In 1579 Yasuke arrived in Japan. He would soon become the first black samurai.

Although Yasuke’s daimyō (feudal lord), viewed him favourably, he forbade him to father any children, so when Yasuke had a brief relationship with a local—Tora—in 1580, she did not tell him she was pregnant.

Suki was of course a dark baby, causing herself and Tora to be treated as outcasts. Tora decided to retreat to the forest to raise her daughter in the safety of isolation.

In 1582, after Yasuke's daimyō was forced to commit seppuku, Yasuke effectively became a Ronin, a masterless samurai. Having fond memories of Tora, he returned to the village to learn that he had a two-year-old daughter and that Tora had taken her to the forest. Yasuke found his family and raised his daughter the only way he knew how, as a samurai.

In 1600, when Suki was twenty years old, she left home trained better than any average samurai.

The thing about skilled fighters, though, is that fights always find them…