Yasuke is the earliest known African to appear in Japanese historical records. Yasuke served daimy? Oda Nobunaga between 1581 and 1582, during the Sengoku period. He arrived in Japan in the service of Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano. He was granted a sword, a house and a stipend. After his death, Yasuke was sent back to the Jesuits and there are no records of his life afterwards.