Black Samurai!? Who is 'YASUKE'??
Habari watu wote! (Hi everyone in Swahili)
I’m Rina from Yasuke.
In this article, I will be introducing who 'Yasuke' is and what he has achieved.
I hope you could share what you learned here with your family and friends!
Who is 'Yasuke'?
https://www.cnn.co.jp/world/35138192.html
Yasuke is the first black samurai who served Nobunaga Oda (a famous Japanese warrior).
In Nobunaga's final years, when he was one step closer to unifying the country, he met Yasuke who happen to be a missionary black slave back then. After that, Yasuke is said to have become a vassal of Nobunaga.
■A black slave brought by a Jesuit missionary
Although there are very few materials related to Yasuke, the following description remains in Gyuichi Ota's "Nobunaga Kouki".
キリシタンの国から黒人がやって来た。年齢は26～27歳ぐらいのようだ。全身がウシのように黒い。この男は健康で力が強く、10人がかりにも勝てそうだ。バテレンが連れてきて、（信長様に）挨拶させた。 (Translation) A black man came from a Christian country. The age seems to be around 26-27 years old. The whole body is black like a cow. This man seems healthy and strong and is likely to win even 10 people. Batteren brought him to Nobunaga's place and they greeted Nobunaga.
Also, in the report of Luis Frois, "Jesuit's 1581 Annual Report of Japan", contains the description below.
信長も黒人奴隷を見ることを望んでいたため、宣教師のオルガンティノが連れていったところ、信長はその色が生まれつきで、後から塗ったものでないことを信じようとせず、帯から上の着物を脱がせた。 (Translation) Nobunaga also wanted to see a black slave, so when missionary Organtino took Yasuke to Nobunaga, he believed that his skin color was not natural, but was painted later. And so Nobunaga took off the top of Yasuke's kimono sash.
From these facts, we can see that Yasuke was a black slave brought by a Jesuit missionary. He is thought to have arrived in 16th century Japan with the Portuguese during the Nanban trade.
■Strenuous battle in "Honnoji incident"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honn%C5%8D-ji_Incident
Interestingly, there is also a description that Yasuke played an important role in the famous "Honnoji incident".
The following description was written by Professor Midori Fujita of Tohoku University. She speculates in the book that Mitsuhide Akechi protected Yasuke without killing him after Nobunaga's death.
皮膚の色こそ異なるものの、若干言葉を解し、最後まで主人への忠誠を果たした従者を殺すのは忍びないと光秀が思ったとしても不思議ではない (Translation) It's no wonder Mitsuhide thinks it's unbearable to kill a servant who has a different skin color, but who understands a little Japanese and has been loyal to his master until the end
As you can see from this description, Yasuke was brought in Japan as a black slave, but was recognized for his achievements as a Japanese samurai.
■It is now a anime on NETFLIX!
https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/80990863
Did you know that Yasuke is currently being aired as the latest drama on NETFLIX!?
An actor who has been nominated for an Academy Award plays the role of Yasuke, and is gaining popularity from overseas!
Please take this opportunity to take a look at the story of Yasuke, who was brought in as a black slave and serves as Nobunaga's vassal.
↑ Click here for Netflix animation
Conclusion
In this article, I introduced Yasuke, who became Nobunaga's vassal from a black slave and was eventually recognized by Akechi Mitsuhide as a Japanese samurai.
If you want to know more, you can search various sites and documents by searching for "Yasuke", so please check it out!
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