African Samurai The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan

Geoffrey Girard, Thomas Lockley — 2021

Warrior. Samurai. Legend. When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traversed much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child in Northeast Africa, he served as a bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, traveling to India and China, and eventually arriving in Japan, where everything would change. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before. Some believed he was a god. Others saw him as the black-skinned Buddha. Among those drawn to him was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, Yasuke was learning the traditions of martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society, where he would live on to become a legend for the centuries to come.

Reviews

Mumluk@mumluk

Jan 31, 2022

African Samurai was one of the best books I read this year so far. I love my daily dose of historical fiction, and I particularly enjoyed its solid academical foundations. It is, simply put, a research paper that got out of hand then got storied. The book's last part entirely focuses on the anthropological studies and resources that helped the author craft this story. I want to add that the name of this book honestly doesn't do it justice. I would argue that the main character of that book is Japan and its relationship to the world during the era of Oda Nobunaga. The peculiar story of Yasuke is there to illustrate the extremes of it. Between other topics, I learned about the slave trade in that part of the world, the Indian Empire, the complexities of the relationship between Japan, China, and Korea, the importance of merchants, the mechanics of proselytization, the sacrifices required to stop the constant internal wars in Japan. This book is an outstanding window into a different time and place.

Kevin Spachuk@spacious1

Mar 8, 2022