Ubisoft has officially revealed Assassin’s Creed Shadows on May 15 and similar to 2015 Assassin’s Creed Syndicate before it, it will feature not one, but two playable characters. One is an original character named Naoe, a ninja who carries the Hidden Blade weapon synonymous with Assassin’s Creed series. The other is Yasuke, a samurai who is based on a historical figure of the same name. Assassin’s Creed tends to play with historical events and fit his own version of them into the overarching story of the series, so Yasuke’s story will likely play out differently when Shadows launched on November 15. But you might be wondering who this person is and exactly how Assassin’s Creed can write him into his alternate history. Let’s review what we know.
Yasuke lived in Japan in the 16th century and is believed to be the first African to appear in Japan’s historical records. His story has been adapted into books, manga and even Netflix anime with an alternate history Starring Sorry to bother you and Out of the knives actor Lakeith Stanfield. Fictional versions of Yasuke also appear in video games such as Nioh and on Samurai warriors franchise.
While some of the specifics of Yasuke’s life are contested by historians, the generally accepted story is that he arrived in Japan as a bodyguard for the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano in 1579 before going on to serve the Japanese feudal lord Oda Nobunaga. The nature of his office is a matter of debate for those who have studied Yasuke, p some claim he was a slave. Thomas Lockley, co-author of African Samurai: The True Story of Yasuke, a Legendary Black Warrior in Feudal Japansaid time that he suggests that Yasuke was a “free actor” who was probably enslaved as a child and taken from Africa, but that he was probably freed by the time he met Valignano and was a working mercenary.
Ubisoft’s marketing describes Yasuke as a samurai, but it’s unclear how holistic that label is in the Shadows‘ take historical fiction. While the version of Yasuke seen in Shadows clearly wears the armor and wields the Japanese swords commonly associated with samurai, the samurai moniker encompasses both occupation and social caste which became more codified in the 1600s after Yasuke’s last known record. According to Lockley, the concept of samurai was liquid in Yasuke’s time, and if you take up arms in the service of a lord, you may take the name. So right now we don’t know how much Ubisoft is playing with the story with Yasuke’s samurai status.
Yasuke served Nobunaga from 1581 to 1582 and his service ended after Nobunaga was betrayed by his general Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga committed seppuku, a ritual suicide seen as a way to preserve one’s honor in defeat. Lockley describes it as his “last victory” and says that Yasuke will go on to join Oda Nabutada, Nobunaga’s son, who also fights Akechi’s men the next day and commits seppuku. Lockley says the last known record of Yasuke is of him being escorted to a Jesuit mission house by Akechi’s troops.
According to Shadows” associate story director Brooke Davis, the team takes what is known about Yasuke and fills in the blanks with their own story. Davis describes the team’s version of Yasuke as a “thoughtful, level-headed guy” compared to Naoe, who is more passionate and fiery. The two should contrast in both personality and playstyle, as Naoe will focus on stealth as a ninja, while Yasuke will be a more action-oriented fighter using samurai skills.
Yasuke differs from the previous one Assassin’s Creed main characters, as he is the first character to be based on a specific historical figure. More than Assassin’s CreedThe characters of were original characters who sought to remain invisible and push history out of the shadows, thus providing a clear explanation for why there is little historical record of them. They still maintain this Shadows, of course, since Naoe is an original character in the Assassin faction. But Yasuke’s famous story is another wrinkle in the series’ history that will be interesting to watch when Shadows coming to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 15th.
