Ubisoft admits Yasuke being a samurai is a ‘matter of debate’

The official Twitter account for the Assassin’s Creed franchise has posted an apology for the way its portrayal of Japan has been received by Japanese audiences.

In their apology, Ubisoft acknowledged that their depiction of Yasuke as a samurai is “a matter of debate”, tempering their initial commitment to affirming Yasuke as a samurai. Yasuke’s inclusion as a samurai in the new Assassin’s Creed game has led to edit wars on Wikipedia and criticism of historian Thomas Lockley.

You can check out the apology from Ubisoft below.

The Assassin’s Creed Shadows team has a message for our Japanese community. pic.twitter.com/AIyWNU9YhG

— Assassin’s Creed (@assassinscreed) July 23, 2024

Ubisoft was most likely spurred to comment due to the growing criticism of Yasuke being lionized as a samurai as if it were meant to properly represent Japanese history. Ubisoft has since tempered its discourse regarding the controversial figure and the franchise as a whole, saying that: “our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed game, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical figures.”

The situation has gotten to the point that Japanese government officials became concerned of how Ubisoft was potentially misrepresenting Japanese history, and even accused Ubisoft of “cultural appropriation”.