Writer Ridiculed For Asking “Where Are The Black People?” In Ancient Japan Samurai Show

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

A writer for lefty woke outlet Medium is facing ridicule for penning an article complaining about the lack of black actors in a new TV show about Samurai warriors in Japan in the year 1600.

The show, produced by FX, is a remake of the popular Shōgun series from 1980, which also featured no black actors.

Because it’s about ancient Japan.

The network’s guide to the series states “FX’s Shōgun, based on James Clavell’s bestselling novel, is set in Japan in the year 1600, at the dawn of a century-defining civil war. Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is fighting for his life as his enemies on the Council of Regents unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village.”

There are European people in the series too, because Europeans travelled to Japan in boats at that time.

Japanese and Europeans, but no blacks? Medium writer and critical race theorist William Spivey cannot abide that.

🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/pQYDFcaHb3

— Asian Dawn (@AsianDawn4) March 11, 2024

He writes “The white characters appearing in the first episodes representing Portugal, Spain, England, and Holland could hardly be deemed heroic. However, the character John Blackthorne, now played by Cosmo Jarvis, is already a pivotal figure and will be a hero, along with several Japanese characters.”

Oh no! the horror.

” I ask the question now that I naively didn’t ask in 1980. Where are the Black people?” he adds.

In Africa, that’s the short answer. But no, Spivey isn’t done. He goes on to claim that there absolutely were black people in Japan in 1600 and some of them were Samurai warriors.

“I don’t ask out of a desire to see representation when it wasn’t historically accurate. I inquire because there were Black people in Japan in 1600 and before, though Japan could teach Florida a thing or two about rewriting history,” he claims.

Spivey continues, “According to multiple sources, one of the early real-life Shoguns, Sakanoue no Tamuramaro (758–811), was Black, though denied by others. There is a consensus he was something other than pure Japanese, and he is often considered descended from the Ainu, the darker-skinned indigenous people of northern Japan who were subjected to forced assimilation and colonization.”

Not content with that unverifiable and inaccurate claim, he made up a ‘Japanese’ proverb, that goes “For a Samurai to be brave, he must have a bit of Black blood.”

Note Spivey’s capitalisation of the word ‘black’. This proverb, if it exists at all which it likely doesn’t, is not referring to black people, but rather darkness of the soul.

Respondents, including black people, pointed out that all of this is nuts and yet another example of the insane fringe effort to blackify history, which has included baseless claims of black ancient Britons, Romans, scholars, Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, and the list goes on.

There’s no evidence that it’s any kind of Japanese proverb. Proverbs come from somewhere. They are normally attributed to a person or some literary source. Without a source, then there’s no reason to believe it’s a legitimate saying.

— Final Legion (@THEFinalLegion) March 9, 2024

In other words, no, you don’t have a source.

— Final Legion (@THEFinalLegion) March 9, 2024

1) He can’t source this proverb because it doesn’t exist

2) It doesn’t need capitalizing of “black” because it’s a color

3) It doesn’t refer to black people (even if the proverb existed) – it refers to darkness (capability of violence)

— AlphalphaMale (@pdoherty972) March 11, 2024

You made it up, bro. You are retconning Japanese culture to include black people as some kind of pivotal component to boost your pride. Also–Ainu aren’t black.

Take the L.

— dmduncan (@dmduncan2010) March 11, 2024

this is like insisting that “black-hearted” refers to blacks.

— Goebbels (@NationofArya) March 11, 2024

Where are the black people in Shōgun?

Exactly where they actually were in 1600–Not Japan.

— Clawed Monet (@jackalspat) March 12, 2024

Ummm in Africa? Which is not in Asia?

— ج (@herebczadhd) March 11, 2024

The belief that it is an automatic natural force of nature that black people should somehow inherit part of all other communities and groups is maybe the reason why sub-Saharan Africa never achieved anything.

— Velvet Robot Elvis (@avelvetrobot) March 11, 2024

William Spivey writes books on critical race theory…nothing more to be said really.

— 卂几卂ㄥ ㄒ乇匚卄几丨匚丨卂几 (@AnalTechnician) March 11, 2024

I’m Japanese, a native speaker, born in Japan, grew up in Japan and learned Japanese history in Japan. But I have never heard such a proverb: Don’t make up your own theory.

— Manchun Milky Naomi Tåkãnø🏊 (@honten) March 11, 2024

Just because one random black guy write a nonsense article does not mean we asked or share his views. Ok ✌🏿🤷🏾‍♂️

— K. N. T. C (@ColeKamil) March 11, 2024

African/black people have wonderful culture and history. How about you write about that instead of trying to inherit someone else’s culture

— Schmogli (@SchmogliMakaron) March 11, 2024

It’s a story about European settlers trying to get a foothold in Japan, not everything needs to be about black American representation. Finding a black person that’s not a tourist in Japan today is next to impossible, let alone in the 1600s.

— Lunaetic (@Lunaetic66) March 11, 2024

Shogun, a story written by a white guy about feudal Japan who was racist against blacks making everyone white. After all, the world is racist against blacks because the entire world is black. And they are responsible for all the advances of civilization, except black countries.

— Odinn (@OdinnAuga) March 11, 2024

Uhhhh, let me be frank. When this sort of nonsense is put forth, you mostly just put people off and make them resent you more than they already do.

That’s a bold statement, but you know it’s true.

— Pedro Poloma (@PPoloma26325) March 11, 2024

He must have used Google’s Gemini AI to research the series.

— 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐥 (@anacottsteel) March 12, 2024

They think Japanese and Chinese were black and that wakanda is real.

— (Uncivilized) 🇹🇼🇹🇭🇰🇷 (@Mokrewki) March 11, 2024

Where are the Inuit trans one armed dwarves?

— Stand and Deliver (@DandyHywayMan) March 11, 2024

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