Yasuke ( or ) was a man of African origin who served as a retainer and weapon-bearer to the Japanese
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
Oda Nobunaga
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan.
Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
.
In 1579, Yasuke arrived in Japan in the service of the Italian
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
missionary
Alessandro Valignano
Alessandro Valignano, S.J., sometimes Valignani (Chinese: 范禮安 ''Fàn Lǐ’ān''; February 1539 – January 20, 1606), was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the i ...
, Visitor of Missions in the
Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in East (disambiguation)#Geography, the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and ...
, in India. Yasuke was one of the several Africans to have come with the Portuguese to Japan during the
Nanban trade
or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first '' Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. Nanban (南蛮 Lit. "Southern barbarian") is a Japanese word which had been used to desig ...
and is thought by some to have been the first African that Nobunaga had ever seen. He was also present during the
Honnō-ji Incident
The was an attempt to assassinate Japanese daimyo Oda Nobunaga at the Honnō-ji temple in Kyoto on 21 June 1582, resulting in the suicide by '' seppuku'' of both Nobunaga and his son Oda Nobutada. The unprotected Nobunaga was ambushed by his ...
, the forced suicide of Nobunaga at the hands of his general
Akechi Mitsuhide
, first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...
on 21 June 1582.
Theories about early life
According to , written by Jesuit priest
François Solier
François Solier (1558 – 16 October 1628) was a French Jesuit, head of the college of Limoges, preacher, translator of spiritual works into French and author of historical books.
Biography
François Solier was born in Brive in 1558.
He entere ...
of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in 1627, Yasuke was likely from
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.
This would be consistent with other accounts of Africans from Mozambique in Japan. According to
Fujita Midori, the first African people who came to Japan were Mozambican. They reached Japan in 1546 as shipmates or slaves who served Portuguese captain Jorge Álvares (not to be confused with
another explorer of the same name who died in 1521).
In 2013, a Japanese
TBS television program titled suggested that Yasuke was a
Makua Makua may refer to:
* Makua (person), an alaafin of the Oyo Empire
* Makua people, an ethnic group in Mozambique and Tanzania
* Makhuwa language, a Bantu language spoken in Mozambique
* Makua languages, a branch of Bantu languages
* Makua Rothman ...
named Yasufe. This name seems to be derived from the more popular Mozambican name Issufo. However, the program provided little evidence for its conclusions. The Makua are not documented as having had any significant contact with the Portuguese based in Mozambique until 1585.
Yasuke may have been a member of the
Yao people
The Yao people (its majority branch is also known as Mien; ; vi, người Dao) is a government classification for various minorities in China and Vietnam. They are one of the 55 officially recognised ethnic minorities in China and reside in ...
,
or from the more inland area of Mozambique. Yao people were just coming into contact with the Portuguese at the time, which might account for his name: that is, added to the common Japanese male name suffix of produces .
Yasuke may have been a slave. Thomas Lockley acknowledges it is possible that Yasuke was enslaved as a child and sent to India, where he could have been employed as a military slave or an indentured soldier, but that he likely obtained his freedom before meeting Valignano. Valignano employed him as bodyguard and valet.
Sudanese claims
Another claim suggests that Yasuke was a
Dinka
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Gh ...
from
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...
. He was famous for his height and extremely dark skin color. The Dinka people are among the tallest in Africa, and have significantly darker skin compared to Ethiopians, Eritreans, or Somalis for example. Adult Dinka men had a ritual custom of drawing decorative patterns on their faces by tattooing, but no account of Yasuke having a face pattern was recorded.
Ethiopian claims
According to another theory, Yasuke was from
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Thomas Lockley suggested that this theory is most convincing. Like Yasuke, Ethiopians who were not Jewish (i.e.
Beta Israel
The Beta Israel ( he, בֵּיתֶא יִשְׂרָאֵל, ''Bēteʾ Yīsrāʾēl''; gez, ቤተ እስራኤል, , modern ''Bēte 'Isrā'ēl'', EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "House of Israel" or "Community of Israel"), also known as Ethiopian Jews ...
), Christian, or Muslim were often sold into slavery and called by the Portuguese; they were well‐built and skilled soldiers. According to this theory, his original name might be the
Amharic
Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...
name ''Yisake'' or the Portuguese name Isaque, derived from
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
. ''Yasufe'' was also used as a surname in Ethiopia.
Documented life in Japan
![Odanobunaga](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Odanobunaga.jpg)
Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 in service of the Italian Jesuit missionary
Alessandro Valignano
Alessandro Valignano, S.J., sometimes Valignani (Chinese: 范禮安 ''Fàn Lǐ’ān''; February 1539 – January 20, 1606), was an Italian Jesuit priest and missionary born in Chieti, part of the Kingdom of Naples, who helped supervise the i ...
, who had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions in the
Indies
The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in East (disambiguation)#Geography, the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and ...
(which at that time meant
East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa:
Due to the historical ...
,
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
,
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, and
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
). 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
was a Japanese ''daimyō'' and one of the leading figures of the Sengoku period. He is regarded as the first "Great Unifier" of Japan.
Nobunaga was head of the very powerful Oda clan, and launched a war against other ''daimyō'' to unify ...
, the Japanese
daimyō
were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...
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. These events are recorded in a 1581 letter of the Jesuit
Luís Fróis
Luís Fróis (1532 – 8 July 1597) was a Portuguese missionary who worked in Asia during the second half of the 16th century. While in Japan in 1582, he witnessed the attack on Honnō-ji, a Buddhist temple that ended in the death of Oda Nobuna ...
to Lourenço Mexia, and in the ''1582 Annual Report of the Jesuit Mission in Japan,'' also by Fróis. These were published in (1598), normally known simply as . When Nobunaga realized that the African's skin was indeed black, he took an interest in him.
The corroborates Fróis's account.
It describes the meeting thus: "On the 23rd of the 2nd month
3 March 1581 a came from the Christian countries. The man was described as robust, black as a bull, and of fine character.
Nobunaga's nephew gave him a sum of money at this first meeting." On 14 May, Yasuke departed for
Echizen Province
was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...
with Fróis and the other Christians. During this trip, they met local warlords such as
Shibata Katsutoyo Shibata may refer to:
Places
* Shibata, Miyagi, a town in Miyagi Prefecture
* Shibata District, Miyagi, a district in Miyagi Prefecture
* Shibata, Niigata, a city in Niigata Prefecture
** Shibata Station (Niigata), a railway station in Niigata Pref ...
,
Hashiba Hidekatsu
Hall, John Whitney ''et al.'' (1991). ''The Cambridge History of Japan'', volume 4, p. 115 was a Japanese samurai, and the fourth son of the famed feudal warlord Oda Nobunaga and was adopted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi at a young age.
At the time of N ...
, and
Shibata Katsuie
or was a Japanese samurai and military commander during the Sengoku period.
He served Oda Nobunaga as one of his trusted generals, was severely wounded in the 1571 first siege of Nagashima, but then fought in the 1575 Battle of Nagashino an ...
. 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 (there is no indication that Nobunaga spoke Portuguese, and it is unlikely that Yasuke would have been able to communicate in classical Chinese, the East Asian
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of the time). 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 owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko (), the archives of the
Maeda clan
was a Japanese samurai clan who occupied most of the Hokuriku region of central Honshū from the end of the Sengoku period through the Meiji restoration of 1868. The Maeda claimed descent from the Sugawara clan of Sugawara no Kiyotomo and Suga ...
. According to this, the black man named Yasuke () was given his own residence and a short, ceremonial
katana
A is a Japanese sword characterized by a curved, single-edged blade with a circular or squared guard and long grip to accommodate two hands. Developed later than the ''tachi'', it was used by samurai in feudal Japan and worn with the edge fa ...
by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of weapon bearer.
After the
Battle of Tenmokuzan
The 1582 in Japan, also known as the Battle of Toriibata, is regarded as the last stand of the Takeda clan. This was the final attempt by Takeda Katsuyori to resist the combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobunaga, who had been campaign ...
, Nobunaga led his force, including Yasuke, and inspected the former territory of the
Takeda clan
The was a Japanese samurai clan active from the late Heian period until the late 16th century. The clan was historically based in Kai Province in present-day Yamanashi Prefecture. The clan reached its greatest influence under the rule of Taked ...
. On his way back, he met
Tokugawa Ieyasu
was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan, which ruled Japan from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was one of the three "Great Unifiers" of Japan, along with his former lord Oda Nobunaga and fellow ...
.
Matsudaira Ietada, the retainer of Ieyasu described Yasuke as "6 ''
shaku Shaku may refer to:
* Shaku (unit)
* Shaku (ritual baton)
* Buddhist surname
In East Asian Buddhism, monks and nuns usually adopt a Buddhist surname and a Dharma name, which are combined in the surname-first East-Asian naming order. Since the 4th c ...
'' 2
sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
(6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal." Matsudaira stated that he was named Yasuke ().
In June 1582, Nobunaga was
attacked and forced to commit in
Honnō-ji
is a temple of the Nichiren branch of Buddhism located in Kyoto, Japan.
Honnō-ji incident
Honnō-ji is most famous for the Honnō-ji incident – the assassination of Oda Nobunaga – that occurred there on 21 June 1582. Nobunaga lodged at ...
in
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
by the army of
Akechi Mitsuhide
, first called Jūbei from his clan and later from his title, was a Japanese ''samurai'' general of the Sengoku period best known as the assassin of Oda Nobunaga. Mitsuhide was a bodyguard of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and later a successful general under ...
. 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
was a samurai and the eldest son of Oda Nobunaga, who fought in many battles during the Sengoku period of Japan. He commanded armies under his father in battles against Matsunaga Hisahide and against the Takeda clan.
Biography
Oda Nobutada w ...
, who was trying to rally the Oda forces at
Nijō Castle
is a flatland castle in Kyoto, Japan. The castle consists of two concentric rings (Kuruwa) of fortifications, the Ninomaru Palace, the ruins of the Honmaru Palace, various support buildings and several gardens. The surface area of the castle is ...
. 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
().
However, there is some doubt regarding the credibility of this fate.
There is no further written information about him after this.
Possible depictions in art
There is no confirmed portrait of Yasuke drawn by a contemporary.
An ink-stone box () made by a
Rinpa artist in the 1590s, owned by
Museu do Caramulo pt, depicts a black man wearing high-class clothing, who does not appear to be subordinate to the Portuguese. It is possible that this man is Yasuke in Portuguese attire.
, drawn in 1605 by an anonymous artist, depicts a dark-skinned wrestler with a Japanese man in the presence of noble samurai. This samurai is said to be Oda Nobunaga or
Toyotomi Hidetsugu
was a daimyō during the Sengoku period of Japan. He was the nephew and retainer of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the unifier and ruler of Japan from 1590 to 1598. Despite being Hideyoshi's closest adult, male relative, Hidetsugu was accused of atrocities ...
.
[10p] Nobunaga was famous for his fondness for
sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...
and held many official matches. This is owned by
Sakai City Museum
is located within Daisen Park, in Sakai-ku, Sakai City, in Osaka Prefecture.
The exhibition hall of approx. 1,330 square meters is divided up into areas for ancient times, the middle ages, early modern, and modern times.
The museum was opened in ...
.
In popular culture
* Yasuke is the main protagonist in the 2022 mobile Tactical RPG Yasuke - Black Ronin.
*In 1968, author Yoshio Kurusu and artist Genjirō Mita published a children's book about Yasuke titled . The following year, the book won the .
*Yasuke inspired the 1971
satirical
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...
novel by
Shūsaku Endō
was a Japanese author who wrote from the rare perspective of a Japanese Catholic. Internationally, he is known for his 1966 historical fiction novel ''Silence'', which was adapted into a 2016 film of the same name by director Martin Scorsese. ...
.
*Since the late 20th century, various Japanese "period drama" () television series and
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series have been produced about Yasuke.
*Yasuke appears in the 2008 novel as one of the main characters. This novel was later made into a play in 2017.
*Yasuke plays a minor role in the 2005 to 2017 manga series by Yoshihiro Yamada.
*Yasuke is featured in the 2016 to 2020 manga series by Akechi Kenzaburō and Yutaka Tōdō.
*Yasuke appears as Alessandro Valignano's servant in volume 29 of the ongoing manga series by Takurō Kajikawa.
*The ongoing time-travel manga series ''
Nobunaga Concerto
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ayumi Ishii. It has been serialized in Shogakukan's ''Monthly Shōnen Sunday'' since May 2009, with its chapters collected in twenty-two ''tankōbon'' volumes as of February 2022.
A t ...
'' by Ayumi Ishii portrays Yasuke as a Black baseball player from the present day.
*It has been claimed that the
Takashi Okazaki
(born March 18, 1974) is a Japanese manga artist, visual designer and graphic designer, most notable for writing and illustrating the manga series '' Afro Samurai''.
Early life
Okazaki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture and graduated from the Tama ...
's ''
Afro Samurai'' franchise is based on Yasuke.
*The 2017 video game ''
Nioh
is an action role-playing video game developed by Team Ninja. It was released for PlayStation 4 in February 2017, and was published by Sony Interactive Entertainment internationally, and by Koei Tecmo in Japan. An edition for PlayStation 4 and ...
'' and its
2020 sequel feature a fictional portrayal of Yasuke, voiced by
Richie Campbell.
*In March 2017,
Lionsgate
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...
announced plans for a live-action film about Yasuke titled ''Black Samurai''.
Michael De Luca
Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. The former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks, De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best ...
and Stephen L'Heureux would serve as producers in a co-production between De Luca Productions and Solipsist Films, with
Gregory Widen
Gregory Widen is an American screenwriter and film director. He is the creator of the '' Highlander'' film and television franchise, and the writer-director of the cult horror film ''The Prophecy''.
Biography
A native of Laguna Beach, Califor ...
as the screenwriter. In May 2019, ''
Deadline
Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to:
* Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished
Arts, entertainment, and media Comics
* Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain
* ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...
'' reported that the film, retitled ''Yasuke'', had left Lionsgate for
Picturestart
Erik Feig is an American film executive and producer. In May 2019, Feig launched Picturestart with backing from Warner Bros., Endeavor Content, and Bron Studios and access to Scholastic Corporation's IP. He served as co-president of the Lionsg ...
, with
Doug Miro
Doug Miro (born January 20, 1972) is an American screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Miro studied screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and graduated with a degree in English from Stanford University.
Life and career
Miro's screenpla ...
replacing Widen as the screenwriter.
Chadwick Boseman
Chadwick Aaron Boseman (; November 29, 1976August 28, 2020) was an American actor. During his two-decade career, Boseman received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, ...
signed on to portray Yasuke in the film and to serve as a co-producer through his production company, Xception Content. In August 2020, Boseman died of colon cancer. As of September 2021, Picturestart's official website states that the film is "in development".
*In April 2019,
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
announced plans for their own live-action film about Yasuke, to be produced by Andrew Mittman and
Lloyd Braun
Lloyd Braun (born 1958) is an American media executive. He is the founder and CEO of Whalerock Industries, a Los Angeles based media and technology company.
Early life and education
Braun was born in New York, the son of Merna and David Braun, ...
of
Whalerock Industries
Whalerock Industries is an American media and technology company. Based in West Hollywood, Whalerock partners with public figures and brands to create, build and operate direct-to-consumer multi-media apps which integrate music, video, live stream ...
, with a script written by Stuart C. Paul.
*Yasuke is the main protagonist in the 2021
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
anime series ''
Yasuke
Yasuke ( or ) was a man of African origin who served as a retainer and weapon-bearer to the Japanese daimyō Oda Nobunaga.
In 1579, Yasuke arrived in Japan in the service of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, Visitor of Missi ...
'', created by
LeSean Thomas
LeSean Thomas (born 1975 in South Bronx, New York City) is an American television animation producer, director, animator, comic book artist, writer, character designer, and storyboard artist, based in Meguro, Tokyo.
His recent, notable projects in ...
and animated by
MAPPA
is a Japanese animation studio headquartered in Suginami, Tokyo. Founded in 2011 by Madhouse co-founder and producer Masao Maruyama, it has produced anime works including ''Terror in Resonance'', ''Yuri!!! on Ice'', ''In This Corner of the Wo ...
. He is voiced by Jun Soejima in Japanese and
LaKeith Stanfield in English.
*
Koei Tecmo
is a Japanese video game, amusement and anime holding company created in 2009 by the merger of Koei and Tecmo. Koei Tecmo Holdings owns several companies, the biggest one of those being its flagship game developer and publisher Koei Tecmo Game ...
's 2021 video game ''
Samurai Warriors 5
''Samurai Warriors 5'', known in Japan as , is a hack and slash game by Koei Tecmo, and a reboot of the ''Samurai Warriors'' series, part of the long-running '' Warriors'' series of hack and slash games published by Koei Tecmo. Announced during a ...
'' includes Yasuke as a playable character, voiced by Paddy Ryan.
*A black samurai inspired by Yasuke, named Nagoriyuki, appears in
Arc System Works
, commonly referred to as ArcSys, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher located in Yokohama. Founded by Minoru Kidooka in 1988, the company is known for arcade 2D fighting game franchises, including ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue'', a ...
' 2021 fighting game ''
Guilty Gear Strive
is a fighting game, fighting video game developed and published by Arc System Works. It is the seventh mainline installment of the ''Guilty Gear'' series, and the 25th overall. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Microsoft ...
''.
See also
*
Black people in Japan
are Japanese residents or citizens of sub-Saharan African ancestry.
History
In the mid-16th century, Africans arrived in Japan alongside Ethnic groups in Europe, Europeans as crew members and slaves.
Yasuke, an African man, possibly from Moz ...
*
List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Matsuda, Kiichi, ed., , Hōdōsha, 1987–1998.
* Ōta, Gyūichi, , 1622.
External links
''Yasuke: The Real AfroSamurai''(documentary)
{{Authority control
1580s missing person cases
16th-century African people
Japanese people of African descent
Missing person cases in Japan
Oda retainers