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Yasuke

Yasuke (1555-) was an African samurai who served as a retainer to Oda Nobunaga during the Sengoku period.

Biography[]

Yasuke may have been born in Mozambique in around 1555, and he became a servant to Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, who brought him to Japan from India in 1579. In 1581, Valignano brought Yasuke with him to Kyoto to meet Japan's ruling warlord, Oda Nobunaga, who took an interest in Yasuke's dark skin color, which he initially believed to be ink. Nobunaga persuaded Valignano to let Yasuke enter his service, giving him his Japanese name and making him a retainer. While Yasuke understood only a little Japanese, Nobunaga took great pleasure in presenting him to the public, and it was rumored that Nobunaga even considered making Yasuke a lord. In 1582, he accompanied Nobunaga on his inspection tour of Kai Province after the defeat of the Takeda, and he returned to Kyoto on 30 May. On 21 June, Nobunaga was betrayed and murdered by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide in the Incident at Honnoji, and Yasuke fled to Oda Nobutada and joined him in fighting the Akechi. Even after defeating the Oda, Mitsuhide decided to spare Yasuke, believing that he was bestial and should be sent back to India. It is unknown what became of Yasuke.

Gallery[]

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