"The sole argument for the existence of Yasuke is the Jesuit chronicles of their missions to Japan. Which were filled with nonsense and aren't taken seriously by most Catholics. Several of them were bloating their accounts in hopes of a bishopric.
Nobunaga never mentioned him in his own writings. Which given that Nobunaga would write poems about pretty much anything he laid eyes on, suggests that the two never met. The sole corroborating account stated that one of the missionary priests had a black servant, and they presented him as a curiosity to Nobunaga's court, but there is evidence of nothing else.
Here's another strain on historical credulity. Supposedly Yasuke fought for Nobunaga as a samurai. One of the claims is that he spoke fluent Japanese.
The time period between when they supposedly met and when Nobunaga was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide was... three months.
A black guy from what would now be Morocco, probably a slave to the priests, and someone whose language skills would have included mostly broken Portuguese, supposedly learned the second most difficult language on earth in three months. For reference, Japanese has three goddamn formal alphabets.
There is nothing about the story that is historically credible. There is more evidence of Santa Claus than there is of Yasuke. Now if you want a Japanese historical figure that is actually interesting and actually real, I suggest Honda Tadakatsu. He's a real life Hercules."
Obligatory copypasta:
"The sole argument for the existence of Yasuke is the Jesuit chronicles of their missions to Japan. Which were filled with nonsense and aren't taken seriously by most Catholics. Several of them were bloating their accounts in hopes of a bishopric.
Nobunaga never mentioned him in his own writings. Which given that Nobunaga would write poems about pretty much anything he laid eyes on, suggests that the two never met. The sole corroborating account stated that one of the missionary priests had a black servant, and they presented him as a curiosity to Nobunaga's court, but there is evidence of nothing else.
Here's another strain on historical credulity. Supposedly Yasuke fought for Nobunaga as a samurai. One of the claims is that he spoke fluent Japanese.
The time period between when they supposedly met and when Nobunaga was assassinated by Akechi Mitsuhide was... three months.
A black guy from what would now be Morocco, probably a slave to the priests, and someone whose language skills would have included mostly broken Portuguese, supposedly learned the second most difficult language on earth in three months. For reference, Japanese has three goddamn formal alphabets.
There is nothing about the story that is historically credible. There is more evidence of Santa Claus than there is of Yasuke. Now if you want a Japanese historical figure that is actually interesting and actually real, I suggest Honda Tadakatsu. He's a real life Hercules."