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List of foreign-born samurai in Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan—meaning here the Japanese archipelago. During the Edo period (1603–1868), some foreigners in Japan were granted privileges associated with samurai, including fiefs or stipends and the right to carry two swords. Even earlier, during the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600), certain foreigners received similar benefits. However, whether these individuals should be considered as members of the warrior class (bushi) remains a subject of debate among historians.[1]

The word samurai has had a variety of meanings historically, and could vary from region to region. Here it is taken to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility".[2]

Prominent examples

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Before the Edo period, an African man, possibly from Portuguese Mozambique, became notable for his service to a Japanese daimyo. Yasuke (弥助) arrived in Japan in 1579 in the service of the head of the Jesuit mission and attracted attention in Kyoto for his unusual appearance, which led Oda Nobunaga to take him into service as his weapon bearer. Nobunaga elevated him to samurai status, granting him a sword, a house, and a stipend.[3] Yasuke fought in the Honnō-ji incident (1582), when Nobunaga was betrayed and attacked by his vassal Akechi Mitsuhide. Being a foreigner, Yasuke was spared from execution and released by Mitsuhide.[1][4]

After Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) many people born in the Joseon dynasty were brought to Japan as prisoners or cooperators. Some of them served daimyōs as retainers. One of the most prominent figures among them was Gim Yeocheol, who was given the Japanese name Wakita Naokata and served as Commissioner of Kanazawa city.

The English sailor and adventurer William Adams (1564–1620) was among the first Westerners to receive the dignity of samurai. The shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu presented him with two swords representing the authority of a samurai, and decreed that William Adams the sailor was dead and that Anjin Miura (三浦按針), a samurai, was born. Adams also received the title of hatamoto (bannerman), a high-prestige position as a direct retainer in the shōgun's court. He was provided with generous revenues: "For the services that I have done and do daily, being employed in the Emperor's service, the Emperor has given me a living". (Letters)[who?] He was granted a fief in Hemi (逸見) within the boundaries of present-day Yokosuka City, "with eighty or ninety husbandmen, that be my servants". (Letters)[who?] His estate was valued at 250 koku. He finally wrote "God hath provided for me after my great misery", (Letters)[who?] by which he meant the disaster-ridden voyage that initially brought him to Japan.

Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn, a Dutch colleague of Adams on their ill-fated voyage to Japan in the ship De Liefde, was also given similar privileges by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Joosten likewise became a hatamoto samurai[5] and was given a residence within Ieyasu's castle at Edo. Today, this area at the east exit of Tokyo Station is known as Yaesu (八重洲). Yaesu is a corruption of the Dutchman's Japanese name, Yayousu (耶楊子). Joosten was given a Red Seal Ship (朱印船) allowing him to trade between Japan and Indo-China. On a return journey from Batavia, Joosten drowned after his ship ran aground.

Full list

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Birthplace Original name Occupation before arrival in Japan Year of arrival in Japan Name in Japan Lord Occupation and achievements in Japan
Portuguese Mozambique?[6]
(now  Mozambique) 		unknown Servant of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano[7] 1579[7] Yasuke
弥助 		Oda Nobunaga He was given a salary by Nobunaga. He served in the Honnō-ji incident.[8]He participated in the inspection tour of Koshu following its conquest.[9]
Hanseong, Joseon[10]
(now  South Korea) 		Kim Yeo-cheol
(Kanji: 金如鐵)[11] 		Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon[11] 1592[10] Wakita Naokata
脇田直賢[10] 		Maeda Toshinaga→
Maeda Toshitsune[10]→
Maeda Mitsutaka→
Maeda Tsunanori 		240 koku later increased to 1,000 koku. On-Koshōgashira (Head of pages). Kanazawa machi-bugyō (Commissioner of Kanazawa city). He served in the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka.[10]
Joseon[12] unknown[12] Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon[12] 1598[12] Soga Seikan
曾我清官[12] 		Nakagawa Hidenari[12] 150 koku. Page of Hidenari.[12]
Joseon[13] (Kanji:李聖賢)[13] Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon[13] 1598[13] Rinoie Motohiro
李家元宥[13] 		Mōri Terumoto→
Mōri Hidenari[13] 		100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[13]
Delft, Spanish Netherlands Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship[14] 1600[14] Yayōsu
耶楊子 		Tokugawa Ieyasu→
Tokugawa Hidetada 		100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants.[14][15] Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships.
Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England William Adams Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship[16] 1600[16] Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura)
三浦按針 		Tokugawa Ieyasu→
Tokugawa Hidetada 		250 koku.[14][17] He was granted the rank of Hatamoto, a fief and 80-90 servants. Interpreter and shipwright of Tokugawa Shogunate. (Adams was the model for the character John Blackthorne in James Clavell's novel Shōgun (1975).)
Joseon[18][19] unknown unknown unknown Yagyū Shume
柳生主馬[18] 		Yagyū Munenori[18]→
Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→
Yagyū Munefuyu 		Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku?[19] He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.[13]
Henan, Ming Dynasty
(now  China)[20][21] 		(Kanji:藍會榮)[21] The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty[21] After 1624[21] Kawaminami Genbei (First)
河南源兵衛[21] 		Shimazu Iehisa[21] 300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords.[21]
Kingdom of Prussia Henry Schnell[22] Soldier and arms dealer 1860s Hiramatsu Buhei
平松武兵衛 		Matsudaira Katamori Served the Aizu domain as a military instructor and procurer of weapons. Given the right to wear swords, a mansion in the castle town of Wakamatsu and retainers.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Vaporis, Constantine Nomikos (2019). Samurai. An Encyclopedia of Japan's Cultured Warriors. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-4408-4270-2.
  2. ^ Vaporis, Constantine Nomikos (14 March 2019). Samurai: An Encyclopedia of Japan's Cultured Warriors. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781440842702.
  3. ^ Lockley, Thomas (16 July 2024). "Yasuke". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 25 September 2024. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  4. ^ Lockley, Thomas (16 July 2024). "Yasuke". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  5. ^ "William Adams and Early English Enterprise in Japan" (PDF). Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines (part of the London School of Economics and Political Science). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  6. ^ "Yasuke: le premier samouraï étranger était africain". Rfi.fr. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020.
  7. ^ a b Hollingworth, William (15 June 2019). "'African Samurai': The story of Yasuke — black samurai and warlord's confidant". The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  8. ^ 村上直次郎; 柳谷武夫（訳） (2002), イエズス会日本年報 上, 新異国叢書, 雄松堂出版, ISBN 978-4-8419-1000-1
  9. ^ "松平家忠、「家忠日記」、文科大学史誌叢書第2巻、吉川半七、1897年、54頁". Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d e "笠井純一、「家伝 金（脇田）如鉄自伝[翻刻解説]」、金沢大学教養部論集. 人文科学篇、1990年、一頁" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  11. ^ a b "笠井純一、「家伝 金（脇田）如鉄自伝[翻刻解説]」、金沢大学教養部論集. 人文科学篇、1990年、7頁" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g 内藤 雋輔 (1976), 文禄・慶長役における被虜人の研究, 東京大学出版会, 723-724頁
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h 毛利 吉元; 山口県文書館 (1987). 萩藩閥閲録第四巻. 山口県文書館. pp. 143–142.
  14. ^ a b c d 良和, 森 (2014). "メルヒオール・ファン・サントフォールト" (PDF). 玉川大学学術リポジトリ. p. 81. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  15. ^ Corr, Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. Pp.158
  16. ^ a b 良和, 森 (2014). "メルヒオール・ファン・サントフォールト" (PDF). 玉川大学学術リポジトリ. p. 82. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  17. ^ 『家康の家臣団: 天下を取った戦国最強軍団』、山下昌也、学研プラス、2011年
  18. ^ a b c 今村 嘉雄 (1967), 史料柳生新陰流 上巻, 人物往来社,65頁
  19. ^ a b 根岸 鎮衛, 耳嚢 巻一
  20. ^ "阿久根市観光サイト アクネ うまいね 自然だネ 阿久根市の魅力". Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g 高向 嘉昭. "近世薩摩における豪商の活躍とその没落について" (PDF). Retrieved 16 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Asahi.com（朝日新聞社）：維新期の会津・庄内藩、外交に活路 ドイツの文書館で確認 - 文化トピックス - 文化". www.asahi.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2011.
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