The creators of “Assassin’s Creed” defended their “creative liberties” on Tuesday, after almost 100,000 people signed a petition in Japan against the introduction of a new black samurai character.
Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” due to be published in November, is the newest installment in a game set in diverse periods of history around the world.
‘Shadows’ offers players to take on the roles of two heroes: female assassin Naoe and Yasuke, a black samurai portrayed as a 16th-century historical figure abducted by Portuguese slave smugglers on the east African coast and transported to Japan.
On June 19, critics in Japan began a petition, decrying a “serious lack of historical accuracy and cultural respect” after game creator Ubisoft published a clip showing the protagonist.
Its author accused Ubisoft of making historical inaccuracies and “a serious insult to Japanese culture and history that can be understood as racism” toward Asians.
While the petition acknowledged Yasuke’s existence, it maintained that he never obtained the samurai title. It had been signed by approximately 95,000 people as of Tuesday.
The request urged France-based Ubisoft to postpone the game’s release and show more respect for Japanese culture and traditions.
The game’s creators responded on Tuesday with a message addressed to its “esteemed Japanese community” explaining its “creative liberties and historical inspirations”.
“Since the announcement of Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we have received many positive reactions, but also some criticism including from you, our Japanese players,” the statement said.
“Our intention has never been to present any of our Assassin’s Creed games, including Assassin’s Creed Shadows, as factual representations of history, or historical characters,” it said.
The designers said they had collaborated with consultants, historians, researchers and internal teams at Ubisoft Japan “to inform our creative choices”.
“Despite these sustained efforts, we acknowledge that some elements in our promotional materials have caused concern within the Japanese community. For this, we sincerely apologize.”
Samurai expert Julien Peltier told AFP in March that while the figure of the famed warrior is “fascinating and we’d like to know a lot more about him, we don’t know much and that makes him the subject of every fantasy”.
In Tuesday’s statement, the games designers said: “While Yasuke is depicted as a samurai in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, we acknowledge that this is a matter of debate and discussion.”
The “Assassin’s Creed” universe has been set in ancient Egypt, the Crusades, revolutionary France and the Viking period.