The True Story Of Yasuke, Japan’s African Samurai
By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
Yasuke (written various ways in Japanese as 弥助, 弥介, 彌助, or 彌介 ) was a samurai warrior of black African origin who served under Japanese (daimyō) general Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period. Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 in the service of an Italian Jesuit missionary named Alessandro Valignano. Valignano had first served in a Catholic Missions in the East Indies (modern South East Asia) before sailing to the Land of the Rising Sun.
Yasuke was famously in Japan during the Honnō-ji Incident, the forced hara-kiri (suicide) of Oda Nobunaga at the hands of his samurai general Akechi Mitsuhide on June 21st 1582. In Japanese popular culture, Yasuke is widely believed to have been the first African that Nobunaga had ever seen. But later studies have shown he was only one of dozens of Africans to have come to Japan with the Portuguese during the Nanban trade period. Instead it was most likely a mix of both Yasuke’s great size combined and his “exotic” African origins that endeared him to Oda Nobunaga.
I first heard of Yasuke in a rather odd manner. I was a fan of the Cartoon Network’s animated show Afro-Samuria (which was voiced by Samuel Jackson) around 2009. I don’t remember why but he became popular with my co-workers too after I told them I watched it. I then went online to print a picture of him to hang on my cubical’s wall and while looking him up I was stunned to discover he was inspired by a real historical figure. Now I was of course aware that many people of African origin whom sailed with European explorers barely get mentioned in history classes. I also was aware that many of these individuals later whom went on to great fame is completely ignored. But I was shocked that Japan a country often stereotyped as not particularly welcoming to foreigners had such a famous historical figure that I knew nothing about. From that day I first heard the name Yasuke I became fascinated by him. With the 2020 Olympics being held in Tokyo Japan (hopefully the corona virus scare will have abated by then) my mind returned to Yasuke. So even though the story of Yasuke may sound like a plot to some fantasy novel, Yasuke did in real life fact don a kabuto (samurai helmet) as history’s first and only African samurai.
The 1500s to put it lightly, wasn’t a good time to be an African in the company of most Europeans, but this was especially true of the Portuguese. Portugal’s maritime empire was the first European kingdom to exploded both the trans-Atlantic and the Indian Ocean slave trade to the Arab world (Black Kos, Week In Review — The Arab slave trade in Africa). Furthermore Portuguese captains often brought enslaved Africans with them as they traveled all over the world. Sanitized stories from the era refer to Jesuit missionaries with “African servants” in Japan, but the term "servant" is just a euphemism for slavery.
Yasuke was most likely abducted from his home as a a child somewhere in central or western Africa. He was then likely sold to slave traders in Mozambique, but some historians have argued whether he was actually from Congo or even Sudan. Yasuke was then sold to a Jesuit priest named Alessandro Valignano.
In the year 1579, Valignano went on a missionary trip to Japan and according to the letters of Portuguese missionary Luis Frois, took Yasuke with him. This historical fact is also documented in The History of the Church of Japan, a 17th-century book by François Solier. By the time Yasuke was 24 or 25 years old, he towered over the Japanese at 6-foot-2 and was described as having skin like an “ox” or “charcoal.”
"When Yasuke got to Kyoto there was a massive riot. People wanted to see him and be in his presence," writes Thomas Lockley, the author of "African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan." The African slave was one of the most impressive people the locals had ever seen. "His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (roughly 6 feet, 2 inches (1.88m)... he was black, and his skin was like charcoal," a fellow samurai, Matsudaira Ietada, described him in his diary in 1579. The average height of a Japanese man in 1900 was 157.9m (5 feet 2 inches) so Yasuke would have towered over most Japanese people in the 16th Century, when people were generally shorter due to worse nutrition. Reports from the time state “people lost all modesty and nearly caused a stampede trying to get a closer look”.
The image of this powerful black man was completely foreign in Kyoto (then the capital of Japan). Yasuke was one of the first Africans to have ever arrived on the island. Upon hearing and seeing the commotion from the crowd, a powerful Japanese warlord Oda Nobunaga, ordered the indignity of forcing Yasuke to remove his clothes while a flock of his servants tried to scrub the “black ink” off his skin. Little did the warlord know that this slave he was disrespecting was destined to become the world’s first Black samurai.
Oda was feudal Japan's most powerful warlord, in command of numerous soldiers, but he had never seen anyone like Yaskue before. Like the other locals in Kyoto, he was awed by Yasuke's height, build and skin tone. Oda believed Yasuke to be either a guardian demon or "
Daikokuten," a god of prosperity usually represented by black statues in temples (Daikokuten is in of itself an interesting character that arrived in Shinto Japan, via a Buddhist depiction of a dark skinned Indian Goddess). After Oda himself tried to rub the pigment from Yasuke's skin, still not believing it wasn’t black ink, he is said to have been overcome by shame for dishonoring Yaskuke in this manner. Once convinced Yasuke was real, Oda immediately threw a feast in his honor.
Oda Nobunaga praised Yasuke’s strength and stature, describing “his might as that of 10 men,” and brought him on as his feudal bodyguard. The African’s original name is unknown, but Oda Nobunaga called him Yasuke, most likely a Japanization of his birth name or Christian name. A worldly and open-minded ruler, “Nobunaga was very meritocratic. He could see past the skin. He used the Portuguese and foreigners during that time to his advantage,” says Lawrence Winkler, author of Samurai Road.
Again, Oda wasn’t just some random feudal lord. Through armed conquest, Oda had ended several centuries of civil war in Japan and set the foundation for the unified country to come. Unfortunately there aren’t verifiable records if Oda purchased, requested, or intimidated, the priest Valignano into leave Yasuke with him as a free man. But historical records do show Valignano freed Yasuke and left him with Oda. Within a year of entering Oda's service, Yasuke was granted the status of samurai, an honor usually restricted only to families who inherited it. The samurai are one of the most enduring symbols of Japan’s cultural heritage, something few foreigners have ever claimed the title to. Furthermore Yasuke alos became fluent in Japanese and earned Oda’s confidence as one of the feudal lord's most trusted advisers.
As opposed to Yasuke serving on a European trading vessel, in Japan he wasn’t regarded as human chattel. Still Yasuke like all vassals was expected to faithfully serve Oda, but Oda Nobunaga clearly grew fond of Yasuke and treated him like a family member. As Yasuke earned renown on the battlefield and patrolling the Azuchi Castle, Oda’s confidence in him grew. In a Japanese era racked by political espionage, merciless assassinations, and ninja attacks, Yasuke was seen as a trusted asset. Yasuke went from being a lowly page to joining the upper echelons of Japan’s warrior class, the samurai, in less than a year. "It [should] have been impossible for Yasuke to rise to the rank of a samurai in just a year without a warrior background," historian Deborah DeSnoo writes, as samurais often began their training in childhood.
Records show the intelligent Yasuke quickly speaking fluent Japanese and then riding alongside Oda into battle “an honor reserved only for people Oda must have respected and trusted” . As one of Oda’s most trusted guards, Yasuke gained a number of privileges during his tenure. Yasuke earned his own private residence, a ceremonial katana sword and the pleasure of dining at Oda Nobunaga’s table, which only a few samurai were allowed to do.
Regardless of his later rise to prominence, many details of Yasuke life still remain cloaked in the fog of history. Like many black Africans sold into the intercontinental slave trade, there are scant details of Yasuke pre-slave life. Clearly European and Arab slave traders didn’t care about a slave’s early life and official records were poorly kept in 16th-century Japan. Furthermore 16th-century Japan is known as the era of Warring States for good reason. The Sengoku period, was a turbulent century infamous for many massacres as powerful warlords vied for control. Thus during this period of political upheaval, Yasuke became only an interesting footnote to history.
Although Oda was a master strategist in both politics and war, he wasn't well-liked among the nobles he had unified through conquest . Or maybe it was because he had abolished toll roads, which made him popular with commoners but also would have given noble houses the funds to fight against him. It also speculated it was his (purely political) acceptance of Christian missionaries in the country, whom he believed would lessen the power of the Buddhist temples. In any case, in 1582, he was betrayed by a vassal named Akechi Mitsuhide, and the daimyō committed seppuku (ritual suicide) after being routed on the battlefield.
Oda’s death was obviously bad news for Yasuke, whose acceptance in Japanese culture was largely dependent on the favor of the powerful warlord. Ever the loyal warrior, Yasuke quickly joined Nobunaga’s son, Oda Nobutada, to help defend the fortress to no avail. Though Yasuke put up a fight, the fortress was eventually overrun, and Yasuke eventually surrendered his sword to the warlord Akech. Akech decided that the only place for him was what he called the Temple of the Southern Barbarians. So with that decree, Akech’s enemy forces banished Yasuke to his former European masters, a Jesuit missionary in Kyoto, where Yasuke lived out the remainder of his days in obscurity. With his banishment the last confirmed reference to Yasuke in the history books fades away to obscurity.
Today, Yasuke's legacy as the world's first African samurai is well known in Japan, and spawned a manga series titled "
Afro Samurai." Lockley writes that his story has reemerged just as homogenous Japan reexamines the concept of multiculturalism in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Also "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman has announced he would play
Yasuke in a Hollywood movie scripted by "Narcos" co-creator Doug Miro.
Although his samurai career was short-lived, Yasuke also became the hero of Kuro-suke, a children’s historical fiction book that won the Japanese Association of Writers for Children Prize in 1969. The book ends with Yasuke living to fight another day. But when Yasuke in the novel sleeps at night, he dreams of his parents in Africa and silently cries, the story of a valiant warrior triumphing against all odds but forever homesck. The story tells of a pained young man dropped into a world of strangers. But I love this story because it’s Yasuke’s sacrifice, not his sword and slaughter, that makes him a true samurai.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOURCES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a volunteer with Obama’s S.C. campaign, I watched as pundits and political reporters parsed the white vote into infinitesimal slices. The frustrated “soccer moms” voted for Hillary but would later become “Mama Grizzlies” in the general election. The “angry, working-class men” went for Edwards before they became “NASCAR Dads.”
And the people who voted for Obama?
The frustrated black factory workers; the college-educated black youth; the men who barely missed mass incarceration; the economically anxious black middle-class… They were simply discounted as the “black vote.”
Black people are a monolith…
To white people.
I know you’re hearing it.
After Joe Biden’s national press secretary Symone Sanders performed a dramatic reenactment of how Biden dog-walked Bernie Sanders in Super Tuesday’s primaries, the prevailing theme is that black people saved Joe Biden’s flailing presidential campaign. While that simplistic explanation wouldn’t be tolerated for any other political demographic, it more than suffices when media outlets discuss the black vote. Blackness requires no nuance. They don’t even get cool names like “Crown Royal Dads” or “It’s-Some-Spaghetti-In-There Moms”
When black voters finally got a chance to cast votes in South Carolina, the white political punditry posited that S.C.’s black voters were more moderate and less progressive than the rest of the country, an idea that is being parroted across the political landscape by smart white people in well-lit cable network studios.
Meanwhile, Sanders’ white supporters claim that black Southerners are “low-information voters” who lack information. While I was elated to learn that black people have finally become part of the mythical-but-now-dreaded “establishment” after 401 years, a close examination of the actual data reveals a surprising fact:
Everyone is wrong.
There is no “black vote.”
It’s true that black people are the most dependable, consistent voting bloc in America but it’s stupid (and kinda racist) to think that there is a national conference call where negro organizers collectively decide who they will vote for. Or, alternately, white people must assume there is some nationwide melanated mind-meld where black people simultaneously reach the same conclusion. Or, as an astute political observer told me this week, maybe there is one other explanation.
Black people are people.
The youngest demographic of S.C.’s black voters chose Sanders by a small margin while the majority of black voters over 45 chose Biden, according to NBC’s exit polls. But if you look at the turnout number, you can see an explanation that is more plausible than race:
Older black people just voted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lionsgate just dropped the first official trailer for its upcoming flick Antebellum and in it, we see Janelle Monae facing the horrors of slavery.
Details about the film written and produced by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz have been scarce since it was announced.
At first glance, the movie appears to take place during slavery times, but then we quickly hear the voice of a modern-day 911 dispatcher and see a plane flying above the plantation before scenes of Monáe in present day, and in olden times are quickly woven together, blurring the lines of the past and the present.
QC Entertainment, the same company behind Jordan Peele‘s Us and Get Out is producing the psychological thriller.
.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Scientists monitoring the movements of the worst locust outbreak in Kenya in 70 years are hopeful that a new tracking programme they will be able to prevent a second surge of the crop-ravaging insects.
The UN has described the locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa, and the widespread breeding of the insects in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia that has followed, as “extremely alarming”.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has warned that an imminent second hatch of the insects could threaten the food security of 25 million people across the region as it enters the cropping season.
Kenneth Mwangi, a satellite information scientist, based at the Intergovernmental Authority on Development climate prediction and applications centre, based in Nairobi, said researchers were running a supercomputer model to predict breeding areas that may have been missed by ground monitoring. These areas could become sources of new swarms if not sprayed.
“The model will be able to tell us the areas in which hoppers are emerging,” said Mwangi. “We will also get ground information. These areas can become a source of an upsurge, or a new generation of hoppers. It becomes very difficult and expensive to control, which is why we are looking to prevent an upsurge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Khalid al Baih was watching the beginning of the Tunisian Revolution from the basement of a museum in Doha, the capital of Qatar. It was December 2010, and the Sudanese cartoonist was supposed to leave his workplace, yet he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.
Inspired by the demonstrations, Al Baih drew the flags of five North African nations on his fingers. The thumb was Libya, the pinky finger Algeria, the index finger Egypt, the ring finger Sudan and the middle finger Tunisia. Al Baih then took a photo of his hand and posted it on Facebook. Tunisia was the only finger he flipped up.
“The drawing was titled The Rest Will Follow and it went viral,” says Al Baih, now 39.
His prediction was right. But as the euphoria of the Arab Spring faded, Al Baih struggled to find meaning in his work. That all changed when nationwide protests erupted across Sudan in December 2018. For years, Al Baih believed that Sudan was dominated by two narratives: it was in perpetual conflict when depicted by the media, or it was a victim of foreign conspiracies according to state propaganda.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The discovery of a wealth of oil in the tiny country, one of the poorest in South America, has deepened ethnic divisions and exacerbated tensions during a crucial election. New York Times: Oil Bonanza Plunges Guyana Into Political Crisis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The discovery of an enormous oil deposit off the coast of Guyana was meant to catapult this tiny country into the top echelons of petroleum producers and put its citizens on the path to better lives.
Instead, it has deepened the historical tensions shackling the nation, leaving some Guyanese afraid that the newfound wealth will subvert the country’s fragile democracy and wipe out other industries, as happened in neighboring Venezuela.
The tensions surrounding the elections for president and members of the National Assembly this week may be a sign of trouble to come.
The contest will determine the politicians who will be in charge when the oil money begins to flow this year. It was a hotly disputed race between leaders representing each of the country’s two main ethnic groups, the Afro-Guyanese and those of Indian descent. Voters were split almost perfectly along ethnic lines.
Since the election on March 2, public debate has descended into a cycle of historical grievances. Both parties fear that if they concede, the opposing party would use the oil wealth to shut them out of government for years to come — and deprive their constituents of their fair share of revenue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a sunny afternoon this past Sunday, the Los Angeles community and elected officials gathered on Leimert Boulevard near Vernon Avenue for the ground-breaking ceremony of Destination Crenshaw.
The free event had food trucks, performances and booths for community members to inquire about construction jobs. There was also a ‘Sankofa Super Mall’ of local Black vendors.
The multi-million dollar project is led by Councilman Marqueece Dawson, who represents district 8 of Southwest Los Angeles.
The 1.3-mile art project will stretch from Leimert Park to Slauson Avenue featuring 100 art pieces commissioned by local artists as well as 11 “pocket parks,” 1,000 trees and multiple gathering spaces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WELCOME TO THE FRIDAY’S PORCH
IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE BLACK KOS COMMUNITY, GRAB A SEAT, SOME CYBER EATS, RELAX, AND INTRODUCE YOURSELF.