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:
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://besetfree.host56.com
http://gerald-massey.org.uk
