* Image is for illustrative purposes only.Yasuke
ヤスケ
A 2021 Netflix anime series based on the historical figure of Yasuke, a man of African origin who served Oda Nobunaga as a samurai. The show blends historical fact with dark fantasy in a supernatural retelling of the Sengoku era.
Description
Historical Background: The Real Yasuke
Yasuke was an African samurai who actually existed in the latter half of the 16th century. He came to Japan in the company of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano and had an audience with Oda Nobunaga in 1581. Nobunaga was greatly fascinated by Yasuke's physique and dark skin, and subsequently employed him as a close attendant. Later, Nobunaga reportedly granted him a sword, a residence, and retainers, treating him with samurai status. This is an extremely rare case of a foreigner being recognized as a samurai in Japan, and continues to attract the attention of history enthusiasts around the world. At the Honnōji Incident of 1582, Yasuke was present alongside Nobunaga; after surrendering to Akechi Mitsuhide's forces, his fate thereafter remains unknown.
Interpretation of the Anime Series
The 2021 Netflix anime, directed by LeSean Thomas with music by Flying Lotus, is structured as a dark fantasy based on the historical Yasuke. The series depicts Yasuke, after losing Nobunaga in the Honnōji Incident, taking up his sword once more to protect a wounded child in a world intertwined with magic, spirits, and supernatural elements. The fusion of historical drama with Afrofuturist aesthetics has attracted international attention.
The Sword and Identity as a Samurai
In Yasuke's identity, the sword granted to him by Nobunaga carries profound significance. As a foreigner who was nonetheless permitted to bear a sword, Yasuke's blade transcended a mere weapon to become a symbol of social status and recognition as a samurai. The anime version portrays this point carefully, and Yasuke's acts of laying down and taking up his sword become the emotional axis of the narrative. The Japanese cultural concept that a sword "chooses its bearer" is illuminated from a fresh perspective through the unique case of a foreign samurai.
Nobunaga's Sword Culture and Its Symbolic Meaning
Oda Nobunaga was known as a connoisseur of swords and blades, and possessed and bestowed many celebrated blades. The act of Nobunaga granting Yasuke a sword was not merely the provision of a tool, but a formal declaration recognizing Yasuke as a member of the samurai collective. The celebrated blade "Atsukiri Hasebe," which Nobunaga possessed, was later bestowed upon Kuroda Kanbei and became a renowned sword of the realm that passed down through the Kuroda clan throughout the Edo period, demonstrating Nobunaga's deep involvement and refined aesthetic sense regarding sword culture. No records remain of the sword Nobunaga gave to Yasuke, yet the cultural weight of that act is indispensable to telling Yasuke's story.
International Impact and Significance
The story of Yasuke has undergone renewed evaluation worldwide in recent years. Featured in numerous media including film, manga, and video games (Assassin's Creed Shadows), the historical fact of a "Black samurai" has come to be widely discussed as a symbol of diversity. In contexts of conveying Japanese sword culture internationally, Yasuke's existence offers a valuable case study through the question "Who may bear a sword?" that reconsiders the meaning of the sword from a universal perspective.
Real Swords Featured
Heshikiri Hasebe (National Treasure)
Heshikiri Hasebe is a sword crafted by Hasebe Kunieshige, a swordsmith of the Nanboku-chō period, and was one of the legendary blades treasured by Oda Nobunaga. The name "Heshikiri" (crushing cut) is said to have come from an anecdote in which Nobunaga "crushed" a criminal hiding beneath a stove with only the blade. It was later passed to Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Kuroda family, and is now designated as a National Treasure housed in the Fukuoka City Museum. Being contemporaneous with the time when Nobunaga gave a sword to Yasuke, it is a relic that reveals what Nobunaga considered the "value" of a sword.
Tenshō-Era Uchigatana (Nobunaga-Era Sword)
The Tenshō years (1573–1592), the period in which Yasuke was active, were an era of practical uchigatana reflecting the fierce combat demands of the late Sengoku period. Blades were typically two shaku two to three sun in length (approximately 67–70 cm), and the waist-worn uchigatana style adapted for foot combat became widespread. The swords used by powerful armed units like Nobunaga's forces often prioritized cutting effectiveness and durability in actual combat over their character as works of art.
See authentic Japanese swords
See authentic Japanese swordsThis page is intended to introduce Japanese sword culture and is not affiliated with any of the works mentioned.