He was the first Black Japanese Samurai in history and he was essentially one of the ‘Right Hand Men’ of the war lord of 16th century Japan: Oda Nobunaga.
Yasuke (彌介) is what they called him, we are not too sure of his actual name but a recent discovery in a 2013 investigation by Discovery of the World’s Mysteries (世界ふしぎ発見) concluded that Yasuke was a Makua named Yasufe. (Makua is the largest ethnic group in Mozambique).
He arrived in Japan from Mozambique in 1579 as the servant/slave of the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano. On arrival in the land of the rising Sun; his appearance caused a stir between the locals as they crumbled and stumbled upon each other in a bid to catch a glimpse of this strange looking individual.
Eventually; word soon got back to the war lord of the land ‘Oda Nobunaga’ and he ordered that Yasuke be brought to his presence immediately. The “Lord Nobunaga Chronicle” (Shinchōkōki) has a description of Yasuke’s first meeting with Nobunaga. “On the 23rd of the 2nd month March 23, 1581, a black page (“kuro-bōzu”) came from the Christian countries. He looked about 26, 24 or 25 by Western count or 27 years old; his entire body was black like that of an ox. The man was healthy and good-looking. Moreover, his strength was greater than that of 10 men.”
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Posted By: NEW BLACK KNOWLEDGE
Wednesday, March 21st 2018 at 5:29PM
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