List of foreign-born samurai in Japan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Henry Schnell with his swords
Eugène Collache depicted in samurai attire.

This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan.

Definition[edit]

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[edit]

Gyokusen-en, Japanese garden made by Korean samurai Wakita Naokata and his descendants.
Birthplace Original name Occupation before arrival in Japan Year of arrival in Japan Name in Japan Lord Occupation and achievements in Japan
Hanseong, Joseon[4]
(now  South Korea) 		Kim Yeo-cheol
(Kanji: 金如鐵)[5] 		Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon[5] 1592[4] Wakita Naokata
脇田直賢[4] 		Maeda Toshinaga→
Maeda Toshitsune[4]→
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.[4]
Joseon[6] unknown[6] Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon[6] 1598[6] Soga Seikan
曾我清官[6] 		Nakagawa Hidenari[6] 150 koku. Page of Hidenari.[6]
Joseon[7] (Kanji:李聖賢)[7] Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon[7] 1598[7] Rinoie Motohiro
李家元宥[7] 		Mōri Terumoto→
Mōri Hidenari[7] 		100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.[7]
Delft, Spanish Netherlands Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship[8] 1600[9] Yayōsu
耶楊子 		Tokugawa Ieyasu→
Tokugawa Hidetada 		100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants.[8][10] Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships.
Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England William Adams Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship[8] 1600[9] Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura)
三浦按針 		Tokugawa Ieyasu→
Tokugawa Hidetada 		250 koku.[8][11] 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[12][13] unknown unknown unknown Yagyū Shume
柳生主馬[12] 		Yagyū Munenori[12]→
Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→
Yagyū Munefuyu 		Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku?[13] He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.[7]
Henan, Ming Dynasty
(now  China)[14][15] 		(Kanji:藍會榮)[15] The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty[15] After 1624[15] Kawaminami Genbei (First)
河南源兵衛[15] 		Shimazu Iehisa[15] 300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords.[15]
Chiusa Sclafani, Kingdom of Sicily (now  Italy) Giuseppe Chiara[16] Jesuit missionary 27 June 1643 Okamoto San'emon
岡本三右衛門 		Tokugawa Iemitsu→
Tokugawa Ietsuna 		He was given 10 servants and lived in Japan advising the Shogunate on European affairs until his death in 1685. Was one of the inspirations for Martin Scorsese's Silence.
Kingdom of Prussia Henry Schnell[17] 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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "コトバンク「侍」". Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  2. ^ "コトバンク「小姓（こしょう）」". Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  3. ^ "コトバンク「扶持米（ぶちまい）」". Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ a b c d "森良和、「メルヒオール・ファン・サントフォールト」、2014年、82頁" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  9. ^ a b "森良和、「メルヒオール・ファン・サントフォールト」、2014年、81頁" (PDF). Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  10. ^ Corr, Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. Pp.158
  11. ^ 『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
  12. ^ a b c 今村 嘉雄 (1967), 史料柳生新陰流 上巻, 人物往来社,65頁
  13. ^ a b 根岸 鎮衛, 耳嚢 巻一
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "The Real Life of "Silence's" Character". 2 May 2017.
  17. ^ "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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