PEOPLES DAILY, Wednesday, October 16, 2019
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PEOPLES DAILY, Wednesay October 16, 2019
Yasuke: The mysterious African samurai A
lmost 500 years ago, a tall African man arrived in Japan. He would go on to become the first foreign-born man to achieve the status of a samurai warrior, and is the subject of two films being produced by Hollywood. Known as Yasuke, the man was a warrior who reached the rank of samurai under the rule of Oda Nobunaga - a powerful 16th Century Japanese feudal lord who was the first of the three unifiers of Japan. In 1579, his arrival in Kyoto, the capital at the time, caused such a sensation that people climbed over one another to get a glimpse of him with some being crushed to death, according to historian Lawrence Winkler. Within a year, Yasuke had joined the upper echelons of Japan’s warrior class, the samurai. Before long, he was speaking Japanese fluently and riding alongside Nobunaga in battle. “His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (roughly 6 feet, 2 inches (1.88m)... he was black, and his skin was like charcoal,” a fellow samurai, Matsudaira Ietada, described him in his diary in 1579. The average height of a Japanese man in 1900 was 157.9m (5 feet 2 inches) so Yasuke would have towered over most Japanese people in the 16th Century, when people were generally shorter due to worse nutrition. Making of a warrior There are no records of Yasuke’s date or country of birth. Most historians say he came from Mozambique but some have suggested other countries such as Ethiopia or Nigeria. What is known, however, is that Yasuke arrived in Japan with an Italian Jesuit named Alessandro Valignano on an inspection tour, and appears in recorded history only between 1579 and 1582. Some experts say he was a slave, but it is hard to say. Floyd Webb and Deborah DeSnoo, filmmakers working on a documentary about him, believe assertions that he was a slave to be speculative at best. “It would have been impossible for Yasuke to rise to the rank of a samurai in just a year without a warrior background,” Ms DeSnoo says. Samurais often began their training in childhood. Friendship with the warlord Yasuke met Nobunaga shortly after his arrival in Japan and he piqued his interest, the filmmakers say, by being a talented conversationalist. Yasuke already spoke some Japanese and the two men got on well, according to academic Thomas Lockley, who has written a book on Yasuke. According to Mr Lockley, Yasuke entertained Nobunaga with tales from Africa and India, where Mr Lockley believes Yasuke had spent some time before going to Japan. Mr Webb believes that because of his command of the Japanese language, Yasuke would have been viewed favourably. “He was unlike the Jesuits, who had a religious agenda for the soul of Japan,” Mr Webb says. There are reports that Nobunaga instructed his nephew to give Yasuke a sum of money at their very first meeting. French-Ivorian writer Serge Bile was so intrigued by Yasuke’s extraordinary rise that he wrote a book about the warrior. “It’s part of the mystery surrounding this character. That’s why he fascinates me,” he told the BBC. The African warrior and the Japanese warlord had a lot in common. Nobunaga was a great fan of the martial arts and spent a lot of time practising them. He was also an eccentric person, who according
Yasuke depicted in a Japanese children’s book by Kurusu Yoshio
Yasuke fighting alongside Oda Nobunaga in Kurusu Yoshio’s children’s book Kurosuke
French-Ivorian writer Serge Bilé has long been fascinated with Yasuke to Mr Webb, often dressed in Western-style clothes and sought the company of highly disciplined and intelligent people. “[Yasuke] carried the warrior spirit,” Mr Webb says. He understood the cultural language of Japan and loved to dance and perform Utenzi - a historic form of Swahili narrative poetry celebrating heroic deeds, Mr Webb adds. This suggests Yasuke could have come from Mozambique, as some historians believe, given that Swahili is still spoken in some northern parts of the country. Similarly, Nobunaga was a lover of Noh Drama - a form of classical Japanese musical drama - and it is widely reported that he was a patron of the arts. Nobunaga grew fond of Yasuke and treated him like family - the African was among a very select group of people allowed
to dine with him. “Nobunaga praised Yasuke’s strength and stature, describing his might as that of 10 men,” Ms DeSnoo says. The legend lives on When Nobunaga bestowed the rank of samurai on Yasuke the idea of a nonJapanese samurai was something unheard of. Later, other foreigners would also obtain the title. As the first foreign-born samurai, Yasuke fought important battles alongside Oda Nobunaga. He was also there on the fateful night one of Nobunaga’s generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, turned against him and set the warlord’s palace alight, trapping Nobunaga in one of the rooms. Nobunaga ended his own life by performing seppuku, a ritual suicide.
Before he killed himself, he asked Yasuke to decapitate him and take his head and sword to his son, according to historian Thomas Lockley. It was a sign of great trust. The legend of Yasuke comes to an end shortly after this, in 1582. The fall of Nobunaga at the hands of a treacherous general resulted in the exile of the first black samurai, possibly back to a Jesuit mission in Kyoto. Though his fate and the last years of his life remain unknown, Yasuke has lived on in the imaginations of many Japanese who grew up with the award-winning children’s book Kuro-suke (kuro meaning “black” in Japanese) by Kurusu Yoshio. The book, which dramatises Yasuke’s life, ends with a bittersweet note: after Nobunaga kills himself, Kuro-suke (Yasuke) is taken to a temple where he dreams of his parents in Africa and weeps. Entertainment industry newspaper Variety reported in May that Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman is set to play Yasuke in a forthcoming feature film. It will be the second Hollywood film being developed on the life of Yasuke. In 2017, Hollywood studio Lionsgate announced it was developing a film on the life of the black samurai. Nearly 500 years later, his unusual life continues to awe and inspire people.
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Source: BBC
The African warrior and the Japanese warlord had a lot in common. Nobunaga was a great fan of the martial arts and spent a lot of time practising them. He was also an eccentric person, who according to Mr Webb, often dressed in Westernstyle clothes and sought the company of highly disciplined and intelligent people. “[Yasuke] carried the warrior spirit,” Mr Webb says. He understood the cultural language of Japan and loved to dance and perform Utenzi a historic form of Swahili narrative poetry celebrating heroic deeds, Mr Webb adds. This suggests Yasuke could have come from Mozambique, as some historians believe, given that Swahili is still spoken in some northern parts of the country. Similarly, Nobunaga was a lover of Noh Drama - a form of classical Japanese musical drama - and it is widely reported that he was a patron of the arts. Nobunaga grew fond of Yasuke and treated him like family - the African was among a very select group of people allowed to dine with him. The African warrior and the Japanese warlord had a lot in common. Nobunaga was a great fan of the martial arts and spent a lot of time practising them. He was also an eccentric person, who according to Mr Webb, often dressed in Westernstyle clothes and sought the company of highly disciplined and intelligent people.
The abducted 9: Ethnic profiling of crime, criminality Cont. from page 32 This is about children and we cannot afford to keep mute. We all have the responsibility to protect them. The crime and abuse against this vulnerable population is becoming one too many in recent time. We cannot afford to play with the future of Nigeria; we must unanimously rise to defend and secure the children of Nigeria. We heard recently of one mushroom Islamic school in Kaduna where almost 400 innocent children are brutalized and even sodomised. Trafficking in persons in Nigeria has largely targeted adults; and of growing concern, however, is the recent emergence
of sophisticated and syndicated groups involved in baby ‘factories’ and trafficking in Nigeria. No state is spared; from the South to the North, the news has become a normal dose. The syndicates, operating across the country abduct, kidnapped or even entice teenage girls and most times adults to part with their children in exchange for financial gratifications. It has so much become a booming business that even some hospital managements are fully involved. We have heard stories of women who gave birth and the hospital claimed the child died while they had sold him off. We would not be able to curtail the menace if concerted efforts are not made to deal with the actors and
dismantle the market and syndicate, its profitability will embolden current actors and even encourage new entrants into the booming human trade – now and in the future. How many of us have heard of the recently busted detention camp in Daura, katsina state, a torture home where almost 360 children were rescued in the last few days. What is becoming of Nigeria? What has become of the saying “children are our tomorrow”? We seem to have become complacent and unbothered about the plight of Nigerian children. We cannot continue like this. At this point, sentiment aside, we must realise we have a serious national
problem at hand. We must set politics and personal interests aside to join hands and seriously condemned such evil trade , as well as vigorously found a lasting solution to the emerging unholy trend of children abduction, kidnaping and trafficking. It is a blow on our future; we cannot allow it to continue to strife. This is one time we must all rally round the security forces to unravel the whole intent of this crime against all of us. This is a time we must realize we can only survive if we are united and fight a common enemy , else it could be one Kolawole from Ibadan that would be renamed Chinedu or Umar tomorrow. God Bless The Federal Republic Of Nigeria!