The African Samurai Yasuke

This prompted me to tell the class about his existence and legacy. This is the story of the only African samurai, Yasuke.

Yasuke was the only African samurai and the first non-Japanese samurai. His story begins around 1579 in Edo, Japan. Not much is known about his life before he arrived in Japan. Some say he was from Mozambique and came to Japan on a ship with an Italian missionary named Alessandro Valignano on an inspection tour. Other accounts say he was a runaway slave. 

Yasuke arrived in Kyoto where he found himself at the feet of the feudal lord Oda Nobunaga, who praised his height and build. This was the first time he had seen an African. 

A grayscale drawing of samurai holding swords against each other Nobunaga quickly took him into his ranks. They quickly became close, treating him like family.  Nobunaga described Yasuke as having the strength of 10 men, and he was one of the few allowed to dine with the lord—a great honor. He fought in a number of important battles, and is said to have been present even on the night Nobunaga committed suicide.

The fall of the Nobunaga Empire in 1582 also marks the end of Yasuke’s known history, when he was exiled.

Yasuke’s story has fascinated and intrigued me from the moment I heard it. It is a story that I and many others would like to preserve in history.