Yasuke the first foreign samurai with his katana

Yasuke (弥助 or 弥介) was a man of African origin who came to Japan in the Sengoku period and became a retainer in the household of Oda Nobunaga.

He was employed by the Japanese Sengoku daimyō Oda Nobunaga and served as a koshō. He was neither a menial nor an indentured servant, but a retainer who was given a stipend by Nobunaga.