Yasuke

For the anime based on him, see Yasuke (TV series).

Yasuke
Bornc. 1555[1]
Portuguese Mozambique (most likely)
DiedAfter June 1582
Allegiance
Battles/wars

Yasuke (Japanese: 弥助 / 弥介, pronounced [jasɯ̥ke]) was a African samurai[2][3] who served daimyō Oda Nobunaga between 1581 and 1582, during the Sengoku period, until Nobunaga's death in the Honnō-ji Incident.

There are few historical documents on Yasuke. From the fragmentary accounts, Yasuke first arrived in Japan in the service of Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano.[4] Nobunaga summoned him out of a desire to see a black man.[4] Subsequently, Nobunaga took him into his service and gave him the name Yasuke. He was granted a sword, a house and a stipend.[5][6] After Nobunaga´s death, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits.[7] There are no records of his life afterwards.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lockley-2024 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samurai-academic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Samurai-journal was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Leupp-1995 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kaneko-2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jozuka, Emiko (20 May 2019). "The legacy of feudal Japan's African samurai". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ando-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).