Who is (and is NOT) a Samurai? - Historian Interview
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- We interview a historian to understand who is and is not a Samurai! Paul (aka u/ParallelPain from r/AskHistorians) is a graduate student at the University of Sophia in Tokyo with a focus on the history of the Edo period. Learn more about history: / askhistorians
This is a complex topic given the fact that the Samurai span a period of over 1000 years. As such we begin with a broad overview of the history of Japan from the Heian to the Kamakura, Muromachi, Sengoku, and Edo eras. We then look at how the Samurai evolved across these periods, from court servants to a heriditary warrior caste. Given that most media covers the Samurai of the Sengoku Jidai, we specifically explore what it meant to be a Samurai in this era. This includes their role in the army and how foreigners may have fit in. Finally we cover the specific historicity of Yasuke as a Samurai.
---- Relevant posts from u/ParallelPain ----
/ was_yasuke_a_samurai
/ yasuke_african_samurai...
---- Historical References of Yasuke ----
Chronicles of Lord Nobunaga (Shinchōkōki):
2nd Month 23rd Day [March 27, 1581]. A black monk* came from the Christian countries. He looks about 26-7 of age and his entire body black as a cow. He's body is really well-built, and furthermore has the strength of over ten men. The padre brought him here to see Lord Nobunaga.
I'm really grateful to be able to see such rare things among the three countries that's never been seen before, and in in such detail, all thanks to Lord Nobunaga's great influence. (*Wiki's translation use "page" but it's probably wrong. In this case Ōta Gyūichi probably mean shaved/hairless.)
Letter from Luis Frois, April 14, 1581:
The Monday after Easter, Nobunaga was in the capital, but a great number of people gathered in front of our casa to see the cafre [black slave], creating such a ruckus that people were hurt and almost died from thrown rocks. Even though we had lots of guards at the gates, it was difficult holding people back from breaking it down. They all say if we showed for money, one would easily earn in a short time 8,000 to 10,000 cruzado. Nobunaga also wanted to see him, and so sent for him, so Padre Organtino brought him. With great fuss, he couldn't believe this was the natural colour and not by human means, so ordered him to take off all his clothes above his belt. Nobunaga's sons also called him over, and everyone was very happy. Nobunaga's nephew the current commander of Ōsaka also saw this and was so happy he gave him 10,000 coins.
Letter from Lorenzo Mesia, October 8, 1581:
The padre brought one cafre with him, and no one in the capital has see before, and they all admired him, and countless people came to see him. Nobunaga himself saw him and was surprised, and thought it was painted with ink and did not believe he was black from birth. He see him from time to time, and he knew some Japanese, so he never got tired of talking to him, and he was strong and knew some tricks so Nobunaga was very happy. Now he's his strong patron, and to let everyone know he has has a someone show go with him around the city. The people say Nobunaga would make him a tono*. (*Japanese word for lord or sir)
Matsudaira Ietada's Diary, Tenshō 10, fourth month:
Nineteenth [May 11, 1582], day of Teibi. Raining. His highness gave him a stipend. They say deus [the Jesuits] presented him. He had the black man with him. His body was black like ink, 6.2 feet tall. They say his name's Yasuke.
Luis Frois' report to Jesuit Society, November 5, 1582:
And the cafre the Visitador [Alessandro Valignano] gave to Nobunaga on his request, after his death went to the mansion of his heir and fought there for a long time, but when one of Akechi's vassals got close and asked him give up his sword, he handed it over. The vassals went and asked Akechi what to do with the cafre, he said the cafre is like an animal and knows nothing, and he's not Japanese so don't kill him and give him to the church of the Indian padre. With this we were a bit relieved.
Entry of Yasuke in the Maeda Clan version of the Shinchōkōki:
This black man called Yasuke was given a stipend, a private residence, etc., and was given a short sword with a decorative sheath. He is sometimes seen in the role of weapon bearer.
Timestampts:
00:00 Intro
01:54 Heian Period
05:59 Kamakura Period
09:41 Muromachi Period
11:59 Sengoku Period
13:37 Edo Period
15:19 Samurai Servants (Early Heian)
17:27 Samurai Mercenaries (Late Heian)
19:55 Samurai Caste (Kamakura)
26:02 Samurai Caste (Sengoku)
32:28 Samurai Caste (Edo)
37:05 Samurai in the Army
52:21 Could foreigners become Samurai?
57:34 Was Yasuke a Samurai?
01:11:45 Outro
#history
#documentary
#japan
![True Size of a Samurai Army [c. 1600] 3D DOCUMENTARY](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/deV34RTyPO8/mqdefault.jpg)
![True Size of a Samurai Army [c. 1600] 3D DOCUMENTARY](/img/tr.png)
Alrighty folks, given the recent online debate surrounding whether or not Yasuke was a black Samurai, I figured it was best to consult the experts. However while this specific historical question is interesting, it requires a broader understanding of who was and was not a Samurai across the eras of Japanese history. I found this conversation extremely enlightening. I hope you enjoyed the format. Would you want to see more of these sorts of historian interviews? If so, what topics should we tackle?
Cool format, I wonder if you could cover India, there is a lot of interesting history that doesn't get I to the western Zeitgeist.
Unrelated, but could you link to the True Size video for Japan in the description? I can't find the video.
@weirdofromhalo it will actually be released later this week
@@dannyboy1200This is like the stupid argument that climate change doesn't exist because scientists don't have a unanimous consensus on global warming.
The vast majority of historians agree, with historical source consensus, that Yasuke was a samurai. The few who don't agree are the ones everyone always points to and says: "Look, there's dissent here!" when actually there is no argument to be made. Also can't forget to mention all the racism that abounds when people argue he wasn't a samurai.
Do you think you could cover Israel-Palestine? From the Ottoman Empire until now, maybe sprinkle in ancient history.
Nobunaga
「What are your strengths」
Yasuke
「I'm black」
Nobunaga
「Hired」
As a Dutch person I can honestly say that his pronunciation of Jan-Joosten van Lodensteijn was nearly flawless. Bravo! 👏🏾
I appreciate the use of Shogun 2 units!
I just got to the 扶持 part and I remembered that this term is still used in Chinese and means "to help, aid" so it's interesting to see it used as "stipend."
The Yasuke drama reminds me of the drama surrounding the theatrical release of 300. Its a great opportunity for experts to give the public conciousness an update on a subject matter that hasn't been in the spotlight for awhile.
And most people still belive in spartan propaganda made to keep Peloponnesian League obedient xd.
300 was a comic book. Only stupid people got offended by that. It was never meant to be fully accurate.
Yes but when 300 came out historians hadn't yet begun to push a modernist agenda.
Blackwashing and history bending is kinda in a spotlight for a while…
@@eodyn7 and yet it is the single most relevant media portrayal of spartans, so much so that they have become part of the though guy aesthethic with shield and corinthian helmet stickers on policeman and such.
I think it’s interesting that your default reading of “Heian” is assuming a German kind of orthography. It’s often hard to get English speakers to even understand German orthography.
A very interesting interview.
In my case, as someone who studies the Middle Ages (and have a very surface-level understanding of Feudal Japan), I find the situation of the title of "samurai" very similar to how "knight" is used.
"Knight" was an actual specific nobility title, but nowadays the name is used for a myriad of nobles that, while not being proper knights, take the same exact role as a knight. And, as such, they are knights in the mind of the general population.
In the case of Spain (the region that I study), we have proper knights (those who are part of a Knightly Order), but also have a the lowest (and *very* common) noble title, the Hidalgo, which take the same exact role as knights in wars and raids and fit better the general understanding of knights. As such, hidalgos are knights with the general audience.
And people will think that you're very silly by continuosly denied that they aren't.
Also. In Spain we also have what is known as "caballeros villanos" (town knight), which took the same role as proper knights and other mounted nobility... while not being nobles themselves (they were town and cityfolk rich enough to be equipped as schock cavalry).
I would also argue that the general people cannot make a difference between a knight and a man at arms. Before I started getting interested in history, I believed everyone from the Middle Ages who fought wars was a knight. But maybe it's just me.
Yeah, Metatron responded to "if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck ans talks like a duck" in one of his videos about the topic.
Just because something looks, walks and talks like something does not necessarily means it is a duck.
Your example of knights and the Hidalgo is one example.
Same is true with Japan - there were warriors who fought in the way of Samurai and who looked like Samurai - but you still were NOT Samurai but what in Europe would be "man at arms".
Who was and who was not a samurai seems to be tied up in one's relation to the bakufu before anything else. Since most of the high ranking bushi clans had ties to the old Ashikaga bakufu, they were samurai by default even after it fell.
But then we have Yasuke, a kosho, a jesuit valet turned glorified porter with a sword. Would he have been considered a samurai by his contemporaries? I don't think this historian approached this question from the right angle.
To Nobunaga, Yasuke was most likely seen as first and foremost a religious man and secondly a porter. He may have only been in-training to become proficient in arms (as kosho were expected to do). But since certain men like Nobunaga didn't care about tradition as much as practicality, he may have seen Yasuke as either a full fledged samurai or at the very least a samurai-in-training.
However, other men like Akechi Mitsuhide saw Yasuke primarily as a bestial foreigner and even though he fought against Mitsuhide's men with a katana at Nijo, he was spared and sent back to the Jesuits because Akechi held him in such distain that he didn't consider Yasuke worth killing-a very dishonorable end for many samurai.
I read this as two sides of the same coin. Yasuke was considered a samurai by his progressive allies but to his more conservative enemies he couldn't be a samurai because he was a foreigner. The question isn't "was Yasuke a samurai?" is silly because it begs the question. Samurai meant different things to different people at different times.
The peasants probably didn't see much of a distinction though. . . for whatever that's worth.
Yes, I think in Europe we had a smaller number of ‘official’ knights who had gone through the ceremony, I believe the guest said “less than one percent” of Europeans were knights. But many landowners, rich businessmen, and petty nobility would have probably dressed their sons for battle in much the same way as the knights.
Battle dress in this period was non-standardised so I assume there would be crossover between the worst equipped Knights/Samurai and the best equipped Men-at-arms/Ashigaru
Op's comment reminds me of hedge knight and jisamurai, people with lesser blood ties or rank than the nobles but have more privilege than the commoner. They stil have duties to uphold though so i guess being a commoner might be more beneficial, cmiiw
I don't know if it would be possible but it would be interesting to see a broader perspective from multiple historians on their thoughts overall on the whole thing. I would appreciate to see a conversation like that occur on the channel if it is possible. Paul's insight is very educational though. Overall I appreciate stuff like this
I agree! I would love to hear what the overall consensus is as well
One of core issues is that same as with knight, it depend on the period. I would say that there is exact paralel. Initially Knights and Samurai were a noble title. True job of Samurai was administration. It is why William Adams was Samurai, despite being a sailor. But with introduction of feudalism and ban on use of swords by those who were not samurai. Term become more associated with the type of warrior. Especially as large numbers of soldiers were promoted to Samurai, to keep the rule. In case of knight, rank was not important enough to be relevant, when factor of being wealthy enough to afford armor ended.
The consensus is pretty clear from every actual historian, because the Japanese wrote everything down. Pre-Edo, there were noble Samurai clans, and also Samurai who were warriors that served the Daimyo of those clans.
During the Sengoku era, those boundaries are even more fluid, due to the massive state of war. Post Sengoku, during the Edo period, it became a strict social caste.
@@TheRezro Here's the thing though when it comes to the assassin's creed game: the developers hired someone who doesn't seem to fit the description of a historian. On top of that people believe that they are changing their history based off of politics which I am not sure of. I am no historian even though I'm intrigued by history I can't really say. Actual Japanese people too are not a fan of this either(the whole thing of yasuke being a samurai, instead of a servant.) There are some people who genuinely do not like what Ubisoft is doing and there are some who do not care and take it all as fiction. Even with this interview although it is informative I still think that the channel should invite other historians including Paul to discuss the topic. I think that would be interesting at least. The whole term of samurai is at least perceived by others based off of what media depicts it to be. But as I said I can't really say I'm not a historian it's what I think. I just wish people weren't so rude about the whole thing and actually spoke about the topic on a proper level. It's not racism or "wokeness" I just think that it all stems from a lack of understanding the term just like you said.
@@happyphiri4237 Here is the thing about Assassin Creed game. It literally NEWER was historical! It is a game about people seeking alien artifact, using machine reading genetic memory or assassin clan. What literally always use high doze of historical fantasy and should be more compared with Batman. Especially last two games.
What rise questions about motives of people complaining about Yosuke. While I agree that they could avoid whole issue having third more conventional character, for Japanese fans. We actually do not know what was his status, especially as Nobunaga openly ignored law and there was chaos during this period. It all come to question if he was granted land or/and did command own retainers. Literally nothing else. Status of Samurai was defined centuries after events of the game.
Did the Japanese dig ditches though? This is very important. Someone should ask Dr Roel Konijnendijk (Dutch ditch guy) about this.
Probably. They had castles too.
On Iwo Jima they had a whole tunnel network.
They dug ditches, and if they had time, they dug more ditches.... I love those videos, Roel is an absolute treasure.
I don't know about ditches but legends said that toyotomi hideyoshi built the sunomata castle in one night
Yeah they did look up some castles they dug lots and lots of ditches
Which program was used to make the presentation? It looks real nice!
Miro
I like the video but it seems like alot of the examples Paul gives as to why Yasuke was a samurai came with the sticky note that " this doesn't always apply to someone who was a samurai but in Yasuke's case it does" l. I would suggest having a conversation like this with Metatron really good historian youtuber that is non partisan when it comes to issues like this
Metatron does a good job in his videos covering and citing the sources about Yasuke. He did note that historians tend to think he was a Samurai (a view reflected by Paul). I'd agree that there is plenty of grey area and room for reasonable contention.
It's a bit hard to not make him an exception when he's one of the few samurai who get to be directly under a daimyo. Also exceptions do exist and obviously this guy is an exception to the majority
Yasuke was the Dennis Rodman of North Korea
An honored guest
That's a pretty good analogy
😂😂💀 took me a second to get this.
XD
LMAO
In other words you did not watch the video
I just realized I made a mistake on Lodensteyn's fief. The source that gave the lower number put him at a fuchi worth 50 people. When received in rice would be between 85 and 90 koku depending on the calculation. When the tax rate is taken into account, that would be the equivalent of an estate worth around 250 koku.
so is R/ask historian the only useful subreddit for history research? or should i take it with a grain of salt like wikipedia?
Generally, the quality of response is extremely high, especially for something publically available online. Always, even if the topic is somewhat debated, answers are always accompanied by many scholarly sources and robust argumentation.
It's usually really high quality.
This question is a common sense litmus test
With massive amount of salt. Read books and articles.
big grain of salt
The protagonist should be a Japanese samurai. You can include Yasuke but he shouldn't be the protagonist. Like every game before the protagonist should be one of the locals. That's the only problem I have.
Tbh I wondered why Yasuke gets all the attention when Guys like Gannibal Petrovic and Ambar Malik were far more badass. Was it because of the samurai hype?
Yeah pretty much, Eastern European and South Asian history are way less popular subjects than Japanese history in the west.
@@SomasAcademy That and katanas are pretty much overrated while chinese swords are dope as fuck.
Well at least I have an idea of what a scholastic debate war looks like after reading all those historical accounts of "whther X or Y theory is true or not and why".
Truly a moment for the ages 😂
I am a simple person. I see an over hour long interview with a historian, I click.
I want to do more of these video formats
insta like
@@InvictaHistoryplease do! I enjoy these 😁
@InvictaHistory look forward to them!
Of course you're simple. You're repeating memes from nearly 10 years ago.
Loved this interview and long format deep dive on a subject ! Cheers!!!
Super interesting topic and overview. Thanks for covering invicta.
1:05:30 "nobunaga issued an order to his army to dismiss all the lower soldiers..." "Yasuke is recorded in the diary after this order, so that also sugests that Yasuke was not just some normal soldier". Couldn't it also sugest that Yasuke was not a samurai, that is, he was not part of the army, so he was not dismissed
1:11:50 If Jan Joosten had the right to have a clan name (for he had a fief), but chosed by his own will to not hold one, then this example cannot apply to Yasuke, unless you want to argue Yasuke also had the chance to have a clan name and refused (which you admit yourself he didn't). The point being that if Yasuke had not the right to have a clan name, this could be an indication that he was not high enough in the hierarch to be a samurai, the fact that Jan Joosten had at least the right to do it exclude him as a counter example, the argument against Yasuke being that he was lacking one due to low status
In what world does that logic make sense? Retainers don't get dismissed unless they do a poor job or fail somehow.
@@weirdofromhalo did you watch the video? the presentator said hinself in 1:04:45 "nobunaga issued an order to his army to dismiss all the lower soldiers..." "Yasuke is recorded in the diary after this order, so that also sugests that Yasuke was not just some normal soldier". I am replying to this statement, to show it does not hold, thats why i marked the part in the video he said it. If Yasuke was no samurai, he would have stayed around regardless what orders are given to the common soldiers
@@TheDarklugia123 yasuke very likely also invented the light bulb too according to u & ur kind.
No 100% Samurai? What about the 47-ronin, is that an exception, were there non-Samauri, or another element I am missing? Thank you for making it by the way I love how you broke it up with the charts and everything!
So, he was a " Samurai " but not in what modern interpretation would make ut out to be. Interesting.
I wonder if there are others in the same field that agree or not as it ipens up to even William Adams being a Samurai
Metatron made two videos about the topic.
William Adams definitly was a Samurai, no question about that according to him.
With Yasuke it is not as easy to tell, more points of him not being Samurai.
But better watch his two videos about the topic, they are very good IMO.
@@wedgeantilles8575honestly they are both pretty flawed.
Such as relying on Thomas Lockley as a source his book is pretty much fanfic.
And in the second one bringing up stipends, Samurai did not have a stipend until the Edo period.
i think it was just a "power move" or "showing off" from Oda. imagine just one day a foreigner is presented before you; taller than anyone, stronger than anyone, has some battle skills, and is black as night
wtf would you do? i would put him in my service and "show him off" to other lords as beat their ass and have them submit to me. the baseline for the definition of samurai is "to serve" but as a retainer of Oda.
put it this way. Yasuke at best was in japan for 3 years max. he arrived in 1579 idk the month and was kicked out in 1582 halfway through the yea by the traitor. no shot he would have been a "real samurai" when it is a lifestyle for life starting at a young age
its like friends/ppl calling me the chef when im just grilling a couple of burgers when im in no way a real chef
I am a Sum of Pie!
Funny scrolling through the comments on this one and seeing people making points that are directly addressed in the video lol, I can only assume they just clicked to leave angry comments without watching
Maybe brcause in video they just dont answer on those points xd
@@rafaa4988 If the video didn't address the points I was seeing in the comments I wouldn't have made the comment you just replied to lol
A super-sticky subject. All the wikis about the topic were recently edited and GPT can't be assed to only use sources from before 2019 when the Yasuke book came out.
I guess it needs asking a few Japanese historians their opinons if you happen to know them. The internet has become worthless to check such topics.
How about you go by what Britannica or the Smithsonian says, friend? It's not sticky at all..They both name Yasuke as a samurai.
I mean only using sources from before 2019 really seems like it’d be more helpful to avoid culture war nonsense, no?
But anyway, to the Japanese Yasuke is a samurai. He’s been a samurai in their pop culture for literally decades. This isn’t a question and literally only became one in the last like 5 years because some people are very upset by it for some reason.
man not to be mean but your guests are nearly always so bad at communication that i can't watch these videos more than 20 mins max
As someone who has attended a lot of presentations and discussions with historians during my MA in history I can confirm that's the standard for historians lol, the type who show up as speakers in documentaries are a minority
The most obvious conclusion I'm getting from this is that Yasuke was a "Koshō"(小姓) who worked with Nobunaga, or a Samurai-In-Training>; a "Koshō"(小姓) was a young man serving as a "Bushi"(武士), a "Koshō"(小姓) acted as a bodyguard, arms-bearer, secretary, attendant, or student. Basically, a "Koshō"(小姓) was the Japanese equivalent of a Squire.
This would've meant that Nobunaga gave Yasuke the status of "Shibun"(士分), or “Samurai Status”. The same status as a Samurai who would've sat on Nobunaga's council, but this status was limited and disproportionate. We know from the Ōta Gyūichi that Yasuke was a Bushi(武士) which meant that he was a Warrior or he was training to be a Warrior. Yasuke also had many other privileges a Retainer on Nobunaga's council would've had. In fact, Yasuke even being in touching distance of Nobunaga should've already raised suspicion as the De-Facto-Shogun was constantly surrounded by dozens of Guards, and not even close relatives could freely get near him without permission. Yasuke basically almost had the same rights as an Umamawari-shū (馬廻衆).
The "Hollywood Samurai" that modern people know today only came to be a few decades later after Yasuke, specifically, during the Edo Jidai (江戸時代), 1603 - 1868. So whether Yasuke was a Samurai is really a matter of subjective perspective by the witnesses in the era he was in, the Sengoku Jidai(戦国時代). And based on the information we have, it's highly unlikely that he was merely some entertainer as some suspects would like to reference him as. Personally, the degree burns in the direction of Samurai or equivalent on my radar.
I'm half Japanese, and when we were taught about Yasuke during History Class, our Historian referenced him as a "close ally" to Nobunaga, so I don't know whether that could act as a general perspective Japanese Historians have on Yasuke.
Nothing from the records described him as a kosho,kosho were not all the equivalent of squires or warriors in training, some were just civilians.
The team Shibun only came about during the Edo period.
Nothing from historical records ever used the term bushi describing him.
@@eagle162
History is about connecting dots and speculations. Just because it was never stated doesn't mean he wasn't, this is a strawman attempt on an argument. Yasuke had too many privileges to simply be cast aside as not being a legitimate Samurai.
1. I'm ascribing the term "Shibun"(士分) to Yasuke because there really isn't much of a historical equivalent of the term in his Era and if I used a different term it would come off as ambiguous, for simplicity, was he a "Shibun"(士分) of his era? Yes. Just because the term was used a Period later doesn't discredit it from him.
2. Yasuke was described as a Page in the Ōta Gyūichi: “Another member of [Nobunaga’s] entourage whom we have not yet spoken of up until now was Nobunaga’s remarkable 6’ 2” coloured page, attired somewhat incongruously in full samurai armour, whose name was Yasuke.”(6) Not only was he described as a Page, but he witnessed outfitted with Samurai Gear. Again, a Page would've been a servant who ran messages, served, cleaned clothing and weapons, and learned the basics of combat. The Japanese equivalent of a Page would be a "Koshō"(小姓).
Another excerpt from the Ōta Gyūichi explained: “Entranced by the first negro whom he had ever seen, Nobunaga instantly took the man into his service. He even made him a samurai and gave him a Japanese name, ‘Yasuke’.”(7) So he was made a Samurai, but because the term Samurai was inconsistent, it's all down to the subjective personal opinions of the witnesses around Yasuke, and most people besides Akechi and other Xeonphobic Japanese of the time recognized Yasuke as one.
Japan has a plethora of crazy historical fantasy revisions. Most Japanese i've met online and personally either don't care or just want a game to play, it's even more ironic that Assassin's Creed Shadows is a bestseller on Amazon JP* and Rakuten Ichiba, the biggest online marketplaces in Japan. Even the more expensive editions have been selling well.
These are just racists plain and simple.
@@nesis3047it is not a straw man argument terms or descriptions are important, they may even be different depending on the era.
Shibun what's used for people who were recognized in Samurai status during the Edo period, this is important as this is the era where classes between fixed you were born into a class you were in and could not change that, giving you certain rights and privileges. That may not have been specific in earlier eras.
If he was why are the terms or description not use with him, we have those terms and descriptions used for other people who were foreign born Samurai but his? Somebody who was working for the Lord of Oda clan.
The diary you're quoting, doesn't mention anything about Samurai armor or uses the term kosho.
That is not what the description says, it doesn't say anything about Oda making up a samurai or even giving his name. It doesn't even mention his status or working under him just how they met.
This is what it says.
"On the 23rd of the Second Month, a blackamoor came from the Kirishitan country. He appeared to be twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. Black over his whole body, just like an ox, this man looked robust and had a good demeanor. What is more, his formidable strenght surpassed that of ten men. The Bateren brought him along by way of paying their respects to Nobunaga."
The name yasuke, seen to to originate from a children's book in the 1960s, I say seen because translations of the matsudaira diary mention the name but I'm not sure if that's what it originally said.
@@eagle162
The excerpts I read had the additions of the book "Sengoku Jidai Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu: Three Unifiers of Japan" and a variety of other sources, I had to purchase them myself to read them because there isn't a free version of the source out there, It may differ from the one you read or additions were made to it. The name Yasuke is also mentioned in the Jesuit accounts, so it didn't come from a child's book.
The sources I can say for certain are true are these.
In an excerpt from the Ietada's Diary, we read "Lord Nobunaga was accompanied by a black man who had been given to him by the missionaries and whom he had employed. He was as thick as ink and 6'2" (approximately 1m82cm) tall. His name was Yasuke."
The "Nobunaga Koki" called the "Sonkeihon" has been passed down to the descendants of Ota Ushiichi, we read an excerpt from the journal, "The black man was employed by Lord Nobunaga as a vassal and received a salary. His name was Yasuke. He was given a short sword and a house. He was occasionally made to carry Lord Nobunaga's tools."
These 2 citations point in the direction that Yasuke could've been the equivalent of a "Koshō"(小姓) working under Nobunaga and thus would've been recognized as a Samurai which is why I use the term "Shibun"(士分) for him. I'm not saying that these terms were in circulation in his era, merely using them to denote Yasuke's possible status in his time.
Most of the actual online sources about him are foggy at best. Or the actual sources can only be read by hand and are not published officially online.
Yasuke is as much of retainer as Sakata Kintoki is, in terms of function and relationship towards their masters.
Good thing (G)Kintoki have a better retirement life in Kabuki district as Yorozuya after the Alien invasion :)
You should look up "The Taming of the Samurai" by Eiko Ikegami.
Great book that really goes into what makes a samurai a samurai.
Also bringing up a stipend is seriously flawed.
Sengoku period Samurai did not have a stipend, is only became a thing in the Edo period with the kokudaka system development.
The word for stipend, fuchi(ふち) originally just meant support or assistant in sengoku era. Possibly food or rations, I remember somebody pointing that out but I have not find out if that is true.
Sources:
"戦国時代の武士の給料は論功行賞で決まった!?"
"Japan Before Tokugawa: Political Consolidation and Economic Growth, 1500-1650"
"THE SALARIED SAMURAI OF JAPAN FOR AP WORLD HISTORY
JANUARY 3, 2024"
The original text also does not say weapon, it's more like tools.
Theres a good post by Paul on the context of the stipend: old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/m91cwa/yasuke_african_samurai_is_the_outrage_justified/
@@InvictaHistoryyes I saw that and pointed out the problem with the stipend argument.
@@InvictaHistorywith sources mind you. discussing the Kandaka system and Kokudaka system.
Im a Samurai
I'm Spartacus.
remember, gotta have those kokus to spare, have a stipend, be armed and armored and have the favor of very very important Japanese Social-Political person.
Wait, I own my land. AND I have this long knife that might be classified as a short sword.
Am I a samurai?
If you are in the employ of a Japanese feudal lord and are paid to fight, probably!
Or a retired centurion. Or a knight. Take your pick, it's all ok now.
We can at least call you a cool dude with a knife.
You are a sword master then!
Only if you go to war when someone with more money and more land than you tells you to go to war.
Please make a video on Gurjara-Pratihara Empire ❤❤❤
What I gather from this is that Yasuke was in the unique circumstance of holding a position that had no name. He had many benefits and responsibilities of samurai, but ultimately was just short of owning that title. Whatever the spaces between Kosho and Samurai were, that's what Yasuke was. And because nothing like that officially existed, he had no official title. He was much more than just an exotic entertainer as some people suggest, wanting to diminish his role for seemingly racist reasons, but ultimately he was not a samurai.
That's a pretty fair interpretation of the sources.
I came to a similar conclusion. But this video also showed how hollow and arguably fraudulent the title of samurai could be. Additionally, by the logic of the popular argument that Yasuke wasn't trained, didn't own land, and didn't fight in a battle and therefore isn't a samurai; This would delegitimize many modern day people who claim to be of samurai stock.
You then have to wonder why people are spending so much time and energy into this particular situation. Why are gamers acting like they are Rosa Parks, like they are principled activists standing up to tyranny. I think the motivation is more because of the culture war with subconscious racism rather than active hate. They are selectively choosing when and how much to care about supposed historical accuracy.
@@SeekerOfKnowledge87 alternatively, why are you (or people like yourself) so hard on forcing a-historical stories?
Why not let the japanese have their own characters, rather than making essentially a nobody a main character?
Haven't finished this video so pardon me if they bring up any if these examples...
The sources on "Yasuke" are pretty clear.
He was employed as a "valet" by Alessandro Valignano at least since the Visitor left Goa a few years before his arrival in Kagoshima.
By the time "Yasuke" entered into Nobunaga's service he had probably held the position of "valet" for a number of years. This term at this time and in this context just meant someone who carried someone else's personal effects. It had no martial connotation whatsoever. And this is precisely the same type of job he was given by Nobunaga as his Kosho.
Both European and Japanese sources agree that Yasuke just carried his employer's things... nothing more, nothing less.
There is the account given by Frois of "Yasuke" fighting against Akechi Mitsuhide's men at Nijo following the Honnō-ji Incident and subsequently surrendering his sword after which he was sent back to the nearby Nanban-ji (Jesuit Church in Kyōto) to rejoin the Jesuits.
Some other earlier accounts do mention Yasuke being paraded around Kyōto on official business and rumors that Nobunaga was planning on making him a lord.
This would've been very silly of Nobunaga to do for a number of reasons. The least of which is that we have absolutely no reason to suspect that Yasuke even knew how to fight prior to the siege of Nijo. It's entirely possible that as the valet of a clergyman, his impressive size and strength were merely the result of carrying around Valignano's junk all the time and had nothing to do with fighting. Though the intimidation factor of a tall, tough black dude was probably at least somewhat understood to deter most potential threats.
I seem to be the only person who's actually gone through all the primary and secondary sources, translated them, and done some etymological analysis on their contents...
In my opinion, Yasuke was probably a samurai-in-training at the time of the Honnō-ji Incident. It seems somewhat plausible to me that the plan was for Yasuke to be trained to become a warrior as a kosho (in the same manner most young samurai boys would've been trained)-at the very least this might explain his possession and use of a sword during the siege at Nijo-then to distinguish himself in battle (likely during Nobunaga's planned invasion of Shikoku)-after which he may have been granted a small fiefdom (possibly on Shikoku) through which Nobunaga may have hopped to establish a strong trading relationship with foreign merchants...
It's all speculation, of course.
Assassins creed is historical fiction, Edward kenway is a fictional character who was a non native to the Caribbean and everyone loved that game. At least this character is real and it creates interest in the historical events, yet people still complain so whatever.
Your not wrong, but its the way Ubisoft is going about it that just feels wrong. Imagine someone going into your house and saying "oh this is how this happened" when you know for a fact that was never apart of the history. Like it's agreed upon that the games are pure works of fiction but Ubisoft double/tripling down on Yasuke just feel like there trying to win over people with the worst possible argument.
@@GineuEpine well I think the issue is more so that Ubisoft is a terrible company. I don’t think there is any problem with someone approaching me and offering me a fantasy story or alternative history. There is a big difference in your analogy between Ubisoft telling me that story or George rr Martin. I think people are just fed up with bs business practises.
Yet, the game looks good and there is lots of historical accurate stuff in the game already. Ac 1 had plenty of things that were historically inaccurate, or ac 2 and brotherhood having machiavelli and Leonardo da Vinci apart of a secrete assassins society. To me, setting, armour, weapons are what I want to see accurately depicted, and its ok to take some creative liberties so long as it doesn’t get carried away, such as a literal iron man suit in Valhalla or turning into a bird for example.
@@lobear3074 your right it's just how it seems to come off like how people are hyping up Yasuke's theme despite it having nothing East African themed, Sure there's Japanese instrumentals but its more for the modern audience. at the end of the day I'm sure the game will sell decent but they'll some how blame the blunder on the "gamer's" being racists much like how EA pinned gamers as misogynists for not liking BF5 upon initial release.
@@GineuEpine I do agree that it’s annoying whenever people criticize a product and the response is “you are racist” or “you are sexist” I mean coming from Ubisoft it’s laughable because they have almost always don’t straight white guy protagonist, and then when they finally deviate from that they start virtue signalling. I mean I don’t think this is about that, this is a cool character to do, and I am sure it covers the push of diversity that a large company wants while also creating a cool premise for a game. I mean i personally think that these companies are pretty obviously caring about diversity for very selfish reasons, which is why they hate towards them is justified in my book. But as far as an assassins creed game goes, this looks fine so far, and the only thing I’ve wanted is some well written characters so we will see. I mean I think that Ubisoft has teams that know what they are doing and others that are completely incompetent, Ubisoft Quebec has had a decent track record of understanding what makes a good ac game, I think they recently worked on mirage which was well done. Ubisoft is just too big at this point and to cooperate for anything to be consistent. It’s a shame I really liked this series, but things started to take a big turn with origins, in that they are great games but just not an assassins creed game and it really feels like the potential of this series was lost.
How about a slave from Africa become king or queen for England people?
Did he cinfirm nwxt true size video is samurai? 😮
indeed! in coming weeks!
So there's no way to say definitively that he was or wasn't a samurai ? I understand that with this video the verdict is that he was very likely to be a samurai but we can't say that he was a samurai ?
Anyway I don't think Ubisoft care and they created another smokescreen to hide their digusting monetization.
The only people mad about this hoped that Samurai had a very strict definition but it does not so now they're disappointed and angry.
Yep they've basically romanticized what a samurai was and are now coping😂
The definition was more strict than people realize.
See The Taming of the Samurai by Eiko Ikegami.
@@dariuswilliams7509more so people are kind of stretching what samurai were.
well yes and no the definition of samurai means "to serve" which is lifelong
yasuke was in japan for less than 2 years
samurai had their own social roles to play outside of war and battles.
at best yasuke was warrior retainer that was given the tittle as a samurai TO SERVE Oda and to show him off to other enemies and allies alike. and when is sponsor died, he was kicked out. didnt even perform seppuku if he was a real samurai
I truly wish I could make you have 5 or 10 or even 20 million subscribers dude. Love your channel.
Thanks for the support : ) I do hope we continue to grow. However lately I've realized that as we do so, we need to remain grounded with more of these raw informative style interviews rather than doubling down on big budget productions. Those documentaries can be great but are taxing to produce and ultimately squeeze out a lot of the nuances.
Oh this is gonna be good and educational! 😁 Let me get my popcorn! You guys are about to trigger a lot of people! 😂
he wasn't a samurai
@@sadfrog5787 😂 Oh here we go! They have arrived!
My stance is we don’t know! There is a possibility he was! But! I’ll listen to
This Japan expert here if he provides conclusive evidence he wasn’t! I’ll accept if he provides evidence he was! Again I’ll accept! As I’m watching this right now I say we can’t be sure! 🤷🏾♂️ sorry if my conclusion offends you lad.
@@sadfrog5787 Cope.
@@admirekashiri9879 I like that one short answer that was given before going into the reasoning of the answer :)
@@admirekashiri9879I dare you to say this in Japan to Japanese people, lmfao.
You do realize how racist Japan is... right? Yasuke would've been an Uncle Tom type who carried around a sword for his Lord. No more.
I’m a samurai too
We all know this isn't about whether he is a samurai or not.
Just the blackwashing of Japanese history. Truly amazing this even has to be a "controversy"
Blackwashing is not a thing. AC is as much history as is Robin Hood: Men in Tights. And even THEN, the whole (non) issue with whether a black man was of samurai STATUS or not is irrelevant to the narrative of the video game. The point is that he is a story device that links Japan with the West. Should've been some white dude so that you crybabies would shut the hell up.
writing a fictional story around one singular black man with a very vague background in a particularly interesting situation is definitely "blackwashing" the entirety of japanese history.
i'd like to apply these arguments to the older AC games as well.
ezio auditore never existed, and i'm sure the historical characters like caterina sforza, the borgias, leonardo da vinci to name a few were actually exactly as they were depicted.
An absolute insult to actual Japanese history, you can just imagine the boardroom of american executives who signed off on this to hit their DEI targets.
@@Whiteyy191 I'm sure your people will recover, Whitey191
You’re about to get brigaded but I’m happy you’re covering this
we already know which side is actually doing the brigading
why dont we ask not reddit but the people of japan?
also yasuke was in japan for less than 2 years. he arrived at the end of 1579 and left in june 1582
to be a samurai is more than just a warrior. it is a lifelong service starting at a young age and is passed down to the next generation. a peasant cant just one day decide hey i wanna be a samurai and becomes one
social mobility is far more common now than it was in the past.
yasuke might have been called a samurai by Oda because of physical advantages and he was a warrior in his own right. but beyond the warring aspect of a samurai, yasuke was not. 2 years is not enough to know what how his sponsor Oda truly viewed him. just a samurai retainer? vassal? subject? freeman?
and 2 years is certainly not enough to be called a samurai and embody all of its aspects
Clears the fog haha I definitely have leaned more to him being a samurai now I just need to dig around too see what other historians think about it
Thank you for covering this. Hopefully this will quell some of the people who are getting super mad about this part of history and what qualifies as it. This historian knew more about my own people than I did! He sounds like a great guy and this was a great video!
Sorry you're getting brigaded Invicta. Thank you for the fun and educational video, love these kinds of formats.
Wow this channel has sunk pretty low if they`re making THESE type of videos.
Nice a video about Yasuke from Invicta. I will listen and brighten my knowledge later today.
But I really need to mention and share my thoughts about Yasuke.
What I know and think about Yasuke is, as a retainer of a powerful Daimyo he was easily a Samurai as they are part of his entourage and important figures during that time. Sure Yasuke wasn't born in Japan and he also did not have the time to learn and master the way of a Samurai, but what I know Oda Nobunaga was known for raising people for their talents, not really because of their birth rights.
The most famous one was Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he was born a peasant and later the second unifier of Japan, since he became one of the most trusted Generals of Nobunaga.
And ofcourse people were jealous which I can easily guess was one of the reason why Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed Nobounaga in the end. What I learned about Akechi is, he didn't like Yasuke and only seen him as an animal, so a racist for sure and so he gave him back to the Jesuits, returning him back to life as a slave.
I think Ubisoft decided to use him since he has that potential for a great story. Since he is a more mysterious figure in history. They can easily add more artistic choices in this character.
I also need mentioned for years did the Japanese themself promoted Yasuke as a Samurai in many movies and videogames.
The whole discourse is simply again something political. Like in many games these days.
I have waited many years for an AC game in Feudal Japan and I will enjoy this game like every AC game so far :)
Please watch the video. I agree with the sentiment that Yasuke was probably very honored and effective, but I'm focusing on the nuance of the title itself.
I'm really confused about the argument where having a reddit account instantly makes you entirely invalid. I feel like it would make MORE sense that academics would have social media accounts, because they could discuss and share with each other using these accounts....
Maybe people are implying that they should all have eachother's phone numbers? Or communicate via written letters, maybe travel around the world and meet in-person?
Notice that, apart from one or two instances, all the commenters that reject the conclusions made in this video do not put forth a single argument as to why they disagree. Of course they have to resort to ad hominems if they have no rebuttals based on facts.
I'm so tired of hearing about Yasuke can people please shut up about him, it's borderline fetishistic
Facts bro
This is like what if there is an evidence of a one Cowboy Samurai in the Wild West period and the Japanese cant shut up about it
No this goes on until november when the game bombs for other reasons.
@lordofchaosinc.261 I'm not sure about that, it's an AC game and they're incredibly popular. For example, the last mainline series entry, Valhalla, is the highest grossing game in the franchise despite it being average at best. It's a casual franchise, same as COD or Battlefield.
at last after 17 years on youtube i can say... FIRST!
PS: keep the good work
How come this question didn't come up when Tom Cruise was in The Last Samurai? I think we know the answer, and it is far less technical than folks pretend.
Yeah, there weren't social networks back then!
@@Otochiro1 A better time
@@pax6833 I agree
Because Whites actually have a history of martial prowess.
Because The Last Samurai were the rebels who captured Tom Cruise's character.
Oda made him a Samurai so that he could get what other Lords lacked : N-word pass!
The ultimate weapon of feudal Japan before the cannon
Wow aren’t you funny
@@admirekashiri9879yeah he is what you gonna cry about it? 😂
@@TNDTKDTTDTID The only one I see crying is folks like you lad! 😂 you can’t cope with the facts before you! Even from an educated Japanese historian like wtf? 🤦🏾♂️😂
@@TNDTKDTTDTID The only people I see crying are you guys lad.
I'm kinda late to the party, but great discussion, one thing I've noticed even after this great conversation, many are still in their feelings, I think what's needed is even more Info on African and African descendant individuals and even groups both within and out side Africa, I think this lack of knowladge is where all the hair pulling and pearl clutching is coming from.
So, after an hour of constructing a definition that would fit with the intended answer, you managed to manipulate and stretch the facts enough that the viewer would have to concede that 'yes, according to the presented definition, he was a samurai'. Furthermore, as the vast majority of viewers lack the time and energy to deconstruct the points and present counterarguments, they simply comment with common sense statements, which the other side can then dismiss as ignorant or racist.
I should have given up on this channel after the dorian invasion "debunking"
The 1 hr of context is necessary to show that the definition of who is a Samurai changes over time. It is at its most malleable in the Sengoku era. Various foreigners were therefore able to become Samurai in this period even though the same may not have been possible in the preceding Heian or the following Edo period. And just because you might disagree with how Yasuke fits into all this doesn't mean that the broader context now all of a sudden is no longer valid or is somehow biased. Yasuke is an edge case and does not define the socio-political dynamics at play around him.
How to tell me you didn't understand a word of what was very clearly presented by an expert historian.
@@InvictaHistory The one hour of "context" is a bunch of guess making flim flam.
It's wild seeing the channel argue with the viewers so hard in the comments. I've never seen a creator do that before. Also, in one of his responses the creator said "It doesn't guarantee he was a Samurai but at least landed somewhere in that vicinity." as a reply to one of the commenters. So... why fight people who say he wasn't a samurai when you yourself admit that you cannot 100% make that assertion?
When I saw the ratio, I'm ashamed to admit I immediately paused the video and went straight to the comments.
Quick, somebody find the Japanese creator of Afro Samuria and hold them accountable for blackwashing his own culture.
Because those same people are arguing he 100% wasn't a samurai.
Oh, look at this guy! Just asking questions, for sure. Because it's racism by way of semantics, plain and simple. The channel creator is policing his own comments section.
@@user-ux3jf4ji7t yeah I think you're right. The creator seems very heavily invested in one side of this "debate"
Why is Ja Morant on the thumbnail? He can’t shoot
😐
ffs
I am sure the comments here will be nothing but respectful _grabs popcorn_
If a guy comes running at you with a katana i dont think it matters if he owns land or not but you can go ahead and ask
straight up though??
You can tell from the emblem onnhis armor.
I ask that all the time, the ones that don't harm me are clearly Ashigaru.
@@arx3516 "uhmm ashkually since you do not have the correct markings you are not actually a samurai" - You, 0.3 seconds before a man with a katana cuts you clean in two
Honestly, if he has a sword, he's probably a samurai lol
Swords were expensive.
Is this video here to solve all Assassin's Creed:Shadows disputes?
Haha pretty much. The researcher, Paul is very knowledgeable on the subject and does a great job explaining the nuances. He actually has some detailed posts on AskHistorians diving into the Yasuke "controversy". But the long story short is that yes he was a Samurai as it was understood in that period.
@@InvictaHistoryno he was not lol, if he was he would commit seppuku after the death of his lord.
@@HeliodromusScorpio lol what, Nobunaga's close entourage who were unequivolcally samurai, scrambled to put themselves in power after his death rather than kill themselves.
@@HeliodromusScorpio Did you read that in the Encyclopedia of Thin Air?
@@Swedishmafia101MemeCorporationlayman
As someone who also graduated from a Japanese university (not a history major, but took collegiate level classes on Japanese history and sociology), I just wanted to chime in and say that this is a very well done video, and lines up entirely with what I learned during my studies. Its a shame to see people twisting historical facts to suit their culture war brainrot narrative, when the root cause for their complaints is nakedly race-based. I see some of these people already brigading this video, which is shameful behavior, and doubly so given that these people certainly have no actual academic or formal background on Japanese history and feudal society.
😂
But do you know for sure how history proof works?
So please point me to a single primary source that states he was a Samurai. You can't, because it doesn't exist. This whole issue never once appearing in the historical record for hundreds of years. The claim of Yasuke being a Samurai only appeared in 1968, in a children's book of all things. It's ironic that you're talking down to those who disagree with you, pretending that you actually have a background in history, all while you're repeating bogus pop culture history and reinforcing a blatant distortion of the historical record.
@@ericharrison7518 they discuss multiple primary Japanese sources in the video. Watch it before you spout off bullshit. Btw, love the completely ridiculous and unsourced claims in a comment that falsely accused others of having no sources.
@@mymom309Yet they don't discuss a single primary source mentioning Yasuke. I can point you directly to the scant information that exists on Yasuke, whether it be the Shincho Koki, Luis Frois's Annual Report on Japan, or the 1582 Annual Report of the Jesuit Mission in Japan which was published in 1598 in Cartas. Guess what all of them fail to mention? That Yasuke was a Samurai. He was called several things in primary sources, but Samurai was not one of them. Slave was one, as was animal, bestial, cafre, servant, attendant, trickster, yet no mention of being a Samurai. That only first appeared in 1968, in a children's book, specifically Kurosuke. You're trying to argue for pop history and a blatant distortion of the historical record as somehow being this grand noble fact that the evil racists just won't accept. I don't know whether you're blinded by ideology or just blinded by your own ignorance, but it doesn't take a lot of research into the primary sources to see this is garbage tier pop history.
Truly inpressive spin, this is why its best to jus go off actual historical text and primary sources none of which say yasuke was a samurai
As noted in the video, the Sengoku era did not have a clear definition of who was a Samurai let alone have a standard practice recording it. Ultimately being a Samurai in this period is a matter of socio-political station. If a great lord bestows upon you the appropriate honors you are a Samurai. BUT that doesnt mean you would be a Samurai according to the definitions of other eras or that you would continue to be a Samurai if your honors are taken away or your situation changes. Feel free to review the material yourself on AskHistorians (old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/flgpph/history_of_blackafricans_in_japan/)(old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/m91cwa/yasuke_african_samurai_is_the_outrage_justified/).
@InvictaHistory I don't care what some redditors say iv read all the scant historical mentions of yasuke myself and they lead me to believe he wasn't a samurai especially compared to other foreign born samurai of the time with more extensive records like jan joosten and william adams
@@Hates-handle"Especially compared to other foreign born samurai of the time"
This is exactly why you can't base your opinion on this matter purely on the primary sources without understanding the historical context in which those records were written.
In case you're unaware (probably because you didn't watch the video properly) William Adams and Jan Joosten van Lodesteijn weren't of the same time period as Yasuke. They arrived in Japan 18 years after and were officially granted the title of samurai in 1605. This was in the Edo period when the term samurai was formalized. Prior to that there was no formalized definition.
Without understanding that context you can't just look at the primary sources and say "Well, it wasn't written there! See, he wasn't one!". It's silly.
@@AJGress im aware it was the turn of the peroid but 18 years puts them in the same contemporary time, its not a 100 years apart.
What's silly is looking at a small number of sources and inferring something they don't say
@@Hates-handle My point is that you cannot apply the same definition of the title samurai from the Edo period to the Azuchi-Momoyama period. The entire framework that defined who was and wasn't a samurai was solidified in the Edo period, which is why we have more records of samurai after the turn of the century than before.
Personally, I'm not 100% convinced that Yasuke was a samurai but having read the original documents and the thread written by parallelpain, I think there is enough ambiguity to allow for the possibility of it being true. A lot of historians' work is inferring the meaning of primary sources based on the historical context. If we only went off on that which was explicitly stated, then the Japanese imperial family are the descendants of Amaterasu. That's what the records say, after all
👍👍👍
I would appreciate it if next time you could do an interview with someone more qualified to address this sensitive issue, like a random white male gamer from the comments section.
You mean a RACIST white male gamer, I hope. God knows they are a group that gets too little recognition within scholarly circles.
/s, though I should not need to add this.
The only reason it’s sensitive is because you treat black people like an endangered species.
This comment is too good 😂
Could very well use this comment on other issues 😂😂😂
@@LoonaticOrbit They have so much to teach us!
First!
all of your sources are reddit posts that have no sources. why should take any of this seriously? If you turned this in as a paper with reddit as your sources you'd be laughed out of the room.
The reddit post literally cites sources in the post.
@@zacheltringham8524 no it doesn't. I checked the links unlike you. the links go no where or lead to more reddit posts with sources that are trust me bro. fuck off
The only link on this youtube page is to the ask historians subreddit. Go find the actual post there and take a chill pill.@Grissbane
@@zacheltringham8524 I did. That has no sources beyond trust me bro. Stop fan wanking cause you have no critical thought processes
Uh huh, sure you did. I dont think you took that chill pill.@@Grissbane
It's only a "sticky subject" to hypersensitive snowflakes who can't stand that Yasuke existed.
After listening to the entirety of the hour long plus video; the mental gymnastics people are still doing to say, "No." Is simply amazing. Loved the video and I learned quite a few new things about Samurai, that I did not know.
Bruh, they didnt give you one proof that he was. Just opinions. You are sure that you listen that one hour?
@@rafaa4988
Where did they say that he was a samurai? :D
Did we watch the same video?
@@sinfinity38358:35 bruh, we did not for sure😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
the people taking that high end form of reality denial and fact refuting drugs are a headache to conversations u-u
I learned a lot about the Samurai and how focused that "poetic view" of what we have imagined samurai to be.
I don't think you realize how much mental gymnastics are in your own post, let alone this entire video. There is not one single primary source that states, or even claims, that Yasuke was a Samurai. This ignorance only first appeared in 1968, in a children's book of all things. See, that's what actual historians do. They look at the primary sources that are available. They don't needlessly speculate, nor do they spend an hour jumping through hoops in order to try and prove their position, no matter how untenable it is. Nor do they reinforce pop culture history that is a blatant distortion of the historical record.
The reasoning for him being a samurai is not very strong and seems biased as do most of these analyses. The fact is, our dialogue is so politically correct there is no way you would ever say this person was not a Samurai regardless of that being true. Doing so would get you fired or cancelled and labelled as anti black. Let me know if I am mistaken
persecution complex is strong with this one lol
Basically 99% of this video is spent discussing what being a Samurai meant in different eras. We even cover how foreigners generally fit into this paradigm. I'm not sure where you are spotting the bias but Yasuke's case to me seems very much aligned with the contemporary understanding of who a Samurai was. This was ultimately quite loose and boiled down to just getting the attention of a high lord and receiving honors which confirm this social status. Its pretty straightforward. I think where people get tripped up is when they start trying to saddle having the title of Samurai with a lot more baggage than it did at the time. In the late Senguku era it was a quite grey one. If you'd like to engage more with the academics of this topic beyond this video, I suggest making a post on r/AskHistorians
someone did not take the time to digest the information provided.
@@InvictaHistory If it's about all Samurai in all eras, why's the one in the thumbnail a black guy?
@@argylemanni280 There's two and you can clearly see the one on the left is not black bro.
Wewuz samurai nshiet. Nspace nshiet.
I think the proper answer to is Yasuke a samurai is it depends.
I will say I find it very amusing that part of the justification used to claim that yasuke is a samurai is that the slave wanted to go home.
Following this logic I need to point out the numerous historical records which suggest that Genghis Khan and Minamoto are the same people.
Therefore since the definition of a samurai is extremely loose that means that Genghis Khan is a samurai.
However this is ignoring the real reason why this is a controversy. Ubisoft has talked about its dedication to historical fact and it's Assassin Creed series.
In the past Ubisoft has actually removed crossbows from the video game because they said it wasn't historically accurate enough.
Also Note how in the past assassin's Creed has always used the ethnicity that is is common.
If they wanted the main character to be black in revolutionary France that would make way more sense than putting him in Japan during the Waring States period.
If Ubisoft would have positioned Assassin's Creed as a fantasy game people would probably have no problem.
As there are multiple fantasy games that have characters identified as samurai even though their outfits make no logical sense.
Good points but an African lead in France would be equally absurd.
You have magic powers in literally every game, it is fantasy and you can play as a Japanese woman if you want
Lucky the experts in the comments spent 100s thousands on degrees in arts to share this with us 😂.
If you are WOKE then you can be whatever you want. Yesterday you were a unicorn, today you are a samurai, tomorrow you can be SpongeBob's fart and nobody can't tell you nothing. However, Yasuke was only Nobunaga's squire, not a samurai. But the truth doesn't matter.
Dude said Yasuke is a samurai, despite yasuke not having the title. Unsubbed, good while it lasted.
Bye bye
@@admirekashiri9879 bye!
@@admirekashiri9879 why you have black man in gambeson btw? Is he that legendary mour who build europe xd?
@@rafaa4988 😂😂😂!! Nope that’s a 10th century Christian Nubian infantry soldier from the Kingdom of Makuria! The art is by historian and artist Angus McBride look him and his work up! News flash quilted armor wasn’t just used by Europeans! Shocking I know
@@admirekashiri9879 Longtime AdmireKashiri Yeah dunces didn't even knew that Africa had quilted armor, chainmail some of the best horsemen in the world, but I applaud you for setting him right.
Im European... but identify as Ronin... Takeda ryu
Yasuke not a samurai, slap in the face to Japanese culture to claim so. He was literally a Portuguese slave sold as a novelty for oda to show-off.
Ask me how I know you are not Japanese.
Even if he isn't there's alot of Japanese media that depicts him as such
@@happyphiri4237 Looks like the Japanese are disrespecting themselves according to this guy 😂
@@admirekashiri9879 sure, there are traitors within every culture. Look at the Japanese reaction to ACS(not ubi presales, actual Japanese SM)
@@jonh8790 So because they’re not offended like yourself they’re “traitors”? 😂😂😂
They NEED him to become samurai for a video game so they’ll just stretch the definition of a samurai.
LOOOOOOOOL
Ancient aliens? Fine.
Humans being created as slave labor? Okay.
Goddamn mythical Pegasus? Understandable.
A black samurai? Now I'm not racist, but...
This is the shit that gets me 😂 these demented morons complain about yasuke while believing in the power of snake oil and alternate history documentaries.
Historian: Here's the primary sources discussing this historical figure who says who we say he is.
Racists: FAKE NEWS!
I think you mixed little bit groups there on basis: ,,its us, or THEM".
Then you are admitting that he wasn’t a real samurai and just a fantasy like the Isu, the Pegasus, and the Eden? Glad we agree on that one!
This is modern, online tribal tribal tribal
In modern garb
With modern means
But
Primal primal primal
I found the video to be really well constructed and the explanation with the terms and context for them to be very educational.
All of this to own the Chuds? 🤣
Nobody wants to own them, ew.
While I appreciate your videos most of the time. An individual who claims to be a graduate student from a Tokyo university with a Reddit account is hardly a convincing subject matter expert.
Better than the one ubisoft dug up because she only wrote one book and she turned out to be not even a historian.
@@TheBearInTheChair No it isn’t this is hardly a controversial question that would destroy an academic career for a historian.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the work of the folks on r/AskHistorians but they are a very good source for information where posts have to be meticulously sourced. You can check out Paul's work there where it is clear that he is pulling directly from primary sources and has a very deep understanding of the subject matter. www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/194xga8/is_it_always_appropriate_to_use_the_term_samurai/
@@InvictaHistory Sorry but if I took a Reddit account as my source in writing a paper to a history professor I would be laughed out of the room. Your link showed no citation other than trust me bro.
@@uss_cushing Grad student means they have at least a Bachelor degree, most likely a Master degree as well, that is sufficient to be considered a professional researcher as long as they do research works. This isn't medicine where you need a PhD to be considered a doctor.
I am sure Invicta has done the diligence of checking proof for the actual Bachelor/Master degree.
😴😴😴
"A graduate student from a censored subreddit" ah yes we're about to get true history I can feel it
Are you familiar with the criteria for moderation on AskHistorians? The idea is to encourage the use of citations and primary sources as much as possible. While its not the same level as an academic paper with peer review, this is leagues above what you find elsewhere on reddit/online. Also if you have any particular bones to pick with the material presented you can read the cited sources on AskHistorians and get clarificaiton (old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/flgpph/history_of_blackafricans_in_japan/)(old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/m91cwa/yasuke_african_samurai_is_the_outrage_justified/). This isnt stuff being pulled out of nowhere
@InvictaHistory the fact that they cal askanhistorian an "censored" subreddit shows that you don't even have to engage with the person.
@@svenkobus4356 Redditors being considered authorities on anything is hilarious.
If you use reddit, your opinion is invalid.
@@notapuma Even if you're a historian? Your denialism is even more pathetic
@@blakebailey22 Redditors are pathetic regardless of their background or "Qualifications".
But please continue to shill for Ubisoft or whatever.
Yasuke would have been seen the same way we would see an 8 foot tall alien.
The question isn't whether or not he existed...
The question is, was he something akin to a pet for the Shogun to show off, like owning a white tiger, a golden eagle, an elephant, etc....or was he some mystical super warrior samurai ninja hero who brought enlightenment to Japan?
I watch naturo so I consider myself a Samurai
I wish the didn't make him the main focus in the game but a side quest would have been cool.
From the sounds of it he was officially a samurai but also more like a curio similar to Henry VIII trumpeter sure.....sure he can use a trumpet but he's not there because of that.
I'd actually say that he serves pretty well as a protagonist for a game set in Japan but aimed at a western audience. Foreign man with a mysterious past and uncertain future who is thrust directly into an echelon of society that contains most of the major regional players for a pivotal moment in Japanese history, one in which he is irrevocably involved in but silmultaneously a comparative outsider to. In a game about globetrotting orders of assassins and templars shaping history, Yasuke seems like a great place to base a protagonist for a western audience.
@@mymom309 Assassin's normally have to blend in but I see your point.
@@mymom309 This guy gets it.
It isn’t Yasuke.
The comments on this video are quite telling to how much of the audience here don't actually care about the historical aspects of the content Invicta makes, despite it being one of the primary driving factors of them.
They gave opinion. Not any proof. And public gave their opinion about makeing up history. Not all, some will belive anything that people they like tell them.
@@rafaa4988is there something specific in the video you would contend with? I think the historian did a great job laying out the context for who is a Samurai across the eras and how, during Yasuke's time, this was a quite grey definition when foreigners did indeed stand a chance of being counted among them.
@@InvictaHistory Yet weirdly, not a single primary source ever comes remotely close to calling Yasuke one. In fact, he's actually referred to as a slave and being a wild animal when he was captured by Mitsuhide and his forces, before being escorted back to the Jesuits and promptly kicked out of Japan once he was healthy enough to move. For that matter, no source said he was Nobunaga's retainer, no source said he carried Nobunaga's weapons (instead stating that he carried his tools, which doesn't scream weapons to me), and no source ever stated he fought in any of Nobunaga's campaigns, with his only recorded combat occurring when he tried to protect Oda Nobutada. It's beyond obvious to anyone actually being intellectually honest that Yasuke was absolutely *NOT* a Samurai. Period. Speculating that he *could* have been a Samurai is ignorant and pointless, because we know absolutely for sure that he was not a Samurai. It was only until 1968, when a Japanese children's book claimed that he was a Samurai, that this claim first comes up in the historical record. You're literally trying to argue pop history as real, just further muddying the historical record, all while reinforcing a completely false narrative. The kicker is that you're using an extraordinarily shallow appeal to authority by having an "expert", that's still in university by the way, try and argue that the title of Samurai was somehow nebulous when in actuality it was the Japanese feudal nobility and had been for hundreds of years at this point. Sure, exemplary lower class members could be promoted into the nobility, but the idea of a foreigner who spent mere months in the presence of Nobunaga somehow being elevated over dozens, if not hundreds, or even thousands, of more deserving warriors and retainers of Nobunaga is just....dumb. It's dumb. This is all incredibly dumb, and a perfect example of what you absolutely should *not* do as a historian, using your modern sensibilities and perspective and trying to apply it to events that happened hundreds of years ago. Just stop. The respect I had for you is absolutely cratering over this low IQ pop culture history garbage.
@@InvictaHistoryno point arguing with culture war morons, you could give them a 3 hour long video with even more evidence and sources and they’ll respond with some culture war brain rot take that borders on eugenics. You can’t change their mind they will either grow out of the phase or die seething.
@@ericharrison7518have a read through this thread with all the primary sources (www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/MVaX7OVtFz) The evidence seems pretty clear that Yasuke received a stipend in addition to several other honors which align with Samurai of that era. It's not necessarily (or expected) that a formal declaration of samurai-hood accompanies this. All that really matters in this era is that you get the requisite boons from a high lord such as Nobunaga. But I'd agree that just because Yasuke may have been a Samurai doesn't mean that he now all of a sudden meets the expectations of what we might tradionally expect from a Samurai... there isn't enough info on that. As for your point that Yasuke is spoken of disparagingly after his capture, that doesn't really matter as much as the greater point that the authority once conferring him the honors of a Samurai is now gone and so now there is nothing to sustain it. Same type of thing happens with others who might have lost a lord or seen their fortunes change. But I'm relatively all this second hand. You are ultimately better off getting more detailed and well cited answers by making a post on AskHistorians.
And Cleopatra was black, because "to be honest, it is quite loose as to who you can call black, a Mediterranean person who lived in Africa is technically black"
Please make that video. I'm sure you'll find experts who are well versed in mental gymnastics.
It's pretty ironic that you're implying that this video is anything like that Netflix Cleopatra Controversy, when you and the rest of the culture war warriors are all but saying "I don't care what the Japanese history expert said, Yasuke was not a Samurai!"
@@samurairider1347 Wait, you are actually implying Cleopatra wasn't black? I didn't know I had to endure the presence of a racist on this channel of all places.
All of the historians agree that Cleopatra wasn't black. But I love this dumb false equivalency.
@@MalevolentFae She was ethnically Macedonian/greek. A descendant of Ptolemy (one of Alexander the greats inner circle). It is likely she would have some ancestors from other places on the mediterranean, and Egyptian ancestors as well, like most people living in Northern Africa.
One thing is certain, Clepatra was dark enough for most of these chads to refer to her as a n!@@er, because the real purpose of all this is to defend bigotry.
@@pax6833 They practice cognitive dissonance like it's a meditation.
More importantly, why is this the first Assassin's creed game where the main characters are not of the people being portrayed? It seems like a bit of a slap in the face of the Japanese, and that seems to be the opinion of many Japanese people. If they want a black person as one of the main characters, I'm still waiting for Assassin's Creed: Zulu, which I would play the hell out of. Or how about a game set in the kingdom of Mansa Musa? But why make a game set in feudal Japan, and not have it focused of Japanese people? Sounds like cultural appropriation to me
If you actually cared you'd know that there are two player options and one is Japanese, so I don't really see the problem with having a figure from Japanese history included as well. Did you get mad at Niho for only letting you play as a white guy?
@@ryanrobot7975what about her?
People were expecting a female character that's been a thing since Odyssey. I think you can guess the difference to what came before. But also all the protagonists in the past have been fictional.
Actually I wish people would pay more attention since her father is Fujibayashi Nagato, who was a real historical person and ..... Never had a daughter but a son.
Some people actually did complain about nioh, with the sequel actually letting you make your own character.
But also at the time you didn't have DEI nonsense going on, how to mention other things such as the Cleopatra documentary from the previous year.
This is the problem with culture war nonsense, stuff that nobody would have cared about a decade ago now suddenly has some sinister motive. How is this any better than the left calling anything racist or cultural appropriation? Serious question. @eagle162
@@zacheltringham8524well the company actually has connections to Sweet baby ink for starters.
But moving on from that this goes deeper.
honestly I would agree with you a while ago. But not anymore.
Not when this kind of ideology goes Way beyond media.
Such as a recent example like this.
ruclips.net/video/86C7267gVxw/видео.htmlsi=zaxLqsuEaKbVYBe5
It is not the case of overly concerned religious parents worrying about video games making kids violent.
And after I learned so much more on how kind of thinking how it has been affecting culture for decades now.
People do make stupid assumptions but honestly a lot of the time those worries are justified.
Sweet Baby is a consulting firm dude, if you truly think they have any influence, then yes, you need to take a break from the internet. This is literally no different than the left calling anything racist, but we call everything woke instead so it's perfectly acceptable.@eagle162
A parrot rides around on a captains shoulder everywhere he goes. Does that make him first mate? I think novelty explains his position better than anything else.
But to carry along with the analogy, the very idea that a "parrot" could be considered a first mate is something that actually informs us on the loose definitions inherent to this era and challenge the more rigid, anachronistic definitions we might seek to impose upon it
Nubians Pharaohs Defeated Army’s With Just There Bows and Arrows Samurai Warriors Never Did That Medjeys Warriors Are Better Then Samurai Warriors But There Very Similar Yasuke Was Great Samurai Back Home in His Home place Africa Im Sure Yasuke Already Knew How to Fight With Swords Of Somewhat Before Making it To Japan Great Presentation
all samurai were bushi but not all bushi become samurai.
Even when yall talking about how he is a samurai you are also backtracking with the "well maybe this doesnt mean only for samurai but ..."
the fact its not set in stone means he not samurai, a lot of the basic info we know and know today is more hearsay with a pinch of artist only ideas on what he is.
"Yasuke" was a Portuguese jesuit slave. There are no Japanese accounts that describe him, only Portuguese ones, and they say he learned Japanese in like 1 year. It's all nonsense.
They literally reference Japanese primary sources in the video
He was bodyguard to what was arguably the most important catholic in Asia at the time. I recommend you do actual research.
are you okay? Because the quoted texts here are japanese.
@@admirekashiri9879 He was a slave. There is zero actual record that he was anywhere near Nobunaga either.
@@DestroyedArkana 😂 There are literal accounts that specify Nobunaga spoke to him a lot and ate with him! Plus tell me was it a custom in Japan to give slave property, a stipend and servants? If so show me why don’t you!
How much did Ubisoft pay you?
Not as much as all of us actual history buffs pay them, so cry harder.
@@charlesparr1611"History Buff", uh huh, AKA Ubisoft Bot account. Or is that another ghetto euphemism for African Americans?
Yasuke was like a pet talking parrot to Japanese nobility, who had never seen an African before. A trivial novelty for Feudal Japan. Pretending he's some sort of major historical figure is dishonest.
@@charlesparr1611 "History buffs" that ignore the lack of hard evidence but believe in conjectures and guesswork. Might as well join force with Graham Hancock and say that Ancient Aliens taught Kendo to the japanese.
@@charlesparr1611 your "right side of history" is a lie.
looks whos crying now like its November 2016
@@Marinealver are you arguing with the voices in your head? I ask because nobody has mentioned being on the 'right side of history', certainly not me. I also haven't mentioned anything happening in 2016.
So you're gonna have to explain what you are talking about, or possibly redirect your comments to those voices you hear.
Also, who is crying? I've been mainly laughing. At people like you.
Lmao, unsubbed. I can’t take anything you say seriously after this.
We wuz samurai
I like sushi, so I am a Samurai.
sushi-do!
Perhaps if you liked it so much to the point that you impressed a feudal lord and they bestowed upon you the appropriate honors to affirm this status in the eyes of your Sengoku era contemporaries then you could indeed be a Samurai
@@InvictaHistory It was sarcasm, my dude. Also, he wasn't a samurai.
@@Otochiro1 Okay just imagining Nobunaga looking at someone downing a whole bunch of sushi and maki and whatever else fancy / dangerous food they could cook up is hilarious. Add to that the frigging Shogun giving the bro a salary and giving that guy his weapons to carry and potentially use because they were so impressed is top tier comedy :D
And the fact is, who the fuck is gonna stand up to the Shogun and tell him otherwise :)
Also, knowing how hardcore japanese culture were about things, a dude could have written a whole art form to "sushi-do" that westerners would be quoting and faffing over themselves about it :P
@@firstlast-wm3li I guarantee he is not your dude, is as far from your dude as he can be. And I agree with him on that.