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Rise of the African Samurai
Eleven years ago, when I was trying to make sense of Beijing, my friend, writer, and director Floyd Webb posted a weird image on Facebook from his blog. It was a bald-headed brother with a samurai sword, with a name I could not pronounce. I was trying to survive behind The Great Wall, and did not have time to get into the story of Yasuke.
Fast forward to 2018, after my 4.5 years in Asia, I heard some rumblings about a book entitled AFRICAN SAMURAI, written by Thomas Lockley. I got on my journalism grind, and the author sent me an advanced copy. Afterward, I set up a date for an interview.
The book was clear and easy to read. Lockley listed Yasuke’s historical references: The Chronicles of Oda Nobunaga by Ota Gyuichi, writings of Jesuit Luis Frost, writings of esteemed samurai Matsudaira Ietada and another Jesuit named Lourenco Mexia.
In the book, Lockley spent most of the time making assumptions about Yasuke in various scenarios, based on his knowledge of Japanese history, but presented the book as a hypothesis.
I loved the book and discussed it with Floyd. He slammed me and acknowledged talking with Lockley during his research. Floyd was cryptic, but his main stance was that Yasuke wasn’t a slave; he wasn’t a magical big buck nigger who stumbled onto a samurai sword.
Floyd, being the wise older god that he is, presented Yasuke’s story as a mystery, one that had to be put together with knowledge of his journey and, most importantly — his origins in Africa.
Floyd’s problem was that Lockley did not spend enough time researching Yasuke’s upbringing in East Africa, which would form the foundation for his very being.
I interviewed Lockley, and he was very flexible about his stance on Yasuke being a slave, as he initially reported. He encouraged his readers to continue adding to the book with their own research.
Floyd’s my dude. In fact, he’s the reason I got a free ticket to China in 2013 after an Asian shorty broke my heart. But despite all of that, he would not tell me how he knew Yasuke was not a slave. I plugged him and his director friend Deborah DeSnoo (JAPAN: MEMOIRS OF A SECRET EMPIRE) for a story, and the two of them brought African and Japanese culture into the mix.
Yasuke had worked for two of the most influential men in the world: Jesuit Alessandro Valignano and one of the most well-known Japanese warriors, Oda Nobunaga. In addition, notable Sengoku period samurai Matsudaira Letada wrote about Yasuke in his historical diary, suggesting the African’s rank rivaled his own.
DeSnoo was adamant that Nobunaga wouldn’t have fucked with Yasuke if he was a slave; however, on the other hand, he would have built with Yasuke if he was educated, skilled at combat, had knowledge of the world, had his heart broken by shorties in different countries and — most importantly — had culture.
Fear of an African Samurai (Yasuke in Chains)
I had to visit East Africa to get a glimpse of the African mind, and it wasn’t until I returned in 2021 that I figured out why Yasuke was not a slave. When I presented my findings to Floyd, he confirmed them, and I could see why he was adamant that Lockley needed to go to Africa to create his story.
Floyd and I teamed up for another article, and he re-emphasized his anti-slave stance. Since that time, there has been a consistent effort on social media to place Yasuke in chains and have his origins in a cotton field if you know what I mean.
Most recently, after the announcement of Yasuke as the protagonist in the newest ASSASSIN’S CREED SHADOWS video game, folks on the internet(s) have collectively lost their minds. They’ve accused Lockley of fabricating Yasuke’s story and gone out of their way to suggest that the African was merely a Japanese retainer and not the rank of samurai.
However, it was Lockley’s book that helped me understand something very significant about Yasuke — not only was he probably the first foreign samurai, but Yasuke paved the way for your favorite White savior movies and shows, like THE LAST SAMURAI and the series SHOGUN.
Let me make it plain.
While Oda Nobunaga was alive, one of his generals, Tokugawa Ieyasu, had knowledge of Yasuke and his promotion to samurai.
Years later, Ieyasu became Shogun, and his familiarity with an African foreign samurai influenced his decision to promote English navigator William Adams.
So yeah, the White guy wasn’t the first foreign samurai and actually followed in the wake of an African warrior.
Imagine that.
Yasuke’s story bothers people because it will force many to look at world history and Africans differently. Folks can handle the story of a big buck field nigga saying “Yassa massa Oda” without a problem. However, the story of a skilled African Warrior, who came from culture, traveled the world, learned warfare and strategy, and had the ability to impress Nobunaga with more than a gangsta lean — that bothers the status quo.
Floyd is currently wrapping up his Yasuke documentary and has completed his Yasuke comic book with director Mandla Dube. They understand that Yasuke’s story will disturb certain people, but they’re pushing forward regardless, guided by the spirit of the ancestors, knowing that many people on the internet(s) and across the world have great fear of an African samurai — and they’re still going to swing that sword.
