Mini-Episode 16: Yasuke (Patreon)

The lead character in our episode has been the subject of an anime series, historical fiction novels and movies that are being developed about his life. This is the tale of Yasuke, an African man, who became a Samurai in 16th century Japan, and even served under one of the principal figures in Japanese history, the infamous Oda Nobunaga. The story is as good as it gets, but sources are extremely thin, so in this episode I’ll thread carefully between what we historically know (very little) and the legend that has sprung from it.