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. Whether these individuals were members of the warrior class (bushi) is a subject of debate among some historians. While debate among some historians exist, the general historical consensus is that those individuals were most likely members of the warrior class (bushi) and thus, were samurai.
List Birthplace Original name Original occupation Year ofarrival Japanese name Lord Stipend, title, and misc. notes Portuguese Mozambique?(now )unknownServant of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano1579YasukeOda NobunagaServed as Weapon-bearer and bodyguard. He fought during the Honnō-ji incident. He accompanied Nobunaga during the inspection tour of the recently conquered Koshu. Hanseong, Joseon(now )Kim Yeo-cheol()Son of Kim Si-seong (), civil officer of Joseon1592Wakita NaokataMaeda Toshinaga→Maeda Toshitsune→Maeda Mitsutaka→Maeda TsunanoriHe received a stipend of 240 koku later increased to 1,000 koku. Received the Head of Pages title. Commissioner of Kanazawa city. He served in the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka. JoseonunknownSon of Jeung Cheong-gwan (), commanding officer of Joseon1598Soga SeikanNakagawa HidenariHe received a stipend of 150 koku. Page of Hidenari. JoseonYi Seong-hyeon()Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon1598Rinoie MotohiroMōri Terumoto→Mōri Hidenari100 koku. Adviser of the Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received the menkyo of the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. Delft, Dutch RepublicJan Joosten van LodensteijnMate of the De Liefde, a Dutch ship1600YayōsuTokugawa Ieyasu→Tokugawa HidetadaHe was given a stipend of 100 koku. He was given the rank of and 50 servants.Corr, William. Adams the Pilot: The Life and Times of Captain William Adams. London: Routledge. 1995: p. 158. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships. Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of EnglandWilliam AdamsPilot of the De Liefde, a Dutch ship1600Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura)Tokugawa Ieyasu→Tokugawa Hidetada250 koku.『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 He was granted the rank of , a fief and 80-90 servants. Interpreter and shipwright of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Adams was the model for the character John Blackthorne in James Clavell's novel Shōgun (1975). JoseonunknownunknownunknownYagyū ShumeYagyū Munenori→Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→Yagyū MunefuyuRetainer of the Yagyū clan. 200 koku? He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.Henan, Ming dynasty(now )Lan Huirong()The member of the inner circle of the Ming dynastyAfter 1624Kawaminami Genbei (First)Shimazu Iehisa300 koku. He was a political refugee from the Ming, and the Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of the Satsuma domain. He was given the right to bear swords.
Gallery
See also List of Westerners who visited Japan before 1868 French military mission to Japan (1867–1868) Denrinbō Raikei, a Chinese-born ninja Eugène Collache Henry Schnell The Last Samurai
References