Assassin’s Creed Shadows: How are Japanese users reacting to Yasuke? 

Following the announcement of Ubisoft’s Assasins’s Creed Shadows, there has been a lot of discussion surrounding Yasuke, one of the game’s main protagonists. Some overseas players are voicing dissatisfaction about the protagonist not being Japanese even though the game is set in Japan, and the matter has even escalated to racial issues and historical facts being debated, but what do Japanese people think about the matter?  

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set in 16^th century feudal Japan, in the turbulent Azuchi-Momoyama period that determined the course of Japanese history. The game will offer two playable protagonists – the female shinobi Naoe and the black samurai Yasuke. Yasuke is based on the real historical figure Yasuke, who is thought to have been of African descent and a vassal of Japanese historical superstar Oda Nobunaga. 

Following the reveal of Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ protagonists and discussion heating up overseas, the terms “Assassin’s Creed” and “political correctness” quickly started trending on Japanese X (formerly Twitter) too. However, a quick scan of relevant posts shows that discourse seems to be a lot more focused on the game’s narrative and entertainment value than issues of race and representation.  

Users comment that choosing Yasuke was a good way to naturally introduce a protagonist belonging to the Order of Assassins to the Japanese setting, as making the assassin Japanese would have felt unnatural story-wise. Another user highlights that with few historical records being available about Yasuke, he is good “material,” as adding to his story is unlikely to create contradictions. 

Japanese users also highlighted Yasuke’s fascinating background: “Yasuke was treated as a slave by the missionaries, but Nobunaga took him in as a vassal, gave him a residence, and even took him along on expeditions. The story is impressive enough to shut out the complaints about political correctness, and I hope the developers proceed with Yasuke as the protagonist.” Another user comments that with Yasuke’s tale sounding “too good to be true,” they understand why the creators would feel tempted to incorporate it into the game. 

On the other hand, some players did comment that a non-Japanese protagonist feels less authentic, as one user puts it, “I’m more for it than against it, but it does kind of give me the feeling of travelling to a foreign country only to eat a convenience store lunch. If I’m travelling somewhere, I want to eat something local. In the same way, if I’m playing a samurai and ninja game, I want to play as a Japanese person.” Another user comments that while they find Yasuke to be a fascinating choice, they would have preferred a Japanese protagonist since an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence (although, they also mention that the all-Japanese experience provided by Rise of the Ronin has warmed them up for a non-Japanese protagonist). 

Although opinions are varied, and perspectives presented here do not speak for all Japanese users, the overall tone of discourse surrounding Assasins’s Creed Shadows’s Yasuke appears to be more far more lighthearted on the Japanese side of X, as the below viral post demonstrates. 

＞欧米さん「アサクリの主人公が黒人侍だなんて日本人は怒ってるに違いない！！！」

日本人「うほー、弥助じゃん！カッコエー」 pic.twitter.com/wjylzAffhY

— 神奈いです (@kana_ides) May 16, 2024