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A review by daiya
Yasuke The True Story of the Legendary African Samurai by Thomas Lockley
5.0
Thomas Lockley, an English scholar of Japanese history, collaborating with Geoffrey Girard, a novelist, wrote a dramatic biography about a real African Samurai named Yasuke in the sixteenth century. It was reminiscent of James Clavell’s masterpiece novel "Shōgun"(1975).
"Yasuke" begins with his escape from a burning Honno-ji Temple under siege. Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful feudal lord who was about to reunify Japan, was killed there by the Judas of Japan, Akechi Mitsuhide, Nobunaga's right hand. He was at the greatest turning point in Japanese history.
Yasuke was taken as a slave from Africa as a child and sent to Europe. He served various masters. He fought as a mercenary in India for a while, and also spent time in China too. In 1579, he came to Japan as a bodyguard to Alessandro Valignano, the head of Jesuits in Asia.
Yasuke had such a great physique that he was able to wrestle with four samurai. He was trained to be a bodyguard and obtained a lot of experience in the field. On top of that, he was equipped with global awareness and rich knowledge about foreign countries.
Japanese in the sixteenth century was surprised by a giant African man they hadn't seen. Wherever Yasuke went, he drew an excited crowd. Nobunaga had heard he was a servant of Alessandro Valignano and he was interested in his character, later met them both. Valignano offered Yasuke to Nobunaga as a present when he left Japan.
Competent, affable Yasuke earned a Nobunaga's special favor, and he joined the inner circle of Nobunaga, not as a mere bodyguard, but one of his close advisers. He was treated as a "hatamoto" class samurai and given his own mansion and personal pages. The common people would prostrate before him on the street. The information he brought might have affected Nobunaga's political decisions.
Lockley blends the historical facts and Yasuke's subjective viewpoint to great effect, making the book dramatic and informative. The explanations written by the foreign researcher gives Japanese readers many discoveries about Japanese history and culture.
Yasuke was the only African samurai in Japanese history. I believe that Yasuke's success story is quite encouraging for all the expatriates and foreign students, who are fighting their own battles in Japan.
"Yasuke" begins with his escape from a burning Honno-ji Temple under siege. Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful feudal lord who was about to reunify Japan, was killed there by the Judas of Japan, Akechi Mitsuhide, Nobunaga's right hand. He was at the greatest turning point in Japanese history.
Yasuke was taken as a slave from Africa as a child and sent to Europe. He served various masters. He fought as a mercenary in India for a while, and also spent time in China too. In 1579, he came to Japan as a bodyguard to Alessandro Valignano, the head of Jesuits in Asia.
Yasuke had such a great physique that he was able to wrestle with four samurai. He was trained to be a bodyguard and obtained a lot of experience in the field. On top of that, he was equipped with global awareness and rich knowledge about foreign countries.
Japanese in the sixteenth century was surprised by a giant African man they hadn't seen. Wherever Yasuke went, he drew an excited crowd. Nobunaga had heard he was a servant of Alessandro Valignano and he was interested in his character, later met them both. Valignano offered Yasuke to Nobunaga as a present when he left Japan.
Competent, affable Yasuke earned a Nobunaga's special favor, and he joined the inner circle of Nobunaga, not as a mere bodyguard, but one of his close advisers. He was treated as a "hatamoto" class samurai and given his own mansion and personal pages. The common people would prostrate before him on the street. The information he brought might have affected Nobunaga's political decisions.
Lockley blends the historical facts and Yasuke's subjective viewpoint to great effect, making the book dramatic and informative. The explanations written by the foreign researcher gives Japanese readers many discoveries about Japanese history and culture.
Yasuke was the only African samurai in Japanese history. I believe that Yasuke's success story is quite encouraging for all the expatriates and foreign students, who are fighting their own battles in Japan.