A mysterious African man, most
likely hailing from Mozambique, arrived on Japanese shores in 1579, serving
as the bodyguard of an Italian Jesuit named Alessandro Valignano. The young but
influential missionary was determined to deliver Christianity across the Far
East on the orders of the Catholic Church. As the Jesuit and his bodyguard walked
through the streets of many Japanese ports, crowds would gather to stare at the unusual
pair of foreigners. Valignano’s great height clearly distinguished him from the
local population, but not nearly as much as the dark-skinned man in high-class
Portuguese clothes who stood by his side. This man, who would come to be known as Yasuke, was one of the first black men that the people
of Japan had ever seen. Unbeknownst to him, his time in Japan would see him through the
adventure of a lifetime in the service of a powerful military commander. Yasuke’s unlikely
exploits would wind up placing him in the history books as the one and only black samurai - the
first foreigner to ever be granted the title. But where did Yasuke truly come from, and how
did he come to be in the service of Alessandro Valignano? Much of his early life is shrouded in
mystery, and his exact age upon arrival in Japan is unknown, though he was by all accounts
in his prime. The prevailing historical narrative is that Yasuke was taken from his home
during the slave trade and brought to India. From there, the Jesuits may have
purchased him as any other slave, but Thomas Lockley - the author of a research
paper on the life of Yasuke as well as a companion biography - challenges the claim
that Yasuke was still enslaved by the time he reached Japan. Lockley asserts that Yasuke
may have earned his freedom as an indentured mercenary on the Indian subcontinent and found
his way into the Jesuit’s employ from there. While this claim is somewhat contentious among
historians, we should also acknowledge that Alessandro Valignano was no mere parish priest
- he was a leading strategist in the Jesuit’s sacred mission. Bearing the appointed title
of Visitor, Valignano had jurisdiction over most of the missions throughout Asia and
had set his sights on Japan in particular. If it were true that Yasuke served the
Visitor while still in bondage to him, he would still have been seen as a valuable
asset to the Jesuits - and this is evidenced by the fact that he was taught some of the Japanese
language before being brought into the country. Given the discriminatory attitudes of most
Europeans towards Africans at the time, any and all privileges that Yasuke may have
obtained in Valignano’s service were likely bestowed upon him due to a combination of
his own loyalty and strength as a bodyguard. Priests like Valignano did not generally
surround themselves with soldiers, but this was more a matter of keeping
up a peaceful appearance. In truth, “valets” such as Yasuke were often
skilled with weapons and more than capable of holding their own in defense of
their pacifist-leaning Christian employers. This job description does support the idea
that Yasuke had a warrior’s background well before he had any involvement with
the war between Japan’s feudal lords, and his attested feats were certainly impressive.
An excerpt from the Shincho Koki describes the “black monk” as “being well-built” and
“having the strength of over ten men.” While the details of their personal relationship
are unknown, Valignano obviously thought Yasuke to be a sufficient protector for his trip
to the capital of Japan in March 1581. But before we can get into the fateful meeting
that changed the course of Yasuke’s life, it’s essential to explore the state of foreign
relations in Japan during the Sengoku Era. Before Japan’s long period of isolation,
the island nation openly traded with nations as far away as Europe. This
period was known as the Nanban Trade, “Nanban” being the word that the native Japanese
used to describe certain groups of foreigners hailing from the Southern Regions of Asia.
New trade routes were established to Portugal, with merchants and missionaries bringing all
manner of Western wonders onto the market. The legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga had
a affinity for foreign curiosities, especially those that could be useful to him in
his war to unify all the warring states of Japan. His adoption of matchlock firearms in 1549 had
already begun to revolutionize the way battles were fought across Japan. While most military
leaders in Japan saw these weapons brought by the Portuguese as unreliable due to slow reload
times, Nobunaga circumvented these downsides by mass producing the guns so that his soldiers could
carry multiple and replace them after every shot. His novel tactics turned these muskets from
borderline useless to being able to produce continuous fire in actual warfare. Nobunaga had
done what no commander in Japan had done before, and may have even been one of the first men in
the world to make use of firearms in such an efficient manner. This was especially true
as Japanese metal-working techniques made the guns forged in his country more consistent
and powerful than those in Europe at the time. In 1581, this brilliant military mind was headed
to the capital area of Japan at the same time as the Jesuit Visitor Alessandro Valignano
and his African bodyguard, Yasuke. Somehow, fate had conspired to bring the most
ambitious warlord of the Sengoku Period and the first black man in Japan together in
a close encounter that would make history. By the time Nobunaga arrived in the capital,
the streets were already bustling with activity, and enormous crowds were being drawn in by some
never-before-seen spectacle. The source of this commotion was none other than Yasuke, whose
powerful build and skin tone had captured the attention of the Japanese. The people had
never seen a man who looked quite like him, and rumors spread quickly throughout the capital. The sheer numbers that Yasuke drew in were enough
to cause riots as members of the crowd trampled over each other just to have a glimpse of the new
mythical man. It’s been alleged in some historical accounts that buildings may have even collapsed
under the weight of the number of people who had gathered in the capital to see him. There was
more at play here than mere spirit of inquiry, and in a translated letter from one
of the Jesuits - Luis Frois - the attitude of the Japanese towards
Yasuke was described as admiration. Perhaps Yasuke had garnered this admiration
by showing off his stunning strength, as that same Jesuit letter stated that
the man knew some performance tricks. These may have been displays of combat skill
or more akin to those of a circus strongman, but either way, Yasuke was quickly
seen as a renowned performer, and his physical fitness would impress even Oda
Nobunaga. The warlord learned of Yasuke soon after the riot in the capital and immediately
asked the Jesuits if he could meet the man. At the time, Yasuke had hidden himself away
in a building belonging to the Jesuits, after a crowd of his newly
won-over fans overwhelmed him, and he had to flee on horseback.
Upon the request of Lord Nobunaga, the Jesuits brought Yasuke to meet with him at
Honno-Ji Temple. Nobunaga was a curious man, and after hearing about the sensation of Yasuke’s
arrival, he had to know who this foreigner was. When he first laid eyes on Yasuke, Nobunaga
was dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that the African man’s skin color was a natural part of
Yasuke’s appearance and even suggested that he must have been covered in black ink. Nobunaga’s
enthusiasm for new things got the better of him, and he ordered Yasuke to remove all of his
clothes from his upper body. Yasuke complied, removing his outer layers and exposing more
of his skin to Nobunaga and his court. The Japanese warlord’s fascination with the black
foreigner only grew, and he reportedly had Yasuke scrubbed all over with soap and water
to verify that his complexion was natural. Once Nobunaga was satisfied with enough empirical
evidence, his expression became joyful and even celebratory. The accounts of everyone present,
from the Jesuits to Nobunaga’s own sons, tell that the powerful man was truly surprised and
impressed by Yasuke. And he wasn’t the only one, as there was a deeper cultural reason as to
why Yasuke’s skin color would have been seen as favorable. The same charcoal black was a
color often associated with Buddhist statues, and Buddhism was by far one of the
most popular religions in Japan. To witness a man with skin the color of a Buddha,
who towered over average people, and was strong beyond belief, must have been an almost religious
experience for the Japanese people. While Oda Nobunaga himself was remembered as something
of an atheist - repeatedly breaking taboos of the Buddhist faith, such as violently invading
temples in order to gain ground - he was also known to pray for victory at shrines in accordance
with the teachings of Nichiren Buddhism. It’s possible that Nobunaga - like many of his subjects
- saw Yasuke’s skin as a sign of divine blessing, but knowing his more pragmatic outlook
makes this interpretation largely guesswork What is known is that a nephew of Nobunaga was so
impressed with Yasuke upon this first meeting that he gave him 10,000 Japanese coins. This momentous
exchange of currency marked Yasuke’s first taste of true freedom in Japan. He would come to visit
Nobunaga once again in the province of Echizen while still in the company of Jesuits. Because
he was able to speak a decent amount of Japanese, Yasuke was able to converse with Nobunaga,
and the two appeared to strike up a friendship almost immediately. He would leave the
service of Alessandro Valignano as the missionary moved on to other lands and
became a vassal of Nobunaga’s realm. It was around this time that
the African man acquired the name “Yasuke” - a Japanese-sounding
name which, depending on the source, was either a corruption of the Makua name “Yasufe”
or a portmanteau of “Yao” and the common Japanese male suffix “-suke” indicating he was a member
of the Yao people. With his new Japanese name, Yasuke was also given a private residence
as well as a ceremonial katana by Nobunaga. But this show of hospitality was far from
the end of Nobunaga’s ambitions for the man. There was much talk throughout the region that
Yasuke might soon be given the title of lord. Given Nobunaga’s knack for bringing
out the potential of his followers, this prediction was not far-fetched. From
the start of his illustrious military career, Oda Nobunaga had always had a sharp eye for
identifying the most promising warriors in any of his regiments. For example, out of all of
the Ashigaru infantrymen at his disposal, Nobunaga had chosen a peasant foot soldier named
Toyotomi Hideyoshi to become his personal sandal bearer. This same Hideyoshi would prove to
have such a talent for fighting and strategy that after the Battle of Okehazama, Nobunaga would
appoint him as one of his most trusted retainers. Following Nobunaga’s death, Toyotomi
Hideyoshi would go on to complete his former lord’s mission to unify all of
Japan under one banner. There is a lot that can be said about Hideyoshi’s rise
from peasant with no samurai background to the supreme chancellor of Japan,
but for the purpose of this video, it’s just an example of how Oda Nobunaga would
elevate everyone he took a special interest in. Yasuke’s unique appearance may have
been what caught Nobunaga’s eye, to begin with, but it was the
man’s proficiency with weapons and his liveliness as a conversation
partner that kept his Lord’s attention. In time, and in much the same way that Toyotomi
Hideyoshi was appointed Nobunaga’s sandal bearer, Yasuke was made to be Nobunaga’s weapon
bearer. This sudden promotion made Yasuke a high-ranking retainer of Nobunaga’s court,
and effectively a samurai. Yasuke was later given retainers of his own by Nobunaga, as was
customary for any man of status at the time. But the true mettle of a samurai is decided on
the battlefield, and when Oda Nobunaga made his decisive push to defeat the Takeda Clan,
Yasuke marched off to war with his forces. Yasuke fought beside Nobunaga in this
lengthy campaign against Takeda Katsuyori, which culminated in Nobunaga’s decisive victory
in the bloody Battle of Tenmokuzan. As the black samurai traveled through the former Takeda
lands with his leader, he came to meet the famous Tokugawa Ieyasu. Alongside Oda Nobunaga
and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Ieyasu is considered one of the “three unifiers” of Japan and would
go on to become its first shogun in due time. For now, he, like Yasuke, was a vassal of
the Oda Clan, albeit one who quite literally made a name for himself when he founded
the Tokugawa Clan. Matsudaira Ietada, a retainer of Ieyasu’s, records the meeting
between his lord and Yasuke in his journal, mentioning Yasuke by name. This same journal
entry also lists an exact height for Yasuke: he was six feet and two inches tall and must
have dwarfed the average Japanese person. His impressive stature, coupled with his
known ability to perform feats of strength, made it almost expected that he would participate
in one of Japan’s oldest sporting competitions: sumo. In a museum in Osaka, there exists
a historic Japanese wind wall or “byobu” with an illustration that features a sumo
match between a Japanese wrestler and his opponent who has noticeably much darker skin.
For this and other reasons we’ll discuss, the black sumo wrestler is generally believed
to be an artistic depiction of Yasuke. In the drawing, this sumo match is happening
in the presence of a distinguished samurai lord who bears a slight resemblance to Oda
Nobunaga. Being an enjoyer of sumo was another of Nobunaga’s well-known characteristics,
and from 1570 to 1581, the warlord threw grand tournaments where any man could put his
wrestling skills to the test. The timeframe within which these sumo tournaments took place
does overlap with the start of Yasuke’s service to Nobunaga. Given how highly the lord thought of
the black samurai’s physical strength, it makes sense that Yasuke would have been allowed and
encouraged to take part in the ongoing matches. The drawing itself was done in 1605,
many years after Nobunaga’s death, but it’s heartening to think that
Yasuke and Nobunaga would be the subject of such an art piece long
after the time they spent together. There was more to their friendship than sumo,
as Nobunaga invited the black samurai to dine with him on at least one occasion. This was a
great honor that feudal lords of Japan offered to only a select few of their vassals. Oda
Nobunaga was no exception in regards to the exclusivity of his dinner invitations. The notion
that he trusted Yasuke so completely as to have dinner with him was an indication that their bond
had only grown closer since their first meeting. It’s likely that Nobunaga learned many
extraordinary facts about the world outside of Japan in his conversations with Yasuke. The
warlord never crossed the seas to visit other countries in his lifetime, but perhaps through
the eyes of his well-traveled African retainer, he was able to vicariously imagine more of the
curious sights that could have awaited him. These talks must have been equally awe-inspiring from
Yasuke’s perspective, as the luxury and power afforded to the samurai was far beyond anything
he might have known in the service of the Jesuits. Had Yasuke’s service to Nobunaga lasted longer,
the black samurai may have been granted further privileges befitting of his noble titles like
Ieyasu and Hideyoshi before him. But in 1582, his chance to rise through the
ranks of the samurai and become a true lord were crushed along with
Nobunaga’s own dream to unify Japan. In June of that year, Akechi Mitsuhide - one of
Nobunaga’s generals and another bodyguard turned samurai - betrayed the trust of his lord and
moved 13,000 Oda Clan troops on Honno-Ji Temple, where Nobunaga lay completely vulnerable. This
turnabout was so sudden that even the soldiers in Mitsuhide’s command likely didn’t know the
full truth of whose army they were fighting. Tokugawa Ieyasu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the rest
of Nobunaga’s generals were busy fighting battles on other fronts during this attack. Nobunaga had
almost no forces to bring to bear against the traitor Mitsuhide, as there were only about 150
trained men at his disposal, including Yasuke. It’s said that Nobunaga’s loyal attendant, Mori
Ranmaru, took up a bow and arrow in the battle alongside his brothers, despite having never been
a warrior. The young men did not survive the day, and Honno-Ji burned as Nobunaga and his
remaining soldiers fought to their dying breaths. Akechi’s much larger army took the temple
easily, despite its fortifications, and Nobunaga was grievously wounded with a
spear that was thrown by the enemy troops. He reportedly told the court ladies and other
non-combatants to flee to safety before enclosing himself in the back room of the palace. There,
with Yasuke by his side, Nobunaga committed seppuku in the ritual fashion of the samurai.
Because Yasuke was Nobunaga’s personal weapon bearer and was present for those fleeting moments,
it’s speculated the black samurai might have served as kaishakunin - a trusted second person
who delivers the killing blow during seppuku. Whatever the truth of the matter was, Yasuke
fled the temple following the death of his lord. After the battle, Akechi Mitsuhide sought
to confirm his victory over Nobunaga, and he searched the burnt-out ruins of Honno-ji
for his enemy’s head. Much to his frustration, Mitsuhide did not find it, and it’s alleged
by some historians that Yasuke carried it with him later that day when he went to join up
with the army of Oda Nobutada - Nobunaga’s son. Nobutada learned of Mitsuhide’s betrayal and
his father’s death and was advised by one of the other samurai, Murai Sadakatsu, to make
his way to the Nijo Castle in Kyoto. There, Nobutada gathered all of the available forces
that were still loyal to Nobunaga’s cause. Yasuke made his way to Nijo Castle as well,
and was present for Nobutada’s war council. All non-combatants were sent elsewhere until only
the samurai remained in the fortified castle. Akechi Mitsuhide still had the overwhelming
advantage in numbers and mobility, and because he was aware of this, Nobutada chose to bunker
down within Nijo Castle and command his forces to hold it for as long as they could. Another
letter from Luis Frois states that Yasuke fought and defended the castle but was captured later
in the day and was forced to surrender his sword. Facing inevitable defeat, Oda Nobutada
committed seppuku as well, instructing his own kaishakunin Kamata Shinsuke to hide his
remains so that Mitsuhide would not find them. Most of the vassals gathered at Nijo Castle were
killed, including Murai Sadakatsu, and others were forced to commit seppuku, but Yasuke was spared
this fate by Akechi Mitsuhide. This was apparently not a gesture of kindness on the part of
Mitsuhide, who supposedly made racist statements about Yasuke - saying that he was not Japanese
and, therefore, nothing more than an animal. Following the battle of Nijo Castle, Yasuke
was escorted back to the Nanban Temple, where the Jesuits recognized him and took
him in. Luis Frois says the Jesuits were quite relieved to see Yasuke alive and well after
all this time. Any further information about his life beyond this point is extremely scarce,
as no further Jesuit letters mention him. Because of the death of Oda Nobunaga
and the actions of Akechi Mitsuhide, Yasuke had, for all intents and purposes,
been stripped of his rank as a samurai. For all we know he might have continued to live
freely in Japan or purchased a ride on a boat and returned to his homeland. It’s most likely
that he faded into the background of history, but one account of the Battle of Yamazaki
tells a different, more glorious story. The Battle of Yamazaki took place only 13 days
after the betrayal and slaughter at Honnon-Ji, and it was set into motion as soon as Toyotomi
Hideyoshi intercepted a letter from Akechi Mitsuhide’s forces that revealed the traitor's
plans to send his forces after Hideyoshi next. The peasant-born samurai lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi
led the forces of the Oda Clan against Mitsuhide and, over the course of this decisive battle,
was able to avenge Nobunaga and secure his position as his former lord’s successor.
A great many of Nobunaga’s former allies participated in this fight to defeat Akechi
Mitsuhide, and it’s even said that manning one of the cannons for the Oda Clan side of this
battle was a man with a quote, coal complexion. This man might have been the black samurai
who, out of loyalty to his fallen lord, left the Jesuits and sought out the
banner of Hideyoshi - another of Nobunaga’s long-shots - in order
to provide his prowess in battle against the traitorous enemy that had
struck down his friend and leader. Because there are no mentions of Yasuke’s
name in any record of the battle, there has been no way for historians to
confirm if this particular Oda gunner was really Yasuke. Sources do indicate that
other foreigners served in Japan’s civil wars during and after the reign of the
Oda Clan, but Yasuke was the first and only one to be granted his right to a sword
by one of the premiere warlords of the time. Regardless of whether Yasuke was
present at the Battle of Yamazaki, his legacy and close bond with Nobunaga
left an indelible mark on world history, and will forever be known
as the only Black Samurai. Now check out What if Kamikaze Pilot
Survived? Or watch this video instead!
