Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been on the agenda of all gamers since the official trailer was released. Even Elon Musk got involved in the controversy over the black Samurai Yasuke. Things got bigger, Japanese gamers started a petition to cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Japanese gamers launch petition to cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows for insulting Samurai history
As we mentioned, Yasuke’s presence in the game has been one of the biggest topics of discussion among players. While some argue that Yasuke is just a Samurai servant, others say that these sources are not true and that there is no problem with Ubisoft using its imagination.
Elon Musk has also been involved in the debate about Yasuke in recent weeks with an X post that read “DEI kills art” (Woke culture kills art).
Recently, on June 28, 2024 to be exact, Wikipedia blocked access to Yasuke’s page. This was the last straw for Japanese gamers.
Japanese gamers started a petition on Change.org to cancel Assassin’s Creed Shadows. As of this writing, the petition has surpassed 36,000 signatures.
The campaign description reads as follows:
“Recently, a serious issue of historical inaccuracy and lack of cultural respect has been raised about game developer Ubisoft’s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The game is based on the Japanese Samurai and ignores the fact that Samurai are a higher rank of the Samurai class and are supposed to be servants of ‘gokemen’ or nobles. In fact, the first European to take the title of samurai, William Adams (Miura Anobori), was a 250 koku ealdorman and in the service of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Throughout this history, Ubisoft continues to misunderstand the nature and role of the Samurai. This is a serious insult to Japanese culture and history and can be associated with Asian racism.
We call on Ubisoft to immediately halt the launch of Assassin’s Creed Shadows and show serious research and respect for Japanese history and culture. Your signature is required. Sign this petition to show Ubisoft the importance of cultural respect and historical accuracy.”
If you are curious about the petition, you can find it here. What do you think about this incident? Please don’t forget to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
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