Tracing the Origins of a Mysterious Entry in Ietada Diary: Questionable Statements in Lockley’s Paper – Part 4
2024.11.06
In Part 1, I introduced a mysterious entry in Ietada Diary referenced in Lockley’s paper, suggesting that Matsudaira Ietada may have expressed some form of envy toward Yasuke. I believe I may have identified the original source behind this passage.
Lockley’s paper contains fragments similar to information found in both the English and Japanese Wikipedia pages for Yasuke, suggesting that Wikipedia might have influenced his research.
While I was able to find likely sources for the other two mysterious entries (① and ②), this third entry has remained elusive, leading to several sleepless nights.
If Lockley relied on earlier Wikipedia entries, it would explain why tracking down the original source was so difficult.
Interestingly, Wikipedia user Tottoritom—thought to be Lockley himself—revised the English Yasuke page on June 3, 2016, after Lockley’s paper was published, merging two mentions of Ietada Diary, which he split by himself, into one entry.
Perhaps he realized his own misunderstanding later on.
As always, Lockley’s statements are complex and difficult to follow, so bear with me as I unpack this piece by piece.
This blog post is the English version of my Japanese X article.
The Mysterious Entry in Ietada Diary as Described in Lockley’s Paper
*Bold emphasis is added by me
Matsudaira Ietada made his second diary entry concerning Yasuke. He wrote of his surprise at Yasuke’s new high-status, commenting once again on his size and color. Matsudaira even speculated, somewhat ironically perhaps, that Yasuke’s stipend might even be equal to his own, which if correct would have made him a man of considerable wealth. cvii
cvii: Matsudaira, 家忠日記第 2 巻 .
Thomas Lockley, The story of Yasuke: Nobunaga’s African retainer, Ōmonronsō vol.91, 2016, p.112
To clarify this passage, let’s break down Lockley’s description into individual points:
i. Matsudaira Ietada made his second diary entry concerning Yasuke
ii. He wrote of his surprise at Yasuke’s new high-status, commenting once again on his size and color
iii. Matsudaira even speculated, somewhat ironically perhaps, that Yasuke’s stipend might even be equal to his own
iv. which if correct would have made him a man of considerable wealth
The quotation seems to stop at iv, but this part appears to be Lockley’s own conjecture.
Aside from point 2, which mentions Yasuke’s size and skin color, we cannot find any of this content in Ietada Diary, making iv an unfounded and baseless assumption.
Possible Confusion Between Shinchōkōki and Ietada Diary
Please understand that the task of analyzing historical passages that don’t actually exist in primary sources requires some speculation.
First, Lockley may have mistakenly conflated Shinchōkōki with Ietada Diary, which could explain parts of his narrative. Here are the key dates associated with Yasuke’s mentions in each text:
Shinchōkōki – February 23, Tenshō 9 (1581), written by Ōta Gyūichi
Ietada Diary – May 11, Tenshō 10 (1582), written by Matsudaira Ietada
If Lockley misinterpreted the Shinchōkōki entry as the “first mention” of Yasuke in Ietada Diary, it makes sense he assumed that Ietada saw Yasuke again (a year later) and reacted with surprise at Yasuke’s elevated status.
While Lockley’s paper does identify Shinchōkōki as being written by Ōta Gyūichi and Ietada Diary by Matsudaira Ietada, it’s unclear why he proceeded with this potential misinterpretation.
My impression is that he drew from a variety of texts to construct the “Legendary Samurai YASUKE” and added citations later to fit this narrative.
He may have realized midway through his research that Shinchōkōki and Ietada Diary are separate works, but a supposed “second entry” in Ietada Diary may have persisted in his mind.
It’s also worth noting that Lockley’s proficiency in Japanese may not be at a level sufficient for historical research, raising the likelihood that he may not have read the original texts thoroughly.
One X user has pointed out a citation error in Lockley’s latest work:
Translation: Incidentally, Lucio de Sousa’s name appears in the acknowledgments. He cites de Sousa and Oka’s work.
Cited Work: 大航海時代の日本人奴隷 (Japanese Slaves in the Age of Discovery) (Chuko Library), Single Book – April 19, 2017, by Lucio de Sousa (Author), Mihoko Oka (Author)
Anyway, they should have at least supervised the Japanese title more carefully.
Apparently, Lockley doesn’t even recognize katakana. Even my students who have only been studying Japanese for a few months wouldn’t make this kind of mistake.
It seems likely that Wikipedia served as a primary information source for him, rather than verified historical texts.
Let’s examine the Wikipedia contents that may have influenced Lockley’s interpretations.
September 7, 2015 – The English Wikipedia Entry: A Possible Source of Confusion?
Below is the version of the English Wikipedia Yasuke page as it appeared on September 7, 2015, just before Tottoritom’s initial major revision on September 11:
The “Lord Nobunaga Chronicle” (信長公記 Shinchōkōki) has a description of Yasuke’s first meeting with Nobunaga. “On the 23rd of the 2nd month [March 23, 1581], a black page (黒坊主 “kuro-bōzu”) came from the Christian countries. He looked about 26 [24 or 25 by Western count] or 27 years old; his entire body was black like that of an ox. The man was healthy and good-looking. Moreover, Nobunaga praised strength of Yasuke.
After Matsudaira Ietada had met Yasuke in May 1582, Ietada journalized his looks. ” His name was Yasuke. His height was 6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal.” If so, his tall stature would have been very imposing to the Japanese of the day.
Yasuke was also mentioned in the prototype of Shinchōkōki owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko (尊経閣文庫). According to this, Yasuke was given his own house and a short katana by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of carrying his personal spear.[5]
The name of Ōta Gyūichi, the author of Shinchōkōki, is not mentioned here. As a result, Lockley may have attributed the Shinchōkōki content to Matsudaira Ietada, who is mentioned in the following sentence.
Additionally, the quotation marks are not closed, which makes it unclear where the cited text ends—possibly contributing to Lockley’s misunderstanding.
Notably, Shinchōkōki would not actually include the claim that Nobunaga praised Yasuke’s “strength.”
Additional Misleading Information on Wikipedia That May Have Influenced Lockley
Another notable error is Wikipedia’s suggestion that Shinchōkōki describes Yasuke as “good-looking.”
In Part 2 of this analysis, I mentioned that Lockley translates “器量なり” as both “handsome” and “with a good demeanor.”
I previously questioned why he added the term “handsome,” since it does not appear in the English version of Shinchōkōki that Lockley cites (The Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga). It’s likely he based this interpretation on English Wikipedia’s description.
Moreover, both Wikipedia and Lockley’s paper contain a same mistake in Yasuke’s height, listing it as 6 shaku 2 sun (about 188 cm) instead of 6 shaku 2 bu (about 182 cm).
If Lockley did indeed rely on Wikipedia as a source for his academic paper and if that work passed peer review, it raises serious questions about quality control at Nihon University.
Interestingly, this translation error also appears in Mihoko Oka’s edited volume Connecting World History, Vol. 2, published by Shimizu Shoin in 2023:
Translation: Oda Nobunaga’s scribe, Ōta Gyūichi, wrote in Shinchōki (Shinchōkōki Sonkeikaku Bunko edition) that “the black boy was about 26 or 27 years old, very strong, with a fully black body, and good-looking.”
Tetsunori Iwashita and Miho Oka (ed.), Connecting World History, Vol. 2, Shimizu Shoin, 2023.
I have reached out to Prof. Oka to inquire about the reasoning behind this translation choice but have not yet received a response.
Translation: As shown in the Nippo Jisho (Japanese-Portuguese Dictionary), “器量な人 (Quirio-na-fito)” is also used as an adjective. I interpret the adjectives “健やか” and “器量な” as parallel. “Healthy, handsome, and powerful!”
She argues that the phrase “健やかに器量なり” should be understood as two parallel expressions, would be suggesting:
❌ [健やかそうで立派な]体格であった ([healthy and imposing] physique) ⭕️ [健やかで]、イケメンだった ([healthy], and handsome)
Her interpretation implies that “健やかに” (healthy) does not modify “器量なり” (imposing physique) but stands independently.
However, for most Japanese readers, the natural interpretation would likely be that Yasuke had a “健やかで、立派な体格” (healthy, and imposing physique), whether or not these two phrases are viewed independently.
In recent modern translations, the phrase is rendered as describing Yasuke’s “立派な (imposing) physique” or “見事な (remarkable) physique”:
Modern Translation of the Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga by Taiko Nakagawa: “立派な体格であった (He had an imposing physique.)”
Complete Modern Translation of the Chronicle of Lord Nobunaga by Jun Sakiyama: “見事な体格である (His physique was remarkable.)”
Returning to the English Wikipedia page, it also refers to the Sonkeikaku Bunko edition of Shinchōkōki as the “prototype.” However, the cited source, Hiraku Kaneko’s The History of Oda Nobunaga Beyond Shinchōki (2009), says:
Translation: In the well-known story of the African brought before Nobunaga, presented to him by the missionaries (Valignano), only the Sonkeikaku edition of Shinchōkōki provides his name as Yasuke and includes details such as his house. However, even this account may be fictionalized, based on the original source in Ietada Diary dated April 19, Tenshō 10 (1582).
Hiraku Kaneko, 織田信長という歴史 : 『信長記』の彼方へ (The History of Oda Nobunaga Beyond Shinchōki), Bensei Shuppan, 2009, p. 312.
Kaneko does not refer to the Sonkeikaku edition as a “prototype,” but he suggests that the description of Yasuke in the Sonkeikaku edition may be a fictionalized account based on the entry in Ietada Diary.
From these examples alone, it’s clear that the Yasuke entry on English Wikipedia contains significant inaccuracies.
However, the problems aren’t confined to the English page. Next, we’ll look at the editing history of both the English and Japanese Wikipedia entries in chronological order.
July 22, 2015 – Japanese Wikipedia: User “X” Adds Commentary on Ietada Diary
Shortly before Tottoritom’s major edits on the English Wikipedia, a Japanese Wikipedia user added a note about Ietada Diary to the Yasuke page, stating:
Translation: The fact that such a detailed description appears in the usually bland Ietada Diary suggests that, like his surprise at Yasuke’s height and dark skin, Ietada may also have been surprised to find Yasuke was a retainer who received a stipend, the same as he did.
This statement appears to be the editor’s personal opinion. I’ll refer to this individual as “User X.” His editing style shows a strong, opinionated tone, which may have influenced the interpretation.
This comment may be the origin of Lockley’s interpretation, which forms the basis for his entry iii, where he suggests that “Matsudaira even speculated, somewhat ironically perhaps, that Yasuke’s stipend might even be equal to his own.”
Did Lockley Misinterpret “自分と同じ扶持もちの家来 (A Retainer Who Received a Stipend, the Same as He Did)”?
In Ietada Diary, there is no mention of Yasuke’s specific stipend. However, it’s possible that Lockley misinterpreted User X’s commentary.
The phrase “自分と同じ扶持もちの家来” can be interpreted in two ways:
“A retainer of the same rank as him who also received a stipend” For a typical Japanese reader, this phrase would likely mean that Yasuke held a similar position to Ietada, as both were retainers who received stipends.
“A retainer with a stipend equal to his own” Lockley may have interpreted it this way, assuming Yasuke received the same amount of pay as Ietada.
Given that Lockley’s Japanese proficiency may not be adequate for thorough historical research, he may not have verified this interpretation with the original text, making this misreading a plausible error.
September 11, 2015 – English Wikipedia: Tottoritom’s Major Revision
On September 11, Tottoritom made initial significant changes to the English Wikipedia Yasuke page.
Here is a version from the morning of September 12, after a series of incremental adjustments by Tottoritom throughout the night. The descriptions of Shinchōkōki and Ietada Diary are as follows:
The “Lord Nobunaga Chronicle” (信長公記 Shinchōkōki) corroborates Frois’ account, and describes their meeting thus: “On the 23rd of the 2nd month [March 23, 1581], a black page (黒坊主 “kuro-bōzu”) came from the Christian countries. He looked about 26 [24 or 25 by Western count] or 27 years old; his entire body was black like that of an ox. The man was healthy and good-looking with a good demeanour. Moreover, Nobunaga praised Yasuke’s strength, describing it as that of ten normal men. Nobunaga’s nephew, probably Tsuda Nobusumi[7], gave him a sum of money at this first meeting.
In May, Yasuke went with Nobunaga to his castle at Azuchi, where he was observed by the diarist Matsudaira Ietada, and was described as 6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal.” If so, his tall stature would have been very imposing to the Japanese of the time, even to a tall man like Nobunaga. Matsudaira stated that the name Yasuke was bestowed upon him by Nobunaga himself, a deep honour in the Japan of the day. Matsudaira also observed him on return from a campaign against the Takeda clan in early 1582, and said that he appeared to be greatly in Nobunaga’s favour. It is likely that Yasuke could speak considerable Japanese, perhaps due to Valignano’s efforts to ensure his missionaries adapted to the local culture better[8], because Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him (there is no indication that Nobunaga spoke Portuguese and it is unlikely that Yasuke would have been able to communicate in classical Chinese, the oriental [lingua franca] of the time). He seems to have become a close retainer, and was perhaps the only non-Japanese ‘warrior’ that Nobunaga had in his retinue[9], which could account for his rapid rise in favour and status. People in Azuchi even said he might be made a lord (殿, tono), however this did not happen, but he was granted the samurai rank which came with a considerable stipend. Yasuke was also mentioned in the prototype of Shinchōkōki owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko (尊経閣文庫), the archives of the [Maeda Clan]. According to this, Yasuke was given his own residence (屋敷) and a short, ceremonial katana by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of weapon bearer.[10].
This passage is riddled with errors, but let’s focus on the information related to Shinchōkōki and Ietada Diary:
The Shinchōkōki Entry (February 23, 1581)
Once again, the quotation marks are left open, making it unclear where the cited content ends
The mention of Nobunaga’s nephew giving Yasuke money appears to come from Jesuit records rather than Shinchōkōki
The First Ietada Diary Mention (May 1581)
This section includes a mysterious claim that “Matsudaira stated that the name Yasuke was bestowed upon him by Nobunaga himself, a deep honour in the Japan of the day” but no such record exists
The Second Ietada Diary Mention (Early 1582)
Mysteriously claims that he (Yasuke) appeared to be greatly in Nobunaga’s favour
Then morphs into speculation that Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him—suggesting that Yasuke could speak considerable Japanese
In this revision, Ietada Diary is split into two mentions: May 1581 and early 1582. However, the actual Ietada Diary entry for Yasuke is dated May 1582.
Previously, we have seen instances of Lockley’s “blending of statements,” but here he seems to have “split a single statement into multiple accounts.”
February 2016 – Lockley’s Paper
In Lockley’s 2016 paper, Ietada Diary is also spilt into two parts, just as it was in the Wikipedia entry edited by Tottoritom.
First Mention:
Matsudaira, who met Yasuke at Nobunaga’s castle, Azuchi, in May 1581, described him as black as ink and 188 cm tall, which would have made him a virtual giant in this period. (lxxxiv)
lxxxiv: Matsudaira, Ietada Nikki, Volume 2.
Thomas Lockley, The Story of Yasuke: Nobunaga’s African Retainer, Ōmonronsō, vol.91, 2016, p.107.
Second Mention:
Matsudaira Ietada made his second diary entry concerning Yasuke. He wrote of his surprise at Yasuke’s new high-status, commenting once again on his size and color. Matsudaira even speculated, somewhat ironically perhaps, that Yasuke’s stipend might even be equal to his own, which if correct would have made him a man of considerable wealth. cvii
cvii: Matsudaira, 家忠日記第 2 巻 .
Thomas Lockley, The Story of Yasuke: Nobunaga’s African Retainer, Ōmonronsō, vol.91, 2016, p.112.
May 15, 2016 – Japanese Wikipedia: User X Adds More Commentary on Ietada Diary
After his previous commentary on Ietada Diary was removed, User X returned to the Japanese Wikipedia Yasuke page and expanded his note about Ietada Diary:
The fact that such a detailed description appears in the usually bland Ietada Diary suggests that, like his surprise at Yasuke’s height and dark skin, Ietada may also have been surprised to find Yasuke was a retainer who received a stipend, the same as he did. Moreover, Yasuke outranked Ietada, who was merely a subordinate, since Yasuke was a direct vassal of Nobunaga.
The newly added line—“Moreover, Yasuke outranked Ietada, who was merely a subordinate, since Yasuke was a direct vassal of Nobunaga.”—matches Lockley’s interpretation in his paper, particularly in the “somewhat ironically perhaps” comment about Ietada’s supposed reaction to Yasuke’s stipend.
It is unclear if User X made this update after reading Lockley’s paper, or if he and Lockley independently arrived at similar interpretations of Ietada’s sentiment toward Yasuke.
In any case, judging by User X’s profile, he appears to be a Japanese user and not Lockley himself.
June 3, 2016 – English Wikipedia: Tottoritom’s Post-Publication Revision
After Lockley’s paper was published, Tottoritom made another round of edits to the English Wikipedia Yasuke page, scaling back some of the embellishments he had previously added:
The “Lord Nobunaga Chronicle” (信長公記 Shinchōkōki) corroborates Frois’ account, and describes their meeting thus: “On the 23rd of the 2nd month [March 23, 1581], a black page (黒坊主 “kuro-bōzu”) came from the Christian countries. The man was healthy and good-looking with a good demeanour. Moreover, Nobunaga praised Yasuke’s strength, describing it as that of ten normal men. Nobunaga’s nephew, probably Tsuda Nobusumi,[5] gave him a sum of money at this first meeting.
In May, Yasuke went with Nobunaga to his castle at Azuchi and popular rumors said he might be ennobled. The diarist Matsudaira Ietada, described him as 6 shaku 2 sun (6 ft. 2 in., or 188 cm.). He was black, and his skin was like charcoal.” If so, his tall stature would have been very imposing to the Japanese of the time, even to a tall man like Nobunaga. Matsudaira stated that he was named Yasuke.
It is likely that Yasuke could speak considerable Japanese, perhaps due to Valignano’s efforts to ensure his missionaries adapted to the local culture better,[5] because Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him (there is no indication that Nobunaga spoke Portuguese and it is unlikely that Yasuke would have been able to communicate in classical Chinese, the oriental lingua franca of the time). He seems to have become a close retainer, and was perhaps the only non-Japanese ‘warrior’ that Nobunaga had in his retinue,[5] which could account for his rapid rise in favour and status. Yasuke was also mentioned in the prototype of Shinchōkōki owned by Sonkeikaku Bunko (尊経閣文庫), the archives of the Maeda Clan. According to this, Yasuke was given his own residence and a short, ceremonial katana by Nobunaga. Nobunaga also assigned him the duty of weapon bearer.[8]
In comparison to the September 11, 2015, edit, this revised entry:
No longer splits Ietada Diary into two separate entries, instead mentioning only the May 1581 entry (although the actual Ietada Diary record is from May 1582).
Relocates the rumor about Yasuke could be elevated to a lord (originally from the October 8, 1581, record by Lorenzo Mexia) to May, creating an inaccurate timeline.
Previously, the mysterious entry in Ietada Diary stating that “Yasuke was favored by Nobunaga” led to speculation that “Nobunaga enjoyed talking with him” and therefore “Yasuke could speak considerable Japanese.” However, this mysterious entry base has been deleted and moved to a new line, making it seem unrelated to Ietada Diary.
It’s likely that someone who read Lockley’s paper raised concerns about the split entries, prompting Tottoritom to consolidate them. However, the incorrect date of 1581 remains.
Additionally, the inclusion of Lorenzo Mexia’s October 8 record in the May timeline indicates that Lockley’s historical chronology may be somewhat confused.
Auxiliary Information: February 1, 2017 – Nobunaga and Yasuke
In his book Nobunaga and Yasuke, published in 2017, Lockley made an unexpected change by moving the mention of “ironically” from Ietada Diary to Shinchōkōki:
Translation: 身ハすみノコトク、タケハ六尺二分 (as black as ink, 6 shaku 2 bu in height)
From this phrase, we can deduce Yasuke’s exact height to be about 188 cm. Additionally, it confirms his skin was jet-black. Ōta Gyūichi, ironically, described his skin as black like that of an ox. Although oxen come in various colors, the term ink-black has only one interpretation, indicating that Yasuke’s skin was extremely dark.
Thomas Lockley, Nobunaga and Yasuke: The African Samurai Who Survived the Incident at Honnōji, Ohta Publishing, 2017, pp. 78-79.
This new interpretation shows Lockley’s penchant for rearranging pieces of the Yasuke narrative, shifting details about time and place as he sees fit.
Summary of Findings
This analysis has grown complex, here’s a chronological summary of the key events:
July 22, 2015
User X adds commentary to Ietada Diary on the Japanese Wikipedia, suggesting Ietada was surprised by Yasuke’s presence as a retainer with a stipend
September 11, 2015
Tottoritom makes significant edits to the English Wikipedia entry adding speculative contents
Lockley may have relied on this erroneous information and misinterpreted certain phrases
Split Ietada Diary into two entries
February 2016
Lockley’s paper is published, containing the same two-part reference to Ietada Diary
May 15, 2016
User X returns to the Japanese Wikipedia and expands his commentary, now adding the idea “Moreover, Yasuke outranked Ietada, who was merely a subordinate, since Yasuke was a direct vassal of Nobunaga”
June 3, 2016
Tottoritom revises the English Wikipedia entry again, consolidating Ietada Diary entries into one but retaining the incorrect date of 1581
February 1, 2017
Lockley’s book Nobunaga and Yasuke shifts the term “ironically” from Ietada Diary to Shinchōkōki.
Thank you for following this detailed analysis to the end.
I haven’t covered every single Wikipedia edit related to Yasuke, so if you have any corrections, additional insights, or new discoveries on this topic, please feel free to share them.
