Almost from the first page of African Samurai I was asking myself “Why haven’t I heard about this man before?” The book, by Thomas Lockley and Geoffry Girand, is the non-fiction tale of Yasuke, an African man who came to Japan in 1579 as a bodyguard and was soon a samurai in service to Lord Nabunaga.
Lockley and Gerand have drawn from an impressive array of sources, both primary and later works. Fortunately, enough of them primary to confirm that Yasuke existed and was present at several key events. In addition, it is reasonable to extrapolate, as Lockley and Girard do, that he must have been a highly intelligent and charismatic individual to rise as he did in Lord Nobonaga’s favor. He certainly learned Japanese quickly, and it was only one of the languages he knew. Unfortunately, few of the primary sources say much about him, so much of the book focuses on what was happening around Nobunaga and thus Yasuke, who was with him. This being the time when Nobunaga was attempting to unite all of Japan, that covers a lot of territory.
Apart from the time I spent looking at the book’s bibliography, I listened to African Samurai on audio, and I can recommend the recording. Gary Furlong reads well and with expression, something few narrators manage with nonfiction. The history Lockley and Girard write is eventful enough and written clearly enough to hold attention even while out walking or gardening or doing any of the number of other things one does while listening to audiobooks.
That said, the emphasis here is on the history rather than drama. There are occasional moments when the authors speculate about what Yasuke must have thought or felt at a given time, but very little imagined dialog or blow-by-blow accounts of exciting battles.
I recommend the book to anyone who has the tiniest smidgeon of interest in Japan, samurai, war, intercultural contact, or reading about powerful figures from the past.
African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japan is out now and available from the usual booksellers and libraries.
Full disclosure: Both the audio and hardcopy copies of the book came from my local library. Libraries are awesome. I think I’ve said that before. I will probably say it again.
Also, with this kind of material available and Deadline reporting that Chadwick Boseman is playing Yasuke, the upcoming movie had better be good. It has no excuse to be anything else.
