The African Samurai

A historical novel based on real events about Yasuke, the first foreign-born samurai in the history of Japan.

In 1579, a Portuguese merchant ship arrives off the shores of Japan carrying Alessandro Valignano, an Italian Jesuit missionary, and at his side, his bodyguard: a tall East African man who was sold into slavery as a child, young yet already a seasoned warrior. Circumstances bring this bodyguard to Japan’s most famous warlord, Oda Nobunaga, who is determined to unite a country torn apart by a century of endless war. Valignano “gives” his bodyguard to Nobunaga, and for perhaps the first time, the man truly realizes that to those around him he is seen not so much as a person, but as a bargaining chip in someone else’s game. Yet the former slave swears loyalty to the legendary warlord, who, impressed by his devotion and skill, makes him a samurai.
Not all Japanese nobles welcome the rise of the outsider Yasuke to such a high rank, and from that moment on, everything depends on his ability to protect his lord — both from external enemies and military threats, and from the intrigues within the court itself. The story spans Africa, India, Portugal, and Japan, masterfully weaving the hero’s life across four continents into one gripping narrative.