This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan. 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.[citation needed] Whether these individuals were members of the warrior class (bushi) is a subject of debate among historians.[1]
List
| Birthplace | Original name | Occupation before arrival in Japan | Year of arrival in Japan | Name in Japan | Lord | Occupation and achievements in Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg){kind=small} Portuguese Mozambique?[2](now  Mozambique)
|
unknown | Servant of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano[3] | 1579[3] | Yasuke 弥助 |
Oda Nobunaga | He was given a stipend and a house by Oda Nobunaga. He fought at during the Honnō-ji incident.[4]He participated in the inspection tour of Koshu following its conquest.[5] |
 Hanseong, Joseon[6](now  South Korea)
|
Kim Yeo-cheol (Kanji: 金如鐵)[7] |
Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon[7] | 1592[6] | Wakita Naokata 脇田直賢[6] |
Maeda Toshinaga→ Maeda Toshitsune[6]→ 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.[6] |
| Joseon[8]
|
unknown[8] | Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon[8] | 1598[8] | Soga Seikan 曾我清官[8] |
Nakagawa Hidenari[8] | 150 koku. Page of Hidenari.[8] |
| Joseon[9]
|
(Kanji:李聖賢)[9] | Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon[9] | 1598[9] | Rinoie Motohiro 李家元宥[9] |
Mōri Terumoto→ Mōri Hidenari[9] |
100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[9] |
 Delft, Spanish Netherlands
|
Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn | Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship[10] | 1600[10] | Yayōsu 耶楊子 |
Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada |
100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants.[10][11] Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships. |
 Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England
|
William Adams | Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship[12] | 1600[12] | Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura) 三浦按針 |
Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada |
250 koku.[10][13] 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[14][15]
|
unknown | unknown | unknown | Yagyū Shume 柳生主馬[14] |
Yagyū Munenori[14]→ Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→ Yagyū Munefuyu |
Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku?[15] He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.[9] |
 Henan, Ming Dynasty(now  China)[16][17]
|
(Kanji:藍會榮)[17] | The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty[17] | After 1624[17] | Kawaminami Genbei (First) 河南源兵衛[17] |
Shimazu Iehisa[17] | 300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords.[17] |
.svg){kind=small} Kingdom of Prussia
|
Henry Schnell[18] | 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. |
Gallery
-
John Henry Schnell with his swords -
Eugène Collache depicted in samurai attire. -
Gyokusen-en, Japanese garden made by a Korean samurai Wakita Naokata and his descendants
See also
- French military mission to Japan (1867–68)
- Denrinbō Raikei, Chinese-born ninja
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Yasuke: le premier samouraï étranger était africain". Rfi.fr. 2 January 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Corr, Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. Pp.158
- ^ 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.
- ^ 『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
- ^ a b c 今村 嘉雄 (1967), 史料柳生新陰流 上巻, 人物往来社,65頁
- ^ a b 根岸 鎮衛, 耳嚢 巻一
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.