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Yasuke
Yasuke | |
|---|---|
 Rimpa-style suzuri-bako (detail) from 1590s possibly depicting Yasuke | |
| Born | c. 1555[1] Portuguese Mozambique (most likely) |
| Died | After June 1582 (aged 27 or older) |
| Allegiance |
|
| Battles / wars | |
Yasuke (Japanese: 弥助 / 弥介, pronounced [jasɯ̥ke]) was a samurai of African origin who served Oda Nobunaga between 1581 and 1582, during the Sengoku period, until Nobunaga's death.[2][3][4][5]
According to historical accounts, Yasuke first arrived in Japan in the service of Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano. Nobunaga summoned him out of a desire to see a black man.[6] Subsequently, Nobunaga took him into his service and gave him the name Yasuke. As a samurai, he was granted a sword, a house and a stipend.[3][7][8] Yasuke accompanied Nobunaga until his death and fought at the Honnō-ji Incident until the death of Oda Nobutada. Afterwards, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits.[9] There are no subsequent records of his life.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lockley-2024was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lockley, Thomas. "Yasuke". Britannica Online. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. ISSN 1085-9721. Archived from the original on 16 July 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
Ōta states that Nobunaga made Yasuke a vassal, giving him a house, servants, a sword, and a stipend. During this period, the definition of samurai was ambiguous, but historians think that this would contemporaneously have been seen as the bestowing of warrior or "samurai" rank.
- ^ a b Atkins, E. Taylor (2023). A History of Popular Culture in Japan: From the Seventeenth Century to the Present (2nd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-350-19592-9. Archived from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
Impressed with Yasuke's height and strength (which "surpassed that of ten men"), Nobunaga gave him a sword signifying bushi status.
- ^ López-Vera, Jonathan (2020). A History of the Samurai: Legendary Warriors of Japan. Tokyo; Rutland, VT: Tuttle Publishing. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9784805315354.
He was granted the rank of samurai and occasionally even shared a table with Nobunaga himself, a privilege few of his trusted vassals were afforded.
- ^ Germain, Jacquelyne (10 January 2023). "Who Was Yasuke, Japan's First Black Samurai?". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Leupp-1995was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Kaneko-2009was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Jozuka, Emiko (20 May 2019). "The legacy of feudal Japan's African samurai". CNN. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Ando-2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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