This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan.
This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan.
In this list, Japan means the Japanese archipelago. The word samurai has had a variety of meanings historically; here it is taken to mean 'those who serve in close attendance to the nobility'. This list includes the following people.
The following people are treated as "people who could be foreign-born samurai".
This list excludes the following people.
| Birthplace | Original name | Occupation before arrival in Japan | Year of arrival in Japan | Name in Japan | Lord | Occupation and achievements in Japan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Hanseong, Joseon [4] (now  South Korea) | Kim Yeo-cheol (Kanji: 金如鐵) [5] | Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon [5] | 1592 [4] | Wakita Naokata 脇田直賢 [4] | Maeda Toshinaga→ Maeda Toshitsune [4] → Maeda Mitsutaka→ Maeda Tsunanori | 240 koku later increased to 1,000 koku. On-Koshōgashira (Head of pages). Kanazawa machi-bugyō (Commissioner of Kanazawa city). He served in the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka. [4] |
| Joseon [6] | unknown [6] | Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon [6] | 1598 [6] | Soga Seikan 曾我清官 [6] | Nakagawa Hidenari [6] | 150 koku. Page of Hidenari. [6] |
| Joseon [7] | (Kanji:李聖賢) [7] | Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon [7] | 1598 [7] | Rinoie Motohiro 李家元宥 [7] | Mōri Terumoto→ Mōri Hidenari [7] | 100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū. [7] |
 Delft, Spanish Netherlands | Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn | Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship [8] | 1600 [9] | Yayōsu 耶楊子 | Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada | 100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants. [8] [10] Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships. |
 Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England | William Adams | Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship [8] | 1600 [9] | Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura) 三浦按針 | Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada | 250 koku. [8] [11] He was granted the rank of Hatamoto, a fief and 80-90 servants. Interpreter and shipwright of Tokugawa Shogunate. (Adams was the model for the character John Blackthorne in James Clavell's novel Shōgun (1975).) |
| Joseon [12] [13] | unknown | unknown | unknown | Yagyū Shume 柳生主馬 [12] | Yagyū Munenori [12] → Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→ Yagyū Munefuyu | Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku? [13] He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi. [7] |
 Henan, Ming Dynasty (now  China) [14] [15] | (Kanji:藍會榮) [15] | The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty [15] | After 1624 [15] | Kawaminami Genbei (First) 河南源兵衛 [15] | Shimazu Iehisa [15] | 300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords. [15] |
 Chiusa Sclafani, Kingdom of Sicily (now  Italy) | Giuseppe Chiara [16] | Jesuit missionary | 27 June 1643 | Okamoto San'emon 岡本三右衛門 | Tokugawa Iemitsu→ Tokugawa Ietsuna | He was given 10 servants and lived in Japan advising the Shogunate on European affairs until his death in 1685. Was one of the inspirations for Martin Scorsese's Silence . |
 Kingdom of Prussia | Henry Schnell [17] | Soldier and arms dealer | 1860s | Hiramatsu Buhei 平松武兵衛 | Matsudaira Katamori | Served the Aizu domain as a military instructor and procurer of weapons. Given the right to wear swords, a mansion in the castle town of Wakamatsu and retainers. |
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