The Black Samourai

This book tells in fictionalized the life of Yasuke, the first foreign samurai. He was from Mozambique. He was captured by Portuguese slave traders who took him to Goa, India, to be sold as a slave. He will be bought by Jesuits who will use it to draw water for their mission installed in this country. It was in this country that he met the priest Alessandro Valignano who took Yasuke with him to ensure his protection. He had an impressive physique and he was almost two meters tall. In 1577, they embarked for a trip, during which they made stops in Malaysia, and in China, before arriving in Japan on July 25, 1579. In 1581, they went to Kyoto, where reigns the powerful Lord Oda Nobunaga who will be fascinated by the color, intelligence and strength of Yasuke as well as by his ability to learn foreign languages. When later he learned that Valignano was about to leave Japan, he asked him to leave Yasuke with him, which the priest accepted. Nobunaga became fond of him and a great friendship was born between the two men. He had great confidence in him, to the point of making him the first foreign samurai and to grant him as wife his adopted daughter. He also gave her the name of Yasuke, which was a Japanisation of his name. Yasuke will become his bodyguard, as well as his weapon bearer, which was a huge honor. But Yasuke will be samurai only for a year, because in 1582, Nobunaga is betrayed by Akechi Mitsuhide one of his vassals. This man will also kill his heir Nobutada. According to the principles of the samurai code of honor, Nobunaga and his son committed seppuku after the defeat of their army. Because a samurai prefers the death to dishonor. Yasuke didn't commited seppuku because it was contrary to his Christian values. He will be taken prisoner by Mitsuhide who didn't kill him because he considered him an animal. For Mitsuhide, Yasuke wasn't a samurai, because he didn't understand anything about their culture, especially seppuku, and Yasuke didn't deserve that he put down himself by killing him. He ordered that Yasuke be handed over to the Jesuits in Goa, India. Subsequently, no one knew what happened to him after these events. Oda Nobunaga is a central figure in Japan's history because he is one of the three lords who led to the unification of Japan, a country that was long divided by multiple clan wars controlling different provinces independent of central power of the emperor whose authority over Japan didn't exceed the walls of his imperial palace.
show more