Black people

Emperor Jianwen of China's Eastern Jin dynasty sought an heir on a fortune-teller's advice. The chosen woman was Li Lingrong, a black servant called a "Kunlun Nu." She bore the emperor a son, and when her son ascended the throne, Li Lingrong became Empress Dowager.

During the Imjin War, Mozambican soldiers served under the Ming dynasty. Called "Sea Ghosts," they dove underwater to puncture holes in Japanese warships. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty recorded them as having "faces black as lacquer, lurking beneath the sea."

Oda Nobunaga gave a Mozambican slave brought by an Italian missionary the name "Yasuke" and the title of samurai. Yasuke learned Japanese culture within two years and fought in battles, making him the first known foreign samurai in history.