Yves Guillemot (Ubisoft CEO) denounces Assassin's Creed Shadows' racist, 'malicious' backlash

[AsianActivist]

Yves Guillemot denounces Assassin's Creed Shadows' racist, 'malicious' backlash

Weeks of racist backlash over Assassin's Creed Shadows prompted Guillemot to speak out and encourage the larger industry to not let this behavior stand.

www.gamedeveloper.com

Weeks of racist backlash over Assassin's Creed Shadows prompted Guillemot to speak out and encourage the larger industry to not let this behavior stand.

Since its reveal in May, Assassin's Creed Shadows has courted racist backlash due to its co-lead Yasuke (famously known as the first Black samurai), and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has no time for it.

During a newly published company Q&A, Guillemot was asked about facets of the industry he's disappointed by. He went on to talk about the "malicious and personal attacks" directed at Ubisoft staff, some of which came courtesy of Twitter head Elon Musk.

"I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful acts in the strongest possible terms," said Guillemot, "and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to denounce them, too."

The Assassin's Creed franchise has never been a stranger to historical fiction, but Yasuke marks the first time an actual historical figure headlined an entry in a main role. Reactions to his inclusion soon veered right into racism and attempts to delegitimize his status as an samurai.

In light of recent events surrounding Assassin's Creed Shadows and the racist backlash against its portrayal of Yasuke, the first Black samurai, I find myself in complete agreement with the sentiments expressed in the article. The uproar over Yasuke's depiction the deep racism in Asian societies where historical narratives and identities are often narrowly defined often not by rigorous research but by convention, tradition and state-sponsored narratives.

Yasuke's story challenges conventional Japanese notions of race and society. I think many people feel threatened by the inclusion of a Black person in the game. The fact that Yasuke's inclusion has sparked such controversy reflects the reluctance of many to accept diverse perspectives in historical contexts. This resistance is not unique to Assassin's Creed or Ubisoft but mirrors broader societal challenges in recognizing and respecting the diversity of human experiences.

 

[Twilight Hue]

 

[EinGeheimkonto]

The problem is not so much that people are against Yasuke because he was black, but the fact that he was a relatively minor character as far as things go (very little documentation in the period other than a few people mentioning they saw Oda Nobunaga being accompanied by a tall black guy). If he's a minor character, then why make him such an integral part of a major franchise? Either they are shoehorning someone in because they have an agenda, or they are actually ignorant of Japanese history.

I don't think it's "racist" to point out that Yasuke wasn't really a samurai in the strict sense. This derives from the fact that Western commentators tended to say that anyone who served a feudal lord was a Samurai, while Japanese commentators have a more narrow definition. Also, in feudal Japan, commoners didn't have surnames; Yasuke with only one name denotes that he had a commoner status. There is also not that much primary source documentation for Yasuke other than him being something of an errand boy.

The closest thing in the Western world is sort of like being an "associate" in the mafia but not a made man and part of a family.

There were foreign born samurai during that time that did have surnames. Usually, it was because they possessed skills that were somewhat rare in Japan at the time. As a former slave, he wouldn't have been educated and certainly his 15-month stay in Japan wouldn't have been long enough for him to learn Japanese.

An Englishman named William Adams was employed by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Adams was formerly a ship's captain in Europe, and he advised the shogunate on Western-style shipbuilding and assisted in securing some trade deals with the Dutch. He was eventually given the name of "Miura Anjin" after many years of service. The surname "Miura" (he was put in charge of a region called Miura) and the given name "Anjin" approximately translates as captain. There is much more documentation for Adam's life than there is for Yasuke.

 

[AsianActivist]

The problem is not so much that people are against Yasuke because he was black, but the fact that he was a relatively minor character as far as things go (very little documentation in the period other than a few people mentioning they saw Oda Nobunaga being accompanied by a tall black guy). If he's a minor character, then why make him such an integral part of a major franchise? Either they are shoehorning someone in because they have an agenda, or they are actually ignorant of Japanese history.

I don't think it's "racist" to point out that Yasuke wasn't really a samurai in the strict sense. This derives from the fact that Western commentators tended to say that anyone who served a feudal lord was a Samurai, while Japanese commentators have a more narrow definition. Also, in feudal Japan, commoners didn't have surnames; Yasuke with only one name denotes that he had a commoner status. There is also not that much primary source documentation for Yasuke other than him being something of an errand boy.

The closest thing in the Western world is sort of like being an "associate" in the mafia but not a made man and part of a family.

There were foreign born samurai during that time that did have surnames. Usually, it was because they possessed skills that were somewhat rare in Japan at the time. As a former slave, he wouldn't have been educated and certainly his 15-month stay in Japan wouldn't have been long enough for him to learn Japanese.

An Englishman named William Adams was employed by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Adams was formerly a ship's captain in Europe, and he advised the shogunate on Western-style shipbuilding and assisted in securing some trade deals with the Dutch. He was eventually given the name of "Miura Anjin" after many years of service. The surname "Miura" (he was put in charge of a region called Miura) and the given name "Anjin" approximately translates as captain. There is much more documentation for Adam's life than there is for Yasuke.

Please provide a source for each one of your claims. Preferably in the form of primary sources and scholarly works (not random ".com" or ".net" sources you find on the internet).