List of foreign-born samurai in Japan
This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan.
Definition
In this list, Japan means the Japanese Archipelago. The word samurai has had a variety of meanings historically; here it is taken to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility". This list includes the following people.
- Foreign soldiers and generals who served daimyō directly during the Sengoku period (1467–1615) and Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1600) before the unification of Japan by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. In this period, many emerging forces like Jizamurai call themselves samurai. Hideyoshi himself was born as a son of a peasant-ashigaru. The definition of samurai was obscure in those periods.
- The Tokugawa shogunate did not confiscate swords from farmers and townspeople, who could continue to wear daisho until 1683. Many would keep wearing wakizashi on a daily basis after then. After the middle of the 18th century, they were still worn during special events such as travel, weddings, and funerals. This lasted until the Meiji Restoration.
- Foreign-born people who served the Tokugawa shogun and were granted a status higher than Hatamoto.[1]
- In the Edo period (1603–1867), foreign-born people who served daimyō and granted a status higher than koshō (ja:小姓,[2] page).[1]
- In the Edo period, foreign-born people who served daimyō and were given salary of koku.
The following people are treated as "people who could be foreign-born samurai".
- "Foreign-born samurai" whose existence is uncertain.
- Foreign-born people who were given territory or rice as salary by lords, whose occupations were unclear.
This list excludes the following people.
- Samurai of foreign ancestry born in Japan.
- Foreign-born people who served samurai and allowed to wear two swords but was not given territory or salary of koku.[3] All men from samurai class were permitted to wear daishō. However, people from other social classes were sometimes allowed to wear swords. For example, Hijikata Toshizō, the famous swordsman and vice-commander of Shinsengumi was born as a son of a farmer. Even though he wore daishō and engaged in police activity, he couldn't gain the title of the official retainer of bakufu until 1867.
- Foreign-born people who served samurai in other occupations, for example Confucian or medical doctor.
- Foreign-born people who served samurai as oyatoi gaikokujin, not Japanese-style soldiers.
Foreign-born samurai
| Birthplace | Original name | Occupation before arrival in Japan | Year of arrival in Japan | Name in Japan | Lord | Occupation and achievements in Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Portuguese Mozambique?[4](now  Mozambique)
|
unknown | Servant of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano[5] | 1579[5] | Yasuke 弥助 |
Oda Nobunaga | He was given a salary by Nobunaga. He participated in the Conquest of Koshu.[6] He served in the Honnō-ji incident.[7] |
 Hanseong, Joseon[8](now  South Korea)
|
Kim Yeo-cheol (Kanji: 金如鐵)[9] |
Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon[9] | 1592[8] | Wakita Naokata 脇田直賢[8] |
Maeda Toshinaga→ Maeda Toshitsune[8]→ 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.[8] |
| Joseon[10]
|
unknown[10] | Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon[10] | 1598[10] | Soga Seikan 曾我清官[10] |
Nakagawa Hidenari[10] | 150 koku. Page of Hidenari.[10] |
| Joseon[11]
|
(Kanji:李聖賢)[11] | Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon[11] | 1598[11] | Rinoie Motohiro 李家元宥[11] |
Mōri Terumoto→ Mōri Hidenari[11] |
100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[11] |
 Delft, Spanish Netherlands
|
Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn | Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship[12] | 1600 [12] | Yayōsu 耶楊子 |
Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada |
100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants.[12][13] Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships. |
 Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England
|
William Adams | Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship[14] | 1600[14] | Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura) 三浦按針 |
Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada |
250 koku.[12][15] 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[16][17]
|
unknown | unknown | unknown | Yagyū Shume 柳生主馬[16] |
Yagyū Munenori[16]→ Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→ Yagyū Munefuyu |
Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku?[17] He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.[11] |
 Henan, Ming Dynasty(now  China)[18][19]
|
(Kanji:藍會榮)[19] | The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty[19] | After 1624[19] | Kawaminami Genbei (First) 河南源兵衛[19] |
Shimazu Iehisa[19] | 300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords.[19] |
 Kingdom of Prussia
|
Henry Schnell[20] | 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. |
See also
References
- ^ Jump up to: a b "コトバンク「侍」". Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ "コトバンク「小姓（こしょう）」". Retrieved 2016-01-05.
- ^ "コトバンク「扶持米（ぶちまい）」". Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ "Yasuke: le premier samouraï étranger était africain". Rfi.fr. January 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Hollingworth, William (2019-06-15). "'African Samurai': The story of Yasuke — black samurai and warlord's confidant". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
- ^ 吉川半七 (1897). 松平家忠「家忠日記」『文科大学史誌叢書』第2巻. p. 54.
- ^ 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 978-4841910001
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
- ^ Jump up to: 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
- ^ Jump up to: 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.
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2015-08-04.
- ^ Corr, Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. Pp.158
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2015-08-04.
- ^ 『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
- ^ Jump up to: a b c 今村 嘉雄 (1967), 史料柳生新陰流 上巻, 人物往来社,65頁
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2018-08-16.
- ^ Jump up to: 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 2018-08-16.
- ^ "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 2011-08-05.
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