Yasuke was a real life African samurai during the Sengoku period, serving Oda Nobunaga from 1581-1582, until the latter's death.
Yasuke was an African slave brought by Jesuit priests to Japan, where he caught the interest of Nobunaga, who had never seen a black man before. He made Yasuke his retainer, making him the first known foreign born samurai.
Yasuke served from 1581 until 1582, when Nobunaga died after being betrayed by one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide. Yasuke fought with Oda's loyalist forces against the Akechi rebels before being captured and sent back to the Jesuits. At this point, he disappears from historical records, and his fate is unknown.
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