Assassin's Creed subreddit promises bans for anyone who keeps complaining about 'historical accuracy' and Yasuke: 'We are all exhausted of this tedious discussion'
Whether or not Yasuke, an African man who briefly served feudal lord Oda Nobunaga in 16th-century Japan, was «really a samurai» is a somewhat interesting question for scholars of the era, and comes down to how the historical records of his life pair with use of the term «samurai» at the time. Biographer Thomas Lockley, as one example, has said that Yasuke was indeed one of Nobunaga's many samurai, the title simply referring to warriors who served a lord (see: this Smithsonian article).
When Yasuke was revealed as one of the two protagonists in the upcoming Assassin's Creed Shadows, however, an inquisition into his samurai-ness was launched not by scholars, but by onlookers who decreed it unacceptable for a Black person to headline a work of historical fiction set in Japan. Complaints about «historical inaccuracy» and «forced diversity» abounded.
As of this week, the moderators of the unofficial Assassin's Creed subreddit are done hearing about it (thanks, GamesRadar).
«With the reveal of Assassin's Creed Shadows, there has been an influx of certain individuals spilling into various communities online such as this subreddit and raising arguments about 'historical accuracy',» wrote the mods in a now-closed thread. «As we are all exhausted of this tedious discussion that has been endlessly talked to death, not to mention exacerbated by a recent official statement from Ubisoft, we would like to give a final reminder to those participating in these debates as to what exactly this franchise entails, and why there was never any point to these discussions to begin with outside of thinly veiling bad faith intent.»
The statement from Ubisoft referenced in that passage was an apology posted by the developer for generally causing «concern within the Japanese community» over details in Shadows' promotional material so far, possibly such as Ubisoft's use of a real-life reenactment group's flag or a potential error regarding the placement of a torii gate. On the topic of Yasuke,
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