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African samurai : the true story of Yasuke, a legendary black warrior in feudal Japan / Thomas Lockley and Geoffrey Girard.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Toronto, Ontario, Canada : Hanover Square Press, [2019]Description: 380 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781335141026
  • 1335141022
Subject(s): Genre/Form:
Contents:
Prelude: Yasuke de gozaru -- Warrior. A welcome to Japan ; Only the grace of God ; The ghosts of Africa ; Seminary life ; The terms of employment ; The Witch of Bungo ; Pirates and choir boys ; A riot on Monday ; Tenka Fuba ; Feats of strength -- Samurai. Guest of honor ; Treasures old and new ; The way of warriors ; His Lord's whim ; Oda at war ; The dead are rising ; Collecting heads ; Fuji-san ; Battle cry ; The Honnō-ji incident -- Legend. Japan, tomorrow ; The guns of Okitanawate ; Possible paths ; Yasuke through the ages -- Afterword.
Summary: Kidnapped as a child, Yasuke had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. In telling his story, Lockley and Girard offer a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan. -- adapted from jacket
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library Biography Yasuke L816 Available 33111009149374
Adult Book Adult Book Northport Library Biography Yasuke L816 Available 33111008232585
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Warrior. Samurai. Legend.

"A readable, compassionate account of an extraordinary life." --The Washington Post

The remarkable life of history's first foreign-born samurai, and his astonishing journey from Northeast Africa to the heights of Japanese society.

When Yasuke arrived in Japan in the late 1500s, he had already traveled much of the known world. Kidnapped as a child, he had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned (in local tradition) Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. Soon, he was learning the traditions of Japan's martial arts and ascending the upper echelons of Japanese society.

In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. Now African Samurai presents the never-before-told biography of this unique figure of the sixteenth century, one whose travels between countries, cultures and classes offers a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prelude: Yasuke de gozaru -- Warrior. A welcome to Japan ; Only the grace of God ; The ghosts of Africa ; Seminary life ; The terms of employment ; The Witch of Bungo ; Pirates and choir boys ; A riot on Monday ; Tenka Fuba ; Feats of strength -- Samurai. Guest of honor ; Treasures old and new ; The way of warriors ; His Lord's whim ; Oda at war ; The dead are rising ; Collecting heads ; Fuji-san ; Battle cry ; The Honnō-ji incident -- Legend. Japan, tomorrow ; The guns of Okitanawate ; Possible paths ; Yasuke through the ages -- Afterword.

Kidnapped as a child, Yasuke had ended up a servant and bodyguard to the head of the Jesuits in Asia, with whom he traversed India and China learning multiple languages as he went. His arrival in Kyoto, however, literally caused a riot. Most Japanese people had never seen an African man before, and many of them saw him as the embodiment of the black-skinned Buddha. Among those who were drawn to his presence was Lord Nobunaga, head of the most powerful clan in Japan, who made Yasuke a samurai in his court. In the four hundred years since, Yasuke has been known in Japan largely as a legendary, perhaps mythical figure. In telling his story, Lockley and Girard offer a new perspective on race in world history and a vivid portrait of life in medieval Japan. -- adapted from jacket

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