6 Ways The ‘Black Superhero’ Influenced Hollywood and The World

black-samurai
Hollywood Made the Last Samurai White, But The First and Best One Was Black

Hollywood used Tom Cruise to  portray the last Samurai as a white man, but in feudal Japan, he probably wouldn’t have even made the cut. A Japanese proverb states that: “For a Samurai to be brave, he must have a bit of Black blood.” Another version of the proverb is: “Half the blood in one’s veins must be Black to make a good Samurai.”

In Japan, a noted Black warrior and Japanese general who historians have called “the paragon of military virtue,” was the first person to bear the Japanese title of sei-i tai shogun – meaning “barbarian-subduing generalissimo.” His name was Sakanouye Tammamura Maro, sometimes spelled Sakanouye No Tamuramaro.  Sakanouye Tamura Maro, a Black man, became the first Shogun of Japan.

Sources:

SF Bay View

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://besetfree.host56.com

http://gerald-massey.org.uk

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