Katsuie. They returned to Kyoto on 30 May. It is likely that Yasuke could speak or was taught Japanese, perhaps due to Valignano's efforts to ensure his missionaries adapted well to the local culture. Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him and there is no indication that he could speak Portuguese. He was perhaps the only non-Japanese retainer that Nobunaga had in his service, which could explain Nobunaga's interest in him. Yasuke was mentioned in a variant text of the Shinchō-ki (信長記) owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko (尊経閣文庫), the archives of the Maeda clan. According to this, the black man named Yasuke (弥助) was given his own residence and a short, ceremonial katana by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of weapon bearer.

After the Battle of Tenmokuzan, Nobunaga led his force, including Yasuke, and inspected the former territory of the Takeda clan. On his way back, he met Tokugawa Ieyasu. Matsudaira Ietada, the retainer of Ieyasu described Yasuke as "6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal." Matsudaira stated that he was named Yasuke (弥介). In June 1582, Nobunaga was attacked and forced to commit seppuku in Honnō-ji in Kyoto by the army of Akechi Mitsuhide. Yasuke was there at the time and helped fight the Akechi forces. Immediately after Nobunaga's death, Yasuke went to join Nobunaga's heir Oda Nobutada, who was trying to rally the Oda forces at Nijō Castle. Yasuke fought alongside the Nobutada forces but was eventually captured. When Yasuke was presented to Akechi, the warlord allegedly said that the black man was an animal as well as not Japanese and should thus not be killed, but taken to the Christian church in Kyoto, the Nanbanji (南蛮寺). However, there is some doubt regarding the credibility of this fate. There is no further written information about him after this.

Source: Wikipedia