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Yasuke arrived in Japan in 1579 in the service of the Italian Jesuit Alessandro Valignano, who had been appointed the Visitor (inspector) of the Jesuit missions in the Indies (East Africa, South and East Asia). He accompanied Valignano when the latter came to the capital area in March 1581 and his appearance caused a lot of interest with the local people.
When Yasuke was presented to Nobunaga he suspected his skin to be have been coloured with black ink, Nobunaga had him strip from the waist up and made him scrub his skin. These events are recorded in a 1581 letter of the Jesuit Luís Fróis to Lourenço Mexia and in the 1582 Annual Report of the Jesuit Mission in Japan, also by Fróis. These were published in Cartas que os padres e irmãos da Companhia de Jesus escreverão dos reynos de Japão e China II, normally known simply as Cartas, in 1598. When he realized that his skin was not coloured and in fact black Nobunaga seems to have taken an interest in him. At some point, although when is not clear, Yasuke entered Nobunaga's service.
The Lord Nobunaga Chronicle corroborates Fróis' account and describes their meeting thus: "On the 23rd of the 2nd month [March 23, 1581], a black page ( kuro-bōzu) came from the Christian countries. The man was healthy with a good demeanour and Nobunaga praised Yasuke's strength. Nobunaga's nephew gave him a sum of money at this first meeting.
