The First African in Japan
Who was the first African that came to Japan in the history?
It seems to have been a young African man from Island of Mozambique who was recruited or forced by Europeans to serve missionaries sent by the Vatican or its subordinate organizations. Some of these Catholic missionaries came to Japan in the late 16th century to preach the gospel. Japan was at the time in the Age of Civil Wars. The shogun or the head of the samurai class lost power through armed conflicts among different samurai clans, while the imperial court had had no political power for centuries.
Nonetheless, there emerged one very strong and unique warlord. Oda Nobunaga was an open-minded samurai leader; he loved Western goods Western missionaries brought with them into Japan. Especially he found merit in matchlock guns Portuguese merchants brought into Japan in 1543. Nobunaga had craftsmen produce thousands or more harquebuses to equip his samurai soldiers with them. With this new tactics based on guns, Nobunaga conquered one third of Japan so quickly. It looked like a matter of time that rising warlord Nobunaga, born around presently Nagoya in 1534, would soon put all the samurai warlords in Japan under his rule, since he had already controlled Kyoto and the imperial court in this old capital of imperial Japan.
And during this unquiet time of Japan, a young African man, who was later named Yasuke by Oda Nobunaga, arrived at Japan.
Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 as the servant of the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, who had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions in the Indies, i.e. S. and E. Asia, an extremely high position, so Yasuke must have been quite trustworthy. He accompanied Valignano when the latter came to the capital area in March 1581 and caused something of a sensation. In one event, several people were crushed to death while clamouring to get a look at him. Nobunaga heard about him and expressed a desire to see him. Suspecting the black color of his skin to be paint, Nobunaga had him strip from the waist up and made him scrub his skin.[2]
Nobunaga's nephew gave him money. In May, Yasuke accompanied a group of Jesuits on a short trip to the province of Echizen. Yasuke could speak some Japanese, so Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him and was also impressed by his strength. At Nobunaga's request, Valignano left Yasuke with Nobunaga before Valignano left central Japan later that year. Nobunaga treated Yasuke with such great favor that people in Azuchi even said he would probably be made a 'tono' (lord). This did not happen, but he was given the position of samurai (shikan).
In June 1582, Nobunaga was attacked and killed in Honnō-ji in Kyoto by the army of Akechi Mitsuhide. Yasuke was also there at the time. Immediately after Nobunaga's death, Yasuke went to the lodging of Nobunaga's heir Oda Nobutada and withdrew with him to Nijō Castle. When that too was attacked by Akechi, Yasuke fought alongside the Nobutada forces for a long time. Finally he surrendered his sword to Akechi's men. They asked Akechi himself what to do with him. Akechi said that the black man was a beast and did not know anything, and furthermore, he was not Japanese, so they should not kill him but take him to the church [in Kyoto] of the Visitor from India, so they did, much to the relief of the Jesuits there who had worried about him. There is no information about him after that.
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."
After Matsudaira Ietada had met Yasuke in May 1582, Ietada journalized his looks. " His name was Yasuke. His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal." If so, his tall stature would have been very imposing to the Japanese of the day.
Yasuke was also mentioned in the prototype of Shinchōkōki owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko. According to this, Yasuke was given his own house and a short katana by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of "Dōgumochi," the porter of his Yari[3][4]
A 2013 investigation by Discovery of the World's Mysteries concluded that Yasuke was a Makua named Yasufe.[5]
Even the US Marine Corps website picked up this episode in the Japanese history:
Anartist's illustration of Yasuke, an African slave who traveled with Italian Jesuit missionaries when they arrived in Japan in 1579. Legend has it Yasuke caused such a commotion upon his arrival people came in droves and clamored over one another to see him. He was rumored to have stood between 6'3" and 6'5" tall, towering over the Japanese and even many of the Italians. Tales also stated he was either 26 or 27 years old, and stronger than 10 men. After traveling with the missionaries for a time, Oda Nobunaga, the famous Japanese warlord, asked the missionaries that Yasuke be left with him for a time as he was intrigued about the African's homeland. Legend has it he was made a samurai in title only but was also said to have traveled with Nobunaga in full regalia and armaments.(Photo by Paul R. Bondoc)
http://www.mcasiwakuni.marines.mil/News/NewsStories/NewsArticleDisplay/tabid/6911/Article/142685/the-legend-of-yasuke.aspx
From other sources, Yasuke seems to have served a warlord in Kyusyu after the assassination of Oda Nobunaga, since Akechi Mitsuhide, a samurai general who killed Nobunaga, released Yasuke after having captured this African samurai, since Yasuke was not Japanese and thus could be pardoned. At the time there were many Christians in Kyusyu, the most southwestern island of the four major islands of Japan. And trade with South East Asia was freely conducted by Japanese merchants at the time. So, Yasuke must have left Japan with Japanese merchants and samurais who wanted to develop their careers, riding movement of economic expansion or colonization in Asia by Spaniards, Portuguese, the Dutch, etc.
Months before Oda Nobunaga was assassinated in Kyoto in 1582, the first official Japanese mission to Europe started to sail out of Japan as a result of diplomatic and religious efforts by those European missionaries. This Tenshō embassy (named after the Tenshō Era in which the embassy took place) was specifically formed and sent by the Japanese Christian Lord Ōtomo Sōrin to the Pope and the kings of Europe in 1582, and they took a route to Europe via Island of Mozambique. So, the sea route from Japan to Island of Mozambique must have been often used by Portuguese, etc. Yasuke must have had a chance to sail back to his home island after leaving Japan with Japanese merchants to colonies of Portugal, etc. in South East Asia.
If we explore Island of Mozambique more carefully, we might trace of Yasuke featured by something Japanese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke
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Luk 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.
Luk 6:20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.