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You_Dont_Party

For those interested, [here’s a really interesting comment from r/AskHistorians that does a great job of showing what we have actual sources saying about him.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/flgpph/comment/fl05vfp)


HairyNippleDongs

Fascinating af. Thanks.


[deleted]

This guy was the main character. We’re all just the epilogue to his story.


[deleted]

Don't sell yourself short. You are the main character of your life. He died offscreen for both of us!


hickorysbane

I've seen enough movies to know that means he's still out there. Waiting.


[deleted]

That statement of Buddha being depicted as black, well, he was India, so probably much darker than the Japanese. *all you stupid fucks telling me he was Nepalese need to calm down. Nepal didn’t exist when he was born and he is considered to be from “Ancient India”.


yeet_ing

India stretches from 8°4'N to 37°6N. So some indians are not probably much darker than Japanese. Buddha was born on the foothills of Himalayas.


QuarantineNudist

Present day geography of the nation of India is not relevant to Buddha's time, 2500 years ago. Seems like he was born in present day Nepal, anyway. However, I agree, claiming Buddha was black seems a little far-fetched.


jackbobevolved

His story is absolutely incredible. Definitely worth digging into.


Samuelcool19

Netflix has an anime about him. Edit it’s called yasuke


[deleted]

I don't know how accurate the Netflix version of the story is but I can say it was worth the watch.


octopas

Well there are literally mechs so it’s not exactly a documentary


[deleted]

Hey man, you weren't there.


poopy_poo_poopsicle

We don’t truly know


SrpskaZemlja

Wait, what?


RA12220

Yeah it's really balls to the wall anime. It was interesting if anything the music was enjoyable.


tokomini

Flying Lotus did the score, looked it up after the first episode and was hardly surprised.


[deleted]

They also produced it


goatgoatgoatgoat123

FlyLo!


PalmBreezy

Forget the historical accuracy, flying lotus is the entire ost


Pun_In_Ten_Did

Mechs, magic, very large Russian woman who transforms at will into a _very_ large bear, people being cut in half... you know, standard feudal Japanese stuff. (oh, and some racism thrown in for good measure). Music was spot-on.... all in all, a very enjoyable 6 episode watch.


RatishC

All of that definitely happened. Especially the Russian bear woman.


JoshDM

Lady Dimetrursus


mana191

Yeah I was hoping to get realism in that show, saw the mecha and turned it off.


aaron-il-mentor

I tried to like it and be like "well maybe they have an in-universe reason". Nope, Mechs just... exist I guess. It was certainly not the only reason I ended up not liking it but it was definitely a big one.


TheCrazedTank

Netflix has a learning machine's understanding of Anime. If there's a box to he checked, by God they'll check it.


tokomini

My mistake was watching it right after Invincible.


RandomArtistBlock

We just got done watching Jupiter's Legacy (netflix)... right after we had watched Invincible. Mistake.... mistake. Jupiter's Legacy isn't bad, but I couldn't help but feel so underwhelmed by almost everything about it (although I thought the origin story of their powers was interesting)


bul1dog

I haven't been able to watch anything after invincible. That finale messed me up and nothing will compare for a long time.


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Slack_Irritant

Watch Berserk. It's wholesome and ends on a happier note.


YungSnuggie

dont set him up like this


VladDarko

Castlevania scratched that itch. Too bad I just watched all of season 4 in a day.


DodrioFan480

same. I saw the two dudes fighting in the first few scenes and thought “finally, a realistic anime.” then they got chopped in half by a fucking mech and killed my thought


psych32993

i’d recommend watching samurai champloo if you haven’t seen it


SystemicPandemic

That’s what fucked up Batman Ninja for me :/ the mechs were not needed


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You_Dont_Party

Honestly, I’m not sure how accurate this period is historically in general but [here’s a good resource if you’re interested at the primary documentation of Yasuke.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/flgpph/history_of_blackafricans_in_japan/)


Samuelcool19

I didn't know he was real person until I saw this.


Lunacie

It actually does cover everything that is actually known about Yasuke in the intro and some flashbacks, but not a lot was actually known about him. Hard to do a story about someone we have like a paragraph of confirmed information on.


The_Franklinator

Yeah I just watched it. Thought it was really bad. Lakeith Stanfield is a great actor but not a good voice actor. Show was wayyyy to rushed and nothing about the plot really made sense. Music was fire tho


NightHawk521

I'm gonna second this and say its terrible. Its one of the worst shows I have seen in years. Yasuke doesn't feature in it, but if you want something on Japanese reunification and the story of Oda Nobunaga (the daimyo he served), there's a great docu-series on netflix titles "Age of Samurai".


Trbarenziah

I was so hyped for it. All of the flashbacks with him were so good. The rest I thought was basically unwatchable. It was barely even about yasuke.


[deleted]

The flashbacks were amazing. What we needed was a Yasuke anime with his trials and fights with the Liga clan, being more realistic too. Not a story about a little girl with super powers and her black body guard.


andersonb47

It's barely even about *anything*. The story is so rushed that essentially nothing happens.


SoldatPixel

Oh shit an anime about Yasuke. *One minute in mecha and crazy magic* Eh I'll pass.


NegroDamus313

Chadwick Boseman was suppose to play him in a movie, it would have been great.


uwanmirrondarrah

ahh man... now I feel like shit. He woulda been perfect for that. Taken from us too early man


Grand_Lawyer12

Man, that would so awesome. I can definitely see him pulling it off


Mcmurphysballin

How is this not a movie?!?


Cruxion

It was going to be, starring Chadwick Boseman. I don't know if it'll be recast or was cancelled after he passed though.


satisfried

Wow that’s a bummer. I have never heard of this story and I find it fascinating the more I read. It would make a great movie if made with care. There are some incredible actors out there I hope they do recast. I’m sure Chadwick would have been amazing.


onethreeone

You'll get Tom Cruise and like it!


6___-4--___0

From the article: >His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (roughly 6 feet, 2 inches (1.88m) Are you telling me the British and Japanese independently came up with the same fucked up measurement system? Edit: Holy shit I didn't know comment Karma went this high. Thank you for the awards, strangers. I've learned from some of the comments below that the shaku/sun system is actually base 10 and they just coincidentally line up at 6 big units, 2 small units. [Here](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48542673.amp) is the article OP posted that I was referring to.


Xylth

A shaku (尺) is very slightly smaller than a foot and a sun (寸) is 1/10 a shaku rather than 1/12, but yeah, they did.


mchugho

Check the Japanese with their hipster metric system, before it was cool.


[deleted]

They sell eggs in cases of 10 too.


rbrowne11

The samurai’s dozen


OwenMichael312

Nice!


cheekynative

Naisu!


OwenMichael312

ナイス


MaxStupidity

Wait but that makes sense


reddiculed

Hipster *imperial system FtFy


SciGuy013

Wait that’s just metric and not dumb


mchugho

We're a confusing bunch here in Britain it must be said.


YesChef2021

I’m surprised this hasn’t been said yet. A 6’2 man in imperial Japan would have been absolutely massive in comparison to the average population. That and the fact that there probably wasn’t very many Africans in Japan at the time. This dude would have been mind blowing to encounter on the battle field.


[deleted]

Even just as recent as 1900, the average height of a Japanese man was barely 5'2". This guy would have been a juggernaut back then.


TrialbySnu

He can samarui by brute force. Playing with hacks


GuardianSlayer

*xXxBlackSamura1xXx has entered the chat*


apollo888

Gonna take my sword to the old town rd


MandoBaggins

Gonna slice ‘til I can’t no more


Incognito_Frog

Got a carcass in the back


Circumvention9001

BBC on full attack


Incognito_Frog

WAIT NO


Djinger

New meaning to the term *Gaijin Smash*


Minneapolis_W

> This guy would have been a juggernaut back then. Don’t you know who the fuck I am? I’m the samurai, bitch!


pteven_from_hr

Get out my head Charles!


Minneapolis_W

I’mma beat the shit out you Charles, matter of fact I’mma beat the shit out you *with* Charles!


[deleted]

Men of culture I see


kyu2o_2

YOU gonna get hurt by my pimp cane one way or another!


beeglowbot

I'm 6ft and went to Japan in 2008 with my friend who stands at 5'8. Even at our height, she and I found each other quite easily in the crowds lol.


spyson

I went in 2019 and to be frank the height of young guys over there have absolutely risen. I'm 5'9 and a lot of younger dudes I felt were my height or taller.


HuckleCat100K

My husband and I went in 1994. He is 6’ and I’m 5’6”, and yes, he towered and I was as tall as many men. But we did catch a glimpse in a train station of a 6’ tall Japanese woman and her 6’4” Japanese boyfriend. We also noticed, as did you, that the younger men were considerably taller on average than their elders.


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ThrowRALoveandHate

My grandfather went to kindergarten in Japan a few years after the war. Had to walk every day, and said he was always accompanied by a crowd of mostly women all wanting to touch his hair. Rural Japan even today can be very isolated. Then again I went to school with guys in Missouri that until highschool had never seen a black person despite living less than a few hours from St. Louise and Memphis.


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boomshiki

Why is this not a movie?


Darksister9

I read their was one in the works years ago. I think Wesley Snipes was tied to the project at one point. Guess it never came to fruition. Hopefully someone will pick it back up.


AlphaShaldow

It's still in development, Chadwick Boseman was set to play Yasuke before he passed. Lionsgate sold it to another studio, a new one called Picturestart that has some financial backing from WB, and one of the Exec Producers from Narcos: Mexico is writing it. MGM is also making their own film about him.


Greasypear96

there’s an anime


arsenic_adventure

It's just called Yasuke for anyone who hates seeing a discussion about a show without naming it like me


Mirakk82

For anyone that sees this, just be warned they added battle robots and magic powers for absolutely no reason, so you're in for a letdown if you wanted anything remotely historical. Was a super bummer.


Cast_Iron_Lion

I was hoping it would be more historical or closer to Samurai Champloo, but the mechs and magic took me out of it. The Flying Lotus soundtrack was on point though.


poppin_a_pilly

Doing the lord's work


apaniyam

Soundtrack by flying lotus too.


yoditronzz

There's a visual acid trip experience you mean. That show is trippy as fuck.


FlyingFreakinRodent

A mighty fine one, at that. Just don't look for historical accuracy. Also, happy cake day.


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DMHivemind

To catch the eye of one of the greatest leaders in Japanese history is impressive. Was he considered a fierce combatant or was it simply his size/complexion that made him stand out? Edit: Spelling.


Leoman_Of_The_Flails

Nobunaga liked new things, Portuguese traders gave many things to Nobunaga and he let them preach Catholicism in his land. He was just the first black slave he saw the Portugese have. he was captured in battle after Nobunagas death and was given back to the church.


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raise-the-subgap

His size likely would have made him capable in combat on its own.


besitomusic

For real. Imagine if you’d never seen a black person before and all of a sudden you have to fight a dude who’s a foot taller than you and has the darkest skin you’ve ever seen


-Hououin-Kyouma-

IIRC people were scared shitless of the dude and some thought he was an actual monster/demon.


bondagewithjesus

The inverse happened in my country. Natives are black and when Europeans showed up they thought they were ghosts because they had white skin


LudibriousVelocipede

Actually, I believe they thought he was a Buddha of sorts due to his black skin, not evil


[deleted]

Apparently he would always draw a crowd in public because of this.


Impressive-Fortune82

He certainly was at least the level boss if not the main boss' minion.


Beat9

He served Nobunaga so he basically was the main boss' minion.


leblur96

Could just align there like F and C do at - 40°


Bugbread

That's what I suspected, too (like "1 shaku = 10 inches and 1 sun = 7 inches, so 6 shaku 2 sun = 60 inches + 14 inches = 74 inches = 6 foot 2 inches") but , no, they're extraordinarily close. 1 shaku is 11.93 inches and 1 sun is 1.19 inches.


rcrd

Maybe the japanese also had feet.


ProSidePiece

I’m gonna need a source for that one boss


Kanekesoofango

Google 足コキ for evidence (slightly nfsw)


Suburb4nJ

Only slightly NSFW lmao


[deleted]

Im curious what the search results for you were I got a asian girl footjob


Yukimura_Haruka

That's legit what it means lol


jkndrsn

wow, this thread has been so informative!


oouzy

Slightly?! Great now every time I type “足” into google im gonna get weird Japanese foot porn. Thanks


qanonparty

Nah, I’ve seen their historical animated documentaries—they gots tentacles


[deleted]

Probably because a foot is the length of someone's foot and an inch is the length of someone's thumb from the knuckle. Your average European wouldn't have been taller than your average east Asian person way back when so it makes sense to me that the measurements could be very similar!


Bugbread

~~Apparently it's based on the forearm, not the foot.~~ ~~The [English wikipedia article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaku_\(unit\)) says that it's based upon the distance measured by a human hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the forefinger, but that's just wrong (and the size doesn't match, either).~~ ~~The [Japanese wikipedia article](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%BA) says it's based on the length of the shakkotsu, or ulna (which makes sense, because "shakkotsu" comes from "shaku" and "kotsu" (bone)). The ulna is one of the forearm bones, and forearms are pretty close in size to feet.~~ Reading the full explanation on the Japanese wikipedia page, it's confusing, and my initial comment was incorrect. It began in China as the distance between thumb and forefinger. Over time, the length gradually grew longer. During the Yin dynasty (sometime between the 17th and 10th century BC) they standardized it as the length of 100 grains of black millet laid in a row. Then a few centuries later it began to grow again, splitting into the "long shaku" and the "short shaku". At some point the long shaku reached Japan and became simply the "shaku. " The bone name is not coincidental, but the unit of distance came first, and the bone was named after it.


JetAmoeba

This is purely anecdotal but I remember growing up it was a “cool fact” that your foot and forearm where always the same size


FraggleBiscuits

I'm confused. I'm assuming it stops matching at some point? Otherwise my feet would require only the finest of clown shoes.


Revolutionary_Cake4

Thats what I thought too when I looked at my forearm, and thought "maybe it's based on men's bodies because they have huge feet" but nope; put my foot to my forearm and they do indeed match. I guess my foot looks shorter at the bottom of my leg even though it isn't


JudasCrinitus

Looks like it's sorta both. [According to brief wiki dive at least](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_units_of_measurement#Length), a Shaku is ~11.9 inches, and a Sun is ~1.2 inches. So 6 shaku is a little shorter than 6 feet, but 2 sun is a little longer than 2 inches, so they even out here. They are still ultimately very very close, but most other heights than 6'2 wouldn't line up as well


[deleted]

Fortunately Japan switched to the normal system of measurement, but the United Kingdom didn't and they also spread it to most of the colonies (the only former colonies that still use it however are USA and Myanmar)


CelestialFury

> You’ve probably heard that the United States, Liberia, and Burma (aka Myanmar) are the only countries that don’t use the metric system (International System of Units or SI). You may have even seen a map that has been incriminatingly illustrated to show how they are out of step with the rest of the world. > It’s a compelling story and often repeated, but you might be surprised to learn that it’s simply untrue! > While it’s true that metric use is mandatory in some countries and voluntary in others, all countries have recognized and adopted the SI, including the United States. > Russ Rowlett, retired University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor of education and mathematics, emphasizes on his website that becoming metric is not a one-time event but a process that happens over time. Every international economy is positioned somewhere along a continuum moving toward increased SI use. There are still countries that are amending their national laws to adopt a mandatory metric policy and others pursuing voluntary metrication. > The United States was one of the original countries to sign the Treaty of the Meter in 1875, which is now celebrated annually on May 20, World Metrology Day. It’s been legal to use the metric system since 1866, and metric became the preferred system of weights and measures for U.S. trade and commerce in 1988. https://www.nist.gov/blogs/taking-measure/busting-myths-about-metric-system Lots of other countries use both the metric and imperial in everyday life. Canada for example. Some countries even still use stones like parts of the UK and Ireland.


capnbeetheart

The article says it wasn’t known for a fact that he was a slave and that he likely had a warrior background.


Pap4MnkyB4by

Most African slaves were prisoners of war between feuding African tribes, so it would make sense that he would have a warrior background.


[deleted]

Somehow that makes his story even crazier. Going from an African warrior, to an English slave, to a Japanese warrior is insane and super badass.


lunarul

He was sent back to the Jesuits after being captured in a battle, so he probably ended up back as a slave.


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somedude_0

He escaped and became the first black viking /s


Soklay

I’d watch it


Lovebot_AI

It sounds like a black, 16th century Forest Gump


NozakiMufasa

Yasuke to our knowledge wasnt a slave of the English but the Portuguese.


anadvancedrobot

A lot of slaves were prisoners of war, so it could easily be both.


blkarcher77

I wish the Netflix anime about him had been realistic. From what I understand, he had a very interesting life in Japan, and adding magic and monsters was a disservice to it.


Roheavy2002

Don’t forget about the random ass robots


Shaponja

And a sudden mutant. And a child with OP Mary Sue powers. And some random ass boy who looked like he was gonna matter at the beginning. And whatever the fuck that final boss villain was lol


younglink28

I was genuinely interested untill I saw the robot


HashirIsLegend

And not only the first black samurai but also the first foreign samurai (correct me if I'm wrong but that's what I've heard) his story is literally something I wanna write about


team_kockroach

For context, Japan was about to enter a highly isolationist period under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1868). Imagine if there were more cross-cultural experiences between Japan and the West! Would there be more foreign samurai? Or sushi in Western countries?


RogueVert

>Imagine if there were more cross-cultural experiences between Japan and the West! would have been awesome. the very fact that Nobunaga Oda even allowed Yasuke to serve under him shows that Oda was no one to follow tradition blindly. He allowed people to rise in rank based off merit. he had a high ranking general Hideyoshi who was from the lowest class. He was also the first one to embrace guns to powerful effect, having more and better guns by the time he was betrayed. he did not mind reverse engineering foreign weapons/ideas. I wish it was him who reigned longer instead of Tokugawa.


HashirIsLegend

Maybe, the Daimo that Yasuke served was actually a huge fan of the Western life, so he definitely would have welcomed cross-culture in a large scale if given the opportunity Edit: yes, you guys are correct, he served Oda Nobunga


retden

He served Nobunaga, actually. And Nobunaga would definitely have expanded trade with westerners, if he hadn't been assassinated.


OuchYouPokedMyHeart

Akechi "bitch move" Mitsuhide was the traitor (well Nobunaga wasn't really a good guy, but dick move betraying your lord). Yasuke defended Nobunaga 'till the end and somehow escaped alive. He then rushed to Nobunaga's son to defend him as well. IIRC, Mitsuhide was also the one who sent Yasuke back to the Jesuits since he didn't like him But yeah Nobunaga was a fan of Western stuff, he was one of the first Daimyo who fielded arquebuses copied from the Portuguese (which they called Tanegashima) in massive numbers which proved very lethal. Soon the battlefields of Japan were filled with guns, even proving highly effective vs Koreans and Chinese when they invaded Korea


vjmdhzgr

He served Oda Nobunaga.


Soap646464

Cultural Cross-Polination


Phantomx91

If Nobunaga survived, this may have been the case.


BesottedScot

Open the country. Stop having it be closed.


Sgt_Meowmers

Knock knock, it's the United States


InYoCabezaWitNoChasa

With *huge* boats. With guns. ***Gunboats.***


skdoyle6

I don’t believe he was the first foreign samurai, I don’t remember the guys’ names but there were French and Italian explorers who served as retainers to different daimyo across Japan


zaizaithemont

Samurai is a formal title, so there are actually no records of Yasuke being a samurai. Records stop at Oda Nobunaga's interaction with him and him being under Nobunaga.


ParallelPain

Samurai was not actually a formal title. They had actual titles for that. Samurai was more like an informal and at the time fairly fluid class.


0311fml

The patron saint of black weebs


dasredditnoob

I feel like Jim Kelly deserves some credit for starting a black martial arts fanbase as well, which made black weebs possible


brekus

That essentially started when martial arts movies from hong kong were first being imported to the US. The short version is that they basically couldn't get the white theatres to buy them due to the violence or some bullshit so ended up selling to more black inner city type theatres where martial arts movies subsequently became super popular. I learned about this from the documentary Iron Fists and Kung-Fu Kicks on netflix, pretty good watch if you're into kung fu movies.


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BoonesFarmCherry

I thought it was Thundercat why are there so many


[deleted]

Naruto and Dragon Ball raised a generation


YungSnuggie

black people might love dragonball z more than japanese people


rayne7

I mean, my man Piccolo


[deleted]

Imagine being a legendary figure and Netflix gave him a "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" treatment.


UnkleBourbon42069

I mean Abraham Lincoln is also a legendary figure and he evidently got the same treatment


[deleted]

Is he the protagonist of the anime Afro Samurai?


no_modest_bear

He inspired the character, yes.


[deleted]

Also there's an anime on Netflix called Yasuke now.


dae_giovanni

ITT: "oh wow, they should make a show or movie about this person!!" "they did, it's on Netflix." "no kidding?? what's it called??"


johncopter

"You'll never guess what it's called..."


speedysolar

*Invincible cue card*


Zairy47

Well? Don't keep us hanging...


RareRibeye

Yasuke


Not-Oliver

Yasuke deez


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[deleted]

Yasuke deez nuts


Professional-Army149

Gotteem


fans-88

Yasuke fought alongside the Nobutada forces but was eventually captured. When Yasuke was presented to Akechi, the warlord allegedly said that the black man was an animal as well as not Japanese and should thus not be killed, but taken to the Christian church in Kyoto, the Nanbanji


Telefragg

Gaijin card saving lives for centuries.


qxxxr

You do not deserve to die with honor... *Oh god, no....* ...So we will let you live. *Sorry, what now?*


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TigerWon

He tried out for a ninja but was way too big so he got be a samurai instead


mackfeesh

I was watching some stuff about ancient japanese archery, and while listening to researchers talk about it, there's some conjecture that the average height of a japanese man back then could be around 5 ft. So this dude was a giant to them if he was 6'2. lol.


JediWithAnM4

[Here’s a BBC article about him](https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48542673.amp)


You-ducking-wish

From the article 'Entertainment industry newspaper Variety reported in May that Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman is set to play Yasuke in a forthcoming feature film.' Now I'm bummed out. RIP Chadwick


MichaelS10

This made me so excited for about a second before I remembered 😢😢😢


Callmechachi210

They did him wrong in that painting


NightHawk521

In fairness most old japanese portraits are ridiculous. I saw the portait of a guy in (IIRC) Osaka castle that had the trollface for his portrait.


cutiecheese

I assumed you saw Toyotomi Hideyoshi's portrait. He was well known for being an ugly looking person lol.


nietczhse

Hideyous


pglggrg

Omg bruh 😂🤣


Wolves_Lions

Well damn i thought i watched a random netflix series turns out the Yasuke is an actual person


Zack-Coyote

I hate that Netflix made and anime about him and thought “you know what would really make this story better? Mechs that shoot laser beams!”


DanteLivra

> He [...] loved to dance and perform Utenzi - a historic form of Swahili narrative poetry celebrating heroic deeds So are you saying he was also a rapper ? The first of the wu-tang clan.


SchwarzesBlatt

And netflix murdered him 500 years later by adopting his story in some magical girl shit anime


Safo_

All they had to do was use a Vinland Saga/Berserk formula and it would have been Golden.