Yasuke: Way of the Butterfly Comic
ComicCon Capetown April 27-May 4, 2024

Yasuke: Way of the Butterfly Vol 1 Comic Drop
ComicCon Capetown April 27-May 1. 2024

The History

In the late 16th century a young warrior from East Africa, Yasuke (possibly Yusefe), arrived in Japan.  He became a trusted member and samurai in the inner circle of the Sengoku Period warlord
Oda Nobunaga (1534 – 1582).

The existing narrative that Yasuke was a “slave” is one Deborah DeSnoo and I challenge in the production of our docu-drama. The traditions of African warrior sword culture has seldom been explored in cinema. His story begins in Eastern Africa during the first century of the Portugese incursion to usurp the Afro-Asian Spice Trade. We examine a history that propels him as a warrior scholar, adept at war over two continents. Speculating that he was equal to any samurai when he arrived in Japan as a bodyguard of the Jesuit Visitor Valigniano. 

Documentation

It is clearly documented that he participated in the 1582 Battle of Tenmokuzan and the Honno-ji Incident, a decisive battle that lead to the unification of Japan.  He is also said to have manned a cannon at the Battle of Yamazakithe incident in which the betrayal of Nobunaga was avenged, and his dream of a unified Japan was realized.

Yasuke’s presence is also noted in the 1581 letters of the Jesuits Luis Frois and Lorenço Mexia.  Additionally, he appears in the 1582 Annual Report of the Jesuit Mission in Japan.

The “Lord Nobunaga Chronicle” (Shinchōkōki) has a description of Yasuke’s first meeting with Nobunaga. The compiled chronicle consists of 16 volumes and is considered “mostly factual” and “reliable”.

A June, 2013 investigative report by Mariko Miyaji (Mariko Miyachi) for the Japanese program Discovery of the World’s Mysteries  yielded information that bolstered the legend and Yasuke and confirmed the depth of trust and friendship between he and Nobunaga.

Ongoing  research into the world of 16th century East Africa and the Spice Trade allows us to reconstruct his past. New data will illuminate the background and preparation  propelling this young warrior into the inner circle Japan’s greatest warlord.

Our research has been extensive this past 5 years with assistance in Zanzibar, Mozambique, South Africa and Japan. We need your help to make this film.

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The Filmmakers

Chicago-based producer Floyd Webb and Tokyo-based producer Deborah Ann DeSnoo (Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, 2004) have formed a partnership to re-capture the lost histories of global cross-cultural interaction in the 200 year old trade culture of East Africa, India, Asia and Japan, the 16th century encroachment of Jesuit missionaries and their imperial designs, and the forging of a unified Japanese nation.

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