Assassin’s Creed Shadows: a Japanese historian reconfirms that the protagonist was indeed a real samurai

The idea that William Adams is considered the first Western samurai does not seem to cause any issues, even in his fictional incarnations. John Blackthorne, from the recent ‘Shogun’, is inspired by this historical figure and no one has cried foul. Additionally, the Japanese video game Nioh 2 includes Adams as the protagonist. Yasuke himself makes an appearance in this title, but none of that has prevented Assassin’s Creed Shadows from receiving criticism from all sides.

Ubisoft has made this samurai of African origin the co-star of the video game, and ever since this was revealed, some have questioned his samurai status. Although there are several testimonies in this regard, Japanese historian Yu Hirayama has pointed out that there is no doubt that Yasuke was a real samurai.

“It seem like there’s a lot of talk about Yasuke, a black man who served Oda Nobunaga,” wrote the historian on Twitter/X. “There are very few historical documents about him, but there’s no doubt that he was a “samurai” who served Nobunaga. Regardless of one’s social status, if one’s master promoted one to the rank of “samurai”, one could become one in medieval (warring states) society.”

He continued: “I can say this because the historical documents state that 1: Nobunaga gave him a “stipend”, 2: he was given a house, and 3: he was given a sword. Being given a “stipend” and serving Nobunaga closely fulfills the important requirements of a “contract between master and servant” and “agreement to receive a stipend.” It is also important that he was allowed to carry a sword, so he was a two-sworded servant and not a servant (servants were not allowed to carry swords). And if he was given a house, there’s no room for doubt. He was probably a slave until Nobunaga took over the missionary slave, but due to the above ① to ③ , he probably became a “samurai” of his own volition.”

Some have argued that Yasuke could not be a samurai because he was not given a surname, but the professor refutes this claim and suggests that perhaps he did have it, although it is not reflected in the historical documents that have endured.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be available on November 15 on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. Developed by Ubisoft Québec, the game will also star Naoe, a ninja whose gameplay will be based on stealth. Meanwhile, Yasuke will act as a tank and specialize in fighting.

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