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"Hey, history lovers, welcome back to historical africa! Today, we're diving into a remarkable story that spans continents and centuries,
introducing you to the incredible saga of Yasuke, the first black samurai. So buckle up, because this is a tale you won't want to miss!"

Who was Yasuke?
Our journey takes us back to 16th century Japan, a time of samurai, warlords, and a mysterious figure who defied all expectations.
Yasuke, believed to be of African origin, steps onto the stage of history, rewriting the narrative of what it meant to be a samurai
Not much is known about Yasuke’s early life. Some historians speculate he was born in Mozambique, Ethiopia or Nigeria. Thomas
Lockley, co-author of African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan, says it’s possible
Yasuke was enslaved and trafficked as a child but believes he was a free man by the time he met Alessandro Valignano, an Italian
Jesuit missionary. The duo traveled from India to Japan in 1579, with Yasuke essentially serving as Valignano’s bodyguard.

Yasuke “was employed as muscle because missionaries aren’t allowed to have weapons,” Lockley says. “Japan at the time was in the
middle of a brutal century of civil war, and therefore [Valignano] needed somebody to look after him.”

the civil war in question began in 1467 with the collapse of the Ashikaga shogunate, which left rival feudal lords vying for control of
Japan. These clashes continued through the mid-1500s, when Nobunaga consolidated power by unifying half of the island nation
under his ruthless regime.

Yasuke first crossed paths with Nobunaga in 1581, when Valignano requested permission from the warlord to leave the country—a
customary practice in an era before passports, according to Lockley. Nobunaga was fascinated by the color of Yasuke’s skin, which
he initially believed to be covered in black paint. As Lockley explains, the daimyo ordered Yasuke to be washed, but his skin color
remained unchanged. Nobunaga threw a welcome party for his visitor, who officially entered his service soon after.

The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga, a 17th-century book written by one of Nobunaga’s followers, describes Yasuke as “[appearing] to
be 26 or 27 years old. … This man looked robust and had a good demeanor. What is more, his formidable strength surpassed that of
ten men.” Other chronicles characterize the samurai as an intelligent, imposing figure who stood more than six feet tall. Though
Yasuke was already a skilled warrior, he likely underwent additional martial arts training upon joining Nobunaga’s army.

In 16th-century Japan, the title of samurai spoke to rank and was loosely defined as a warrior in the service of a lord or another
warrior. By 1581, Nobunaga employed thousands of samurai—yet Yasuke was the first foreign-born warrior to enter their ranks.

Though Yasuke was the only Black samurai in Nobunaga’s army, he was by no means the only African present in Japan at the time.
“Several hundred African people lived in Japan during the 16th century,” says Doan. “[They] worked as interpreters, soldiers,
entertainers” and more. She says that Kyoto’s Japanese residents would have been surprised by Yasuke’s “foreignness” but likely
wouldn’t have exhibited prejudice based on his skin color. According to Lockley, Nobunaga was a powerful man whom few were
willing to challenge, so his decision to employ Yasuke wasn’t controversial. In fact, the samurai proved to be quite popular among
locals, who flocked to catch a glimpse of him.

Yasuke’s final stand

Yasuke joined Nobunaga during the last months of the feudal lord’s unification campaign. “His strategy was to impose peace by force
of arms,” Lockley says. “He would quite happily wipe out 10,000 people if he thought it would forward the aims of peace.” Though
Nobunaga was close to completing his goal of consolidating control of Japan, his efforts came to an abrupt close after one of his
trusted generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, betrayed him.


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