This is a list of foreign-born people who became samurai in Japan. During the Edo period (1603–1868), some foreigners in Japan were granted privileges associated with samurai, including fiefs or stipends and the right to carry two swords. Even earlier, during the Azuchi–Momoyama period (1568–1600), certain foreigners received similar benefits. Whether these individuals were members of the warrior class (bushi) is a subject of debate among historians.

Birthplace	Original name	Occupation before arrival in Japan	Year of arrival in Japan	Name in Japan	Lord	Occupation and achievements in Japan
Portuguese Mozambique? (now  Mozambique)	unknown	Servant of Jesuit missionary Alessandro Valignano	1579	Yasuke 弥助	Oda Nobunaga	He was given a stipend and a house by Oda Nobunaga. He fought at during the Honnō-ji incident.He participated in the inspection tour of Koshu following its conquest.
Hanseong, Joseon (now  South Korea)	Kim Yeo-cheol (Kanji: 金如鐵)	Son of 金時省, civil officer of Joseon	1592	Wakita Naokata 脇田直賢	Maeda Toshinaga→ Maeda Toshitsune→ Maeda Mitsutaka→ Maeda Tsunanori	240 koku later increased to 1,000 koku. On-Koshōgashira (Head of pages). Kanazawa machi-bugyō (Commissioner of Kanazawa city). He served in the Summer Campaign of the Siege of Osaka.
Joseon	unknown	Son of 曽清官, commanding officer of Joseon	1598	Soga Seikan 曾我清官	Nakagawa Hidenari	150 koku. Page of Hidenari.
Joseon	(Kanji:李聖賢)	Son of Yi Bok-nam, commander of Joseon	1598	Rinoie Motohiro 李家元宥	Mōri Terumoto→ Mōri Hidenari	100 koku. Adviser of Mori clan. He was the swordsman who received menkyo of Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
Delft, Spanish Netherlands	Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn	Mate of De Liefde, Dutch ship	1600	Yayōsu 耶楊子	Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada	100 koku. He was given the rank of Hatamoto and 50 servants. Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, he chartered several Red Seal Ships.
Gillingham, Kent, Kingdom of England	William Adams	Pilot of De Liefde, Dutch ship	1600	Miura Anjin (the pilot of Miura) 三浦按針	Tokugawa Ieyasu→ Tokugawa Hidetada	250 koku. He was granted the rank of Hatamoto, a fief and 80-90 servants. Interpreter and shipwright of Tokugawa Shogunate. (Adams was the model for the character John Blackthorne in James Clavell's novel Shōgun (1975).)
Joseon	unknown	unknown	unknown	Yagyū Shume 柳生主馬	Yagyū Munenori→ Yagyū "Jūbei" Mitsuyoshi→ Yagyū Munefuyu	Retainer of Yagyū clan. 200 koku? He married the sister of Yagyū "Hyōgonosuke" Toshitoshi.
Henan, Ming Dynasty (now  China)	(Kanji:藍會榮)	The member of the inner circle of Ming dynasty	After 1624	Kawaminami Genbei (First) 河南源兵衛	Shimazu Iehisa	300 koku. He was political refugee from Ming. Tōtsūji (Chinese translator) of Satsuma domain. He was given right to wear swords.
Kingdom of Prussia	Henry Schnell	Soldier and arms dealer	1860s	Hiramatsu Buhei 平松武兵衛	Matsudaira Katamori	Served the Aizu domain as a military instructor and procurer of weapons. Given the right to wear swords, a mansion in the castle town of Wakamatsu and retainers.

• French military mission to Japan (1867–68)
• Denrinbō Raikei, Chinese-born ninja