Who is Yasuke the Black Samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? Ubisoft officially announced this week that Assassin’s Creed Shadows will feature dual protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. However, a lot of people seem to be confused about the latter regarding his role and identity, not realising that Yasuke is actually a notable figure in Japanese history. Want to find out about Yasuke in Assassin’s Creed Shadows? We’ve got you covered!
Who Is Yasuke In Assassin’s Creed Shadows?
The real-life Yasuke was of African origin and believed to have been born in Mozambique. Known as the earliest African to appear in Japanese historical records, Yasuke stayed in the country for about three years between August 1579 — June 1582. Yasuke’s real name is unknown.
According to accepted knowledge on Yasuke, he arrived in Japan in the service of the Italian Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano, whose party spent their first two years in Japan predominantly in Kyushu. Yasuke is recorded as having accompanied Valignano and Luis Frois as an attendant when they had an audience with Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful man in Japan. It was Nobunaga that taught Yasuke the ways of the samurai.
One notable incident involving Yasuke was on June 21, 1582, where Nobunaga was betrayed and attacked by his senior vassal, with Yasuke having been searching near him at the time. He later engaged the Akechi forces and was later sent to the Nanban-ji and treated by Jesuit missionaries after being wounded. Luis Frois would seemingly confirm five months later that Yasuke did not die, having thank god that he survived. Beyond this though, there are no historical sources about what happened to Yasuke.
In terms of video games, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is not the only game to depict Yasuke. He was featured in Samurai Warriors 5 as a playable character, where he is voiced by Paddy Ryan. In addition, Nioh and Nioh 2 both feature a fictional portrayal of Yasuke, with the former including him as the Obsidian Samurai boss.