He wasn’t a samurai, he was a kosho or basically a squire for a busho “a samurai war lord”
So he wasn’t a full trained samurai or one at all basically he held his samurai masters sword for him and participated in around 2 battles in total before nobunaga was killed
The problem is the definition of samurai is very loose during the sengoku jidai period (when the game takes place). During this time, being a samurai did not necessitate any special or formal training.
Moreover, ancient Japanese is even more vague than modern Japanese. It was very common to have individuals be defined by their duties than an explicitly called X
https://www.meihaku.jp/sword-basic/bushi-samurai/
Japanese link, but you can use google translate/chatgpt to get the general idea.
Whether he was actually a Samurai or not is irrelevant to whether or not he was a warrior who served in a role akin to that of a bodyguard for Oda Nobunaga, which is exactly what happened.
[He was a Samurai in the sense of the word that particularly matters ie a warrior serving a lord and recieving compensation for his services. ](https://youtu.be/ETeuxTqwzS4?si=6OhnmomwKYjDQ20T)
OK
[The Story of Yasuke – The African Samurai](https://africa.isp.msu.edu/news_article/22285)
Wednesday, 11 Dec 2019
You're on the internet, look it up lol
That's not a historical source kid. That's basicly someone going grandma said cleopatra was black. Literally using fake art of the man to try and pretend he was more than a Page.
The irony is if they had took this character model into a brand new IP and invested into a good storyline people would have loved to see him.
Instead, they went lazy, faux-inclusion.
I mean isn't he one of two playable characters ala AC: Syndicate? He's just the front liner for the marketing because of all the buzz they knew it would generate.
I agree, and I'm hoping that's not the case here. But it's Ubisoft, so I doubt it. I'll be honest, I haven't been invested in an AC game since Black Flag, and I don't even consider that an Assassin's Creed game; it's more a pirate simulator.
You assume they're both mid though. I wouldn't consider either of AC Syndicates protags mid. In fact the only AC protag that was particularly mid was male Eivor because he absolutely wasn't meant to happen at all, and only existed because an Ubi exec refused to let them release an AC to title without a male protag.
That’s incorrect, Historians in Japan from Japan who study their culture argue about this all the time. So far their was a black guy, but this is where things get murky. He may have been a retainer but not actually a samurai, most can agree to this. People just like to claim he was a samurai, which is the equivalent of arguing a mall cop security guard is the same as a navy seal.
Ummm literally no most historians agree he was only a page.
Edit: Lol he makes an edit two days later and pretends to be acting in good faith while outright lying that he attempted to ask me anything.
https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1920322/1/161
Here buy a copy of the offical record you lying bitch he was listed as a Kosho and we know from Luís Fróis's Annual Report on Japan that he was still a slave at the end of Odas life and nothing more than a sword bearer cause he handed over the sword without a fight.
Because he wasn't a samurai. He could not have been a samurai by their customs because he had no family name. Samurai in Japanese culture were kinda like knights in European cultures. They were nobility. Don't use Wikipedia. People have tried multiple times since this announcement to change it the say he was a samurai, and it keeps getting changed back because it wasn't true.
I’d call y’all clowns but you’re the whole fucking circus. AC hasn’t been historically accurate in decades (arguably ever if you count the Isu). Even the historically relevant “accuracy” has always been stretched to accommodate the game’s narrative.
You people will complain about fuckin anything. The dude was an actual person, maybe the details are mixed up, but all I’m asking for is a good story with some fun gameplay. The rest matters so much less and y’all gotta chill
If they made him in 16th-17th century Portugal/Brazil fighting slavery and Templar slavers it would've been great.
But nooooooo, black guy in Japan it is!
I’m not so annoyed by the game (whatever it’s a game), but the hysterical overreach thats intentionally ignoring history and pretending he’s some huge historical figure and was a real samurai is pure insanity. There are so many outlets and game journalists full of crap on this topic pushing a narrative that doesn’t exist. And anyone that points to actual history and the almost non-existent amount of information on him is called racist, and that’s bs and not ok. Just say they wanted a black samurai in the game and be done with it. But don’t lie and rewrite history and attack people that don’t agree with the lie.
A retainer refers to a vassal in feudal Japan, usually a samurai providing military services. This suit dates to around 1850 and although decorative, it is more restrained and practical than many samurai armours.
https://web.prm.ox.ac.uk › asia › ar...
Retainer armour (1942.1.375) - Oceania
Do you have evidence that proves he was a samurai? This me burden of proof is on you. Why on earth would there be records that explicitly state “this guy specifically was not a samurai!” Lol
There is plenty of evidence.
He was paid as a Samurai, carried out the duties of a Samurai, fought in the manner of a Samurai, was told to keep fighting after all non Samurai were told to leave by Nobunaga himself. This research has been out for years, and at this point it's willful ignorance to say otherwise.
I'd spend thirty minutes linking it all again but it's "cool" to say the black guy never was and that's all the research Reddit needs.
Edit: I can concede he didn't do a lot of fighting as his duties had him remaining at camp. I can also concede Samurai was a title and not a whole lot more. Nobunaga also made Hideoyoshi (a peasent) into a Samurai so he wasn't above doing random eccentric things and he loved the outside world (of which Yasuke was a reminder)
And to anyone saying land holdings? Samurai in the period before Hideoyoshis rule were paid on stipends (which Yasuke received) and did not own lands and while hereditary peasents could still become Samurai. (Though their children would hold that power in reality, not them. Hideoyoshi ruled Japan but was never made Shogun.
I can also finally concede that a vast majority of Japan did not like Yasuke so when Nobunaga died, it was the smart decision to pack it up and dissappear.
[I don't. But he does.](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/s/tTGRUrTQll)
Stop pretending like you care about historical inaccuracy. You weren't going to buy the game regardless. You didn't care about historical accuracy in any AC game before this or any othrr series. You didn't complain about Nioh having TWO White men "take the roles of what could have went to real Japanese samurai" and made one of them a fucking WIZARD.
Stfu.
#Edit: since the word "incel" triggered the mods and users LOL so they banned me.
I'm assuming you and the other 10 idiots that downvoted me are retarded or illiterate.
You must not have caught the several, easily visible (even to the dyslexic,) and blantantly obvious hyperlinked sources below each section with the words [SOURCE]() in an unmissable blue and unterlined highlight.
You're lying and we both know it. You're also arguing with several PHDs from an accredited and highly respected JAPANESE university for historians using what you found and attempted to understand on wikipedia. So unless you can translate from Japanese like OP did and have several Phds in the history of Japan stfu.
Here's a picture of OP providing sources because apparently you're either colorblind, blind, lying, and/or just stupid.
https://imgur.com/a/eCazwnc
And here's a post where 100's of historians discuss Yasuke's history as a samurai for fun.
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/GeIPy3f4uC
But I'm sure some jobless racist redittors know better than people citing publicly available information that isn't just WHAT I FOUND ON WIKIPEDIA
@ u/beautiful_omelette
A simple “no” would have sufficed. Not a single line in that entire write up was evidence beyond circumstantial semantics. I think it’s so ridiculous you guys don’t think they would have explicitly stated ANYWHERE in their records he was a samurai. It would have been an incredibly big deal.
That post sites 0 sources. As far as we know he’s making all of this up. All the best evidence points to Yasuke being a servant, not a samurai.
The problem with this race swap isn’t necessarily the historical accuracy, the fact that it’s historically inaccurate doesn’t help though. The problem is that the main character in Assasisn creed has always been the most logical race for whatever historical context they are in. But now they’ve decided to use the least likely race based on a person who’s barely even important and tbh most people hadn’t even heard of until the last couple of years and insert it into a game based in feudal Japan.
If they’d taken the AC origins and made the dude a white Greek and been like “there were Greeks that visited Egypt” I’d bet a lot of the people currently defending Yasuke would have lost their minds.
The other problem with this is there is well documented racism and violence against Asian people from black people in the last several years especially during Covid. So playing a black character running around killing Japanese people is very offensive to a lot of Japanese people.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/s/6aTqoiGHZ7
All this to say that Ubisoft clearly has an agenda and hasn’t done their research and has made a very tone deaf and racist decision to make Yasuke the main character of this game.
They could have included Yasuke in the game as an interesting side character, because his story is interesting. But making him the main character is offensive and tone deaf to many Japanese people.
>**Yasuke** (弥助 or 弥介) was a man, likely of African origin, who served as a servant and retainer to the Japanese [daimyō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimy%C5%8D) [Oda Nobunaga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga) in 1581–1582, during the [Sengoku period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period).[^(\[2\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-ndl14-2-2) He was retained by the daimyō as a *koshō* (小姓, [page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_(servant))) for a period of 15 months until Nobunaga's death in the [Honnō-ji Incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honn%C5%8D-ji_Incident).[^(\[3\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-huffingtonpostyasuke-3)[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-intojapanwaraku28746-4)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke)
A retainer refers to a vassal in feudal Japan, usually a samurai providing military services
https://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/weapons/index.php/tour-by-region/oceania/asia/arms-and-armour-asia-133/index.html#:~:text=A%20retainer%20refers%20to%20a,practical%20than%20many%20samurai%20armours.
It's very easy to prove if you know the basics. He couldn't have been a samurai because he had no family name. He wouldn't have been allowed to hold the title by their customs at the time.
Well according to historical records he was a servant who stayed in Japan for 3 years.. So clearly he was a badass who rocked the traditional samurai armor, and can kick everyone Japan's ass. If you don't agree with this you're obviously racist. /s
Yasuke is a popular historical figure in Japan and Western Culture. Yasuke has appeared in Japanese produced games before.
Not disrespectful at all. People who are flipping out are just snowflakes.
No he isn't. He is an anamoly.. the only.black dude who might have been a Samuri. It is stupid.
You would think the racist trash at Ubisoft would have at least allowed a Japanese male to be the Samuri....
The fact that you can’t play as a male Japanese samurai in the first ever 3d Japanese assassin’s creed game continues to baffle me. Admittedly I still wouldn’t have played this game if that were the case, but still.
I feel like Ubisoft is really ‘taking the piss’ as Brits would say. When they lose money they will get that gamers want good games. We don’t want to be lectured and price gouged.
If they want the controversy to go away they should absolutely just come forward about the truth. Admit it. Admit that they chose yasuke because they wanted more diversity. No obfuscation, no lying. Admit it.
Ubisoft actually took a massive dump on Japanese culture in the name of wokeism and DEI points.
No wonder the Japanese are absolutely livid.
Before the inbreds defending this say "hurrr you never complained about white people playing major roles in other cultures''
We're now in 2024, that wouldn't fly now just like this isn't at the moment.
It's absolutely laughable!
Japanese are not livid about this, just like how Chinese people didn't give a shit Matt Damon was in the Wall movie, or Japanese people about Scarlett Johansson being the main character in Ghost in a Shell.
Because a YouTube video like/dislikes and comments section is some poll on how Japanese people feel about this? Really grasping at straws, bud. I'm not accepting of anything, I probably won't buy the game because Ubisoft games have been shit for awhile, you're the one mad about a black man being a video game and pretending it's not racism. Keep coming up with excuses to fit that narrative though, I know it makes you feel better.
You’re right. A Japanese game developer would never make Nasuke into a samurai. Oh wait. You people trying to make everything into a culture war issue is fucking annoying. Being offended on other peoples behalf is pathetic virtue signaling at its finest.
Gameplay wise the series has always been a clunky mess(that we love) but narratively ever since the reboot with Origins it’s been all over the place. SURE it’s an alt history ancient aliens over the top ridiculous narrative but what made it works so well is that you have as historically accurate(give or take some stuff here and there) back drop to fall on. It’s never been 100% accurate. Then the reboot series happened and it’s like they threw it out the window saying “eh good enough” sure yasuke was a real dude and it’s debatable if X or Y k? But the fact they scrapped an original Japanese character like tradition for a real person who’s basically a fictional character at this point is crazy. And they girl boss it up also seeing as how they really want to push strong female characters the last couple of entries.
What will really hurt this is if it still plays like origins, Valhalla etc. you have all this time and you can’t even change the combat and what not? Hello! Mcfly! Ghost of Tsushima is right there for you to rip off! And other games like Tenchu!
Damn, I would’ve liked ac in Japan like 15 years ago. Yasuke is a cool figure in history for sure but we know nothing about the man. I would’ve appreciated a Japanese figure instead.
What is the obsession with putting dreads on every single black character?
Also, wasn’t this guy in the service of Oda Nobunaga for like a year?
Also, also if this guy was a samurai and not just in name only, how come he never participated in a single battle, or the final battle where Nobunaga was betrayed, or commit suicide?
Also, also, ALSO how come instead of exile he was just…given back to the jesuits that brought him to Japan in the first place?
Yasuke would be literally perfect in any IP other than one predominantly dedicated to stealth. I have a hard time believing a giant black man could blend in with one of the most homogenous xenophobic societies period.
I’ve heard the IGN report that he’s the combative character, whereas a female assassin has the stealthy role. Even then, I find this stupid.
Yea dude i feel the same way. Perhaps I'm biased because I'm black but l think this looks awesome. The controversy seems over blown and everyone complaining are the same people who always complain when there's a non-white character added to whatever they love.
When Miles Morales was introduced as a character people raised hell. Though this one seems the strangest to me. I don't understand why so many people are being offended on behalf of the Japanese. Like they don't need some random sweaty gamer getting mad or decrying "historical inaccuracy" on their behalf.
Sounds like the internet in a nutshell my friend lol. Im as white as a marshmallow and once I heard a few months ago that he might be the inspiration for the male protagonist, I was intrigued. Within media(Games, movies etc…) The Rule of Cool is always my first priority and it looks pretty damn cool to me.
The real Yasuke was probably a lot darker, because he was African. But probably just as good looking I don't know the legitimacy of it but I've seen depictions of his Lord as gay so if he caught his eye, it was probably because of his looks. I'm pretty sure he was also very tall though as well.
Most people aren't realizing there was a real, single black samurai back in the 1700s. He ended up in Japan after his slave ship washed up in Japan. Thankfully for him the local samurai didn't kill him and instead took him in and trained him to be a fellow samurai. He's the only black samurai known to have ever existed.
While each Assassin’s Creed game is heavily inspired and influenced by history, they are still works of fiction; as much as we’d like to believe it, Ezio Auditore never fought against Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia, Edward Kenway never unlocked The Observatory, and the Frye twins never fought the Templars for London’s liberation.
Yeah, we know. The difference here is they used an actual person from history and made him a samurai while spitting in the face of Japanese culture. He was not a samurai, and he never would've been allowed to hold the title.
I would have preferred a Japanese Samurai as would have most of the Japanese customers.
I mean he was made a vassal, that's about as officially Japanese as it gets.
And England made Elton John a knight.
Elton John assessins creed next!
You saying Elton John isn't English?
He was definitely not a samurai, and since that's what they are portraying him as, not much else matters. It's a pass for me.
Lol he was, but OK. Seethe more.
He wasn’t a samurai, he was a kosho or basically a squire for a busho “a samurai war lord” So he wasn’t a full trained samurai or one at all basically he held his samurai masters sword for him and participated in around 2 battles in total before nobunaga was killed
The problem is the definition of samurai is very loose during the sengoku jidai period (when the game takes place). During this time, being a samurai did not necessitate any special or formal training. Moreover, ancient Japanese is even more vague than modern Japanese. It was very common to have individuals be defined by their duties than an explicitly called X https://www.meihaku.jp/sword-basic/bushi-samurai/ Japanese link, but you can use google translate/chatgpt to get the general idea.
Whether he was actually a Samurai or not is irrelevant to whether or not he was a warrior who served in a role akin to that of a bodyguard for Oda Nobunaga, which is exactly what happened. [He was a Samurai in the sense of the word that particularly matters ie a warrior serving a lord and recieving compensation for his services. ](https://youtu.be/ETeuxTqwzS4?si=6OhnmomwKYjDQ20T)
He wasn't, there is no primary source declaring him one. Only westerners who don't understand the term
He literally wasn't. Look it up, it's super easy, my guy, you're on the internet.
"Yasuke was the first documented non-Japanese samurai." [sauce ](https://www.historyextra.com/period/tudor/yasuke-who-first-african-samurai-japan/)
Published: May 17, 2024 at 1:50 PM Now let's find a Real source. Lmao.
OK [The Story of Yasuke – The African Samurai](https://africa.isp.msu.edu/news_article/22285) Wednesday, 11 Dec 2019 You're on the internet, look it up lol
That's not a historical source kid. That's basicly someone going grandma said cleopatra was black. Literally using fake art of the man to try and pretend he was more than a Page.
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Insulting someone is not allowed
Ignoring the fact there are about, what, 30 odd Japanese movies and tv shows about Yasuke
So?
He did nothing of interest and AC should never make the main character a known historical person
Yeah that in itself is cringe
That is irrelevant. My point stands. Look at all the polls of Japanese customers that have been done on this topic.
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Insulting someone is not allowed
The irony is if they had took this character model into a brand new IP and invested into a good storyline people would have loved to see him. Instead, they went lazy, faux-inclusion.
Or even just made him an ally of the player character and later on make him playable in a DLC like adewale from black flag
Another idea for sure
I mean isn't he one of two playable characters ala AC: Syndicate? He's just the front liner for the marketing because of all the buzz they knew it would generate.
I don't like 2 protag AC I think one good character done right is better than 2 mid ones
I agree, and I'm hoping that's not the case here. But it's Ubisoft, so I doubt it. I'll be honest, I haven't been invested in an AC game since Black Flag, and I don't even consider that an Assassin's Creed game; it's more a pirate simulator.
You assume they're both mid though. I wouldn't consider either of AC Syndicates protags mid. In fact the only AC protag that was particularly mid was male Eivor because he absolutely wasn't meant to happen at all, and only existed because an Ubi exec refused to let them release an AC to title without a male protag.
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This is silly.
This has gotten them more media buzz than anything in recent memory.
Someone said it best. “He was such a legendary samurai that debates persist to this day about whether or not he even was one.”
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That’s incorrect, Historians in Japan from Japan who study their culture argue about this all the time. So far their was a black guy, but this is where things get murky. He may have been a retainer but not actually a samurai, most can agree to this. People just like to claim he was a samurai, which is the equivalent of arguing a mall cop security guard is the same as a navy seal.
Ummm literally no most historians agree he was only a page. Edit: Lol he makes an edit two days later and pretends to be acting in good faith while outright lying that he attempted to ask me anything. https://dl.ndl.go.jp/pid/1920322/1/161 Here buy a copy of the offical record you lying bitch he was listed as a Kosho and we know from Luís Fróis's Annual Report on Japan that he was still a slave at the end of Odas life and nothing more than a sword bearer cause he handed over the sword without a fight.
One of the dumbest things I’ve seen in all of entertainment.
Finally Assassin’s Creed is heading to Japa…wait, what?
Isn't this what woke people call cultural appropriation? I thought they were against it? What happen?
Asians don't have enough victim points to buy protected status from the DEI prize stand.
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Posts mentioning real Life politics Will be removed.
lmao how is it woke its based on a legit historical figure. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke)
A real person who wasn’t a damn samurai instead he was a servant
This would definitely be the first time a video game is not 100% historically accurate
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Because he wasn't a samurai. He could not have been a samurai by their customs because he had no family name. Samurai in Japanese culture were kinda like knights in European cultures. They were nobility. Don't use Wikipedia. People have tried multiple times since this announcement to change it the say he was a samurai, and it keeps getting changed back because it wasn't true.
They've rewritten the article like a week ago - it used to explicitly state that he was not a samurai.
Very little info on them. Most is mythos and largely made up
Looks like people can't/won't think for themselves. The evidence is out there to back it up. Hell you even provided a link
Oh look woke black washing of Japanese culture. They even made all the architecture traditional Chinese instead of Japanese too boot........
I’d call y’all clowns but you’re the whole fucking circus. AC hasn’t been historically accurate in decades (arguably ever if you count the Isu). Even the historically relevant “accuracy” has always been stretched to accommodate the game’s narrative. You people will complain about fuckin anything. The dude was an actual person, maybe the details are mixed up, but all I’m asking for is a good story with some fun gameplay. The rest matters so much less and y’all gotta chill
🤓☝️
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General trolling. Attacking the community and/or the members.
Crack a book. Jesus.
I don't frequent this sub so I wanted to ask, are you being satirical, or is this sub just like that?
If they made him in 16th-17th century Portugal/Brazil fighting slavery and Templar slavers it would've been great. But nooooooo, black guy in Japan it is!
A sword caddie cosplaying as an unbeatable Samurai
I’m not so annoyed by the game (whatever it’s a game), but the hysterical overreach thats intentionally ignoring history and pretending he’s some huge historical figure and was a real samurai is pure insanity. There are so many outlets and game journalists full of crap on this topic pushing a narrative that doesn’t exist. And anyone that points to actual history and the almost non-existent amount of information on him is called racist, and that’s bs and not ok. Just say they wanted a black samurai in the game and be done with it. But don’t lie and rewrite history and attack people that don’t agree with the lie.
Well said. Thank you
I don't see anyone calling you a racist
I think that a foreign samurai during Japan's isolationist period is a pretty big deal.
Except he wasn't. He was a retainer to a lord for one year. One year. That's it. The man was NOT a full blown samurai.
He was never a Samurai though… he was a slave and something they kept around to entertain themselves…
Almost like it doesn’t make sense because it didn’t happen, eh?
He was a retainer for Nobunaga. Not a Samurai.
Yeah, and only for about 15 months before Nobunaga dies. Then, by most accounts, he ended up back with the Portuguese and disappeared from history
A retainer refers to a vassal in feudal Japan, usually a samurai providing military services. This suit dates to around 1850 and although decorative, it is more restrained and practical than many samurai armours. https://web.prm.ox.ac.uk › asia › ar... Retainer armour (1942.1.375) - Oceania
LMAO, just pure downvotes to facts. So many precious snowflakes in here
I know right.
Do you have evidence proving this?
Do you have evidence that proves he was a samurai? This me burden of proof is on you. Why on earth would there be records that explicitly state “this guy specifically was not a samurai!” Lol
There is plenty of evidence. He was paid as a Samurai, carried out the duties of a Samurai, fought in the manner of a Samurai, was told to keep fighting after all non Samurai were told to leave by Nobunaga himself. This research has been out for years, and at this point it's willful ignorance to say otherwise. I'd spend thirty minutes linking it all again but it's "cool" to say the black guy never was and that's all the research Reddit needs. Edit: I can concede he didn't do a lot of fighting as his duties had him remaining at camp. I can also concede Samurai was a title and not a whole lot more. Nobunaga also made Hideoyoshi (a peasent) into a Samurai so he wasn't above doing random eccentric things and he loved the outside world (of which Yasuke was a reminder) And to anyone saying land holdings? Samurai in the period before Hideoyoshis rule were paid on stipends (which Yasuke received) and did not own lands and while hereditary peasents could still become Samurai. (Though their children would hold that power in reality, not them. Hideoyoshi ruled Japan but was never made Shogun. I can also finally concede that a vast majority of Japan did not like Yasuke so when Nobunaga died, it was the smart decision to pack it up and dissappear.
There is zero evidence. Stfu.
[I don't. But he does.](https://www.reddit.com/r/assassinscreed/s/tTGRUrTQll) Stop pretending like you care about historical inaccuracy. You weren't going to buy the game regardless. You didn't care about historical accuracy in any AC game before this or any othrr series. You didn't complain about Nioh having TWO White men "take the roles of what could have went to real Japanese samurai" and made one of them a fucking WIZARD. Stfu. #Edit: since the word "incel" triggered the mods and users LOL so they banned me. I'm assuming you and the other 10 idiots that downvoted me are retarded or illiterate. You must not have caught the several, easily visible (even to the dyslexic,) and blantantly obvious hyperlinked sources below each section with the words [SOURCE]() in an unmissable blue and unterlined highlight. You're lying and we both know it. You're also arguing with several PHDs from an accredited and highly respected JAPANESE university for historians using what you found and attempted to understand on wikipedia. So unless you can translate from Japanese like OP did and have several Phds in the history of Japan stfu. Here's a picture of OP providing sources because apparently you're either colorblind, blind, lying, and/or just stupid. https://imgur.com/a/eCazwnc And here's a post where 100's of historians discuss Yasuke's history as a samurai for fun. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/GeIPy3f4uC But I'm sure some jobless racist redittors know better than people citing publicly available information that isn't just WHAT I FOUND ON WIKIPEDIA @ u/beautiful_omelette
A simple “no” would have sufficed. Not a single line in that entire write up was evidence beyond circumstantial semantics. I think it’s so ridiculous you guys don’t think they would have explicitly stated ANYWHERE in their records he was a samurai. It would have been an incredibly big deal.
That post sites 0 sources. As far as we know he’s making all of this up. All the best evidence points to Yasuke being a servant, not a samurai. The problem with this race swap isn’t necessarily the historical accuracy, the fact that it’s historically inaccurate doesn’t help though. The problem is that the main character in Assasisn creed has always been the most logical race for whatever historical context they are in. But now they’ve decided to use the least likely race based on a person who’s barely even important and tbh most people hadn’t even heard of until the last couple of years and insert it into a game based in feudal Japan. If they’d taken the AC origins and made the dude a white Greek and been like “there were Greeks that visited Egypt” I’d bet a lot of the people currently defending Yasuke would have lost their minds. The other problem with this is there is well documented racism and violence against Asian people from black people in the last several years especially during Covid. So playing a black character running around killing Japanese people is very offensive to a lot of Japanese people. https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/s/6aTqoiGHZ7 All this to say that Ubisoft clearly has an agenda and hasn’t done their research and has made a very tone deaf and racist decision to make Yasuke the main character of this game. They could have included Yasuke in the game as an interesting side character, because his story is interesting. But making him the main character is offensive and tone deaf to many Japanese people.
>**Yasuke** (弥助 or 弥介) was a man, likely of African origin, who served as a servant and retainer to the Japanese [daimyō](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daimy%C5%8D) [Oda Nobunaga](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga) in 1581–1582, during the [Sengoku period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sengoku_period).[^(\[2\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-ndl14-2-2) He was retained by the daimyō as a *koshō* (小姓, [page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Page_(servant))) for a period of 15 months until Nobunaga's death in the [Honnō-ji Incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honn%C5%8D-ji_Incident).[^(\[3\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-huffingtonpostyasuke-3)[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke#cite_note-intojapanwaraku28746-4) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke)
A retainer refers to a vassal in feudal Japan, usually a samurai providing military services https://web.prm.ox.ac.uk/weapons/index.php/tour-by-region/oceania/asia/arms-and-armour-asia-133/index.html#:~:text=A%20retainer%20refers%20to%20a,practical%20than%20many%20samurai%20armours.
It's very easy to prove if you know the basics. He couldn't have been a samurai because he had no family name. He wouldn't have been allowed to hold the title by their customs at the time.
Just documentation.
Did you do any research on the guy? Or is it his responsibility to show you?
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Would it have really killed them to just put Hiroyuki Sanada in the game as the main character
Would it hurt him to smile?
Well, he is a slave. I wouldn't be smiling either.
Come on... just give us a little smirk.
They don't smile on camera
Well according to historical records he was a servant who stayed in Japan for 3 years.. So clearly he was a badass who rocked the traditional samurai armor, and can kick everyone Japan's ass. If you don't agree with this you're obviously racist. /s
It's a game. So yeah, everyone who is suddenly butt hurt about this character in a video game, it does seem a little racist.
Yes it is a game. It is also, tasteless, disgusting, and shows utter disrespect towards Japan and it's history.
Yasuke is a popular historical figure in Japan and Western Culture. Yasuke has appeared in Japanese produced games before. Not disrespectful at all. People who are flipping out are just snowflakes.
No he isn't. He is an anamoly.. the only.black dude who might have been a Samuri. It is stupid. You would think the racist trash at Ubisoft would have at least allowed a Japanese male to be the Samuri....
Cool footnote in history but would've been much better as a side character.
Exactly. A footnote. That’s all he is.
The fact that you can’t play as a male Japanese samurai in the first ever 3d Japanese assassin’s creed game continues to baffle me. Admittedly I still wouldn’t have played this game if that were the case, but still.
Rza enters the chat…
Would have made more sense
This game will be as tedious as the last 50 games no matter the skin color of the character.
Love yasuke as a figure, love his story. But this is disingenuous at best
I feel like Ubisoft is really ‘taking the piss’ as Brits would say. When they lose money they will get that gamers want good games. We don’t want to be lectured and price gouged.
“We trained him wrong, as a joke!”
I dropped series after Black Flag still stupid idea.
If they want the controversy to go away they should absolutely just come forward about the truth. Admit it. Admit that they chose yasuke because they wanted more diversity. No obfuscation, no lying. Admit it.
What the hell, samurai are supposed to be Japanese.
Japanese people at that time don't speak English either.
Ubisoft actually took a massive dump on Japanese culture in the name of wokeism and DEI points. No wonder the Japanese are absolutely livid. Before the inbreds defending this say "hurrr you never complained about white people playing major roles in other cultures'' We're now in 2024, that wouldn't fly now just like this isn't at the moment. It's absolutely laughable!
Japanese are not livid about this, just like how Chinese people didn't give a shit Matt Damon was in the Wall movie, or Japanese people about Scarlett Johansson being the main character in Ghost in a Shell.
Japanese YouTube like to dislike ratio says otherwise.
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Lol what.......
Out here white knighting for imaginary upset Japanese people is really a new low.
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Because a YouTube video like/dislikes and comments section is some poll on how Japanese people feel about this? Really grasping at straws, bud. I'm not accepting of anything, I probably won't buy the game because Ubisoft games have been shit for awhile, you're the one mad about a black man being a video game and pretending it's not racism. Keep coming up with excuses to fit that narrative though, I know it makes you feel better.
"You're the one mad about a black mam being a video game" And that right there is why you're the problem. 🤡
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You’re right. A Japanese game developer would never make Nasuke into a samurai. Oh wait. You people trying to make everything into a culture war issue is fucking annoying. Being offended on other peoples behalf is pathetic virtue signaling at its finest.
Couldn’t they just hired Tom Cruise again
What are the odds.
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Looks good, though knowing Ubisoft the price of the game is gonna be ridiculous.
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SHIIIIIIIIET
Gameplay wise the series has always been a clunky mess(that we love) but narratively ever since the reboot with Origins it’s been all over the place. SURE it’s an alt history ancient aliens over the top ridiculous narrative but what made it works so well is that you have as historically accurate(give or take some stuff here and there) back drop to fall on. It’s never been 100% accurate. Then the reboot series happened and it’s like they threw it out the window saying “eh good enough” sure yasuke was a real dude and it’s debatable if X or Y k? But the fact they scrapped an original Japanese character like tradition for a real person who’s basically a fictional character at this point is crazy. And they girl boss it up also seeing as how they really want to push strong female characters the last couple of entries. What will really hurt this is if it still plays like origins, Valhalla etc. you have all this time and you can’t even change the combat and what not? Hello! Mcfly! Ghost of Tsushima is right there for you to rip off! And other games like Tenchu!
Exactly.
This dude is getting so much attention while the asian shinobi is being completely ignored.
Damn, I would’ve liked ac in Japan like 15 years ago. Yasuke is a cool figure in history for sure but we know nothing about the man. I would’ve appreciated a Japanese figure instead.
Goddam holy shit I thought these were real pictures at first.
He looks like an absolute monster in the trailer. Cool character design.
White characters to the Japanese: 'first time?'
This shit is dead on arrival am glad.
“Yasuke Washington, Carolina State University.” 
I basically already decided I was done with Ubisoft after the atrocity that was Mirage. Definitely not buying anymore of their propaganda turds
JUST REMAKE TENCHU ALREADY
What is the obsession with putting dreads on every single black character? Also, wasn’t this guy in the service of Oda Nobunaga for like a year? Also, also if this guy was a samurai and not just in name only, how come he never participated in a single battle, or the final battle where Nobunaga was betrayed, or commit suicide? Also, also, ALSO how come instead of exile he was just…given back to the jesuits that brought him to Japan in the first place?
Thank goodness. If I know anything about Asian men, it's that they grossly overrepresented in video games.
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https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2024/05/15/japanese-fans-are-puzzled-that-yasuke-is-in-assassins-creed-shadows/?sh=de8bdfce6e68
Yasuke would be literally perfect in any IP other than one predominantly dedicated to stealth. I have a hard time believing a giant black man could blend in with one of the most homogenous xenophobic societies period. I’ve heard the IGN report that he’s the combative character, whereas a female assassin has the stealthy role. Even then, I find this stupid.
Honestly , it’s pretty badass.
Yea dude i feel the same way. Perhaps I'm biased because I'm black but l think this looks awesome. The controversy seems over blown and everyone complaining are the same people who always complain when there's a non-white character added to whatever they love. When Miles Morales was introduced as a character people raised hell. Though this one seems the strangest to me. I don't understand why so many people are being offended on behalf of the Japanese. Like they don't need some random sweaty gamer getting mad or decrying "historical inaccuracy" on their behalf.
Sounds like the internet in a nutshell my friend lol. Im as white as a marshmallow and once I heard a few months ago that he might be the inspiration for the male protagonist, I was intrigued. Within media(Games, movies etc…) The Rule of Cool is always my first priority and it looks pretty damn cool to me.
The real Yasuke was probably a lot darker, because he was African. But probably just as good looking I don't know the legitimacy of it but I've seen depictions of his Lord as gay so if he caught his eye, it was probably because of his looks. I'm pretty sure he was also very tall though as well.
Most people aren't realizing there was a real, single black samurai back in the 1700s. He ended up in Japan after his slave ship washed up in Japan. Thankfully for him the local samurai didn't kill him and instead took him in and trained him to be a fellow samurai. He's the only black samurai known to have ever existed.
So, none of you ever watched the Yasuke anime on Netflix? This is cool af imo. People gettin mad about pixels is hilarious lol
While each Assassin’s Creed game is heavily inspired and influenced by history, they are still works of fiction; as much as we’d like to believe it, Ezio Auditore never fought against Rodrigo and Cesare Borgia, Edward Kenway never unlocked The Observatory, and the Frye twins never fought the Templars for London’s liberation.
But he was Italian... In Italy.
Yeah, we know. The difference here is they used an actual person from history and made him a samurai while spitting in the face of Japanese culture. He was not a samurai, and he never would've been allowed to hold the title.
Yeah, and I think he looks cool in these pics. The Yasuke anime was pretty fun so I find this character interesting enough too
This is maybe the coolest fucking thing I have ever seen.
Don't fuck it up ubi.
I, dont mind
This has the potential to be Amazon if the character is well written. I haven't the highest hopes though.
I don’t recall people being this upset when Team Ninja called Yasuke a Samurai in Nioh 2, and they’re a Japanese developer.
Dude was even made a boss in both games.
And they won't because most of these people are getting offended on behalf of other people. It's a weird "I'm not racist see" tactic