Yasuke (Image Credit Nicola Roos)

Yasuke — The First Black Samurai

The first six-foot tall African slave to land in Japan stood out like a sore thumb. Everyone wanted to catch a glimpse of him and that almost caused a stampede. It was not a common sight in Kyoto.

Being among the first Africans on the island, a Japanese warlord had him strip and ordered servants to scrub off the “black ink”. The warlord had no idea that the slave would go on and become the first black samurai in the world.

The samurai are an important part of the Japanese cultural heritage — a few foreigners have been known to claim the title. Among the noble Japanese warriors, one unorthodox man is highly noticeable.

Yasuke’s story is like a movie, but he actually donned a kabuto as the first and only African samurai in history. Historians say that he was abducted from western or central African — most probably Mozambique — and sold to Alessandro Valignano, a Jesuit priest.

Father Valignano set out on a missionary trip in 1579, to Japan and brought Yasuke along. History documents say that Yasuke was 24 or 25 years old, six-foot-two and his skin were like charcoal. Yasuke gained a celebrity status when he captured the attention of Oda Nobunaga, a Japanese warlord. Nobunaga was trying hard to bring peace to Japan at the time.

He praised Yasuke saying that his might equaled that of 10 men and he even took him…