Samurai (侍, Samurai^?) is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. Felice Beato (born 1833 or 1834 died c 1907 sometimes known as Felix Beato, was a Corfiote Photographer. Pre-industrial society refers to specific social attributes and forms of political and cultural organization that were prevalent before the advent of the Industrial Revolution For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The word samurai is derived from the archaic Japanese verb samorau, changed to saburau, meaning "to serve"; thus, a samurai is a servant, i. e. the servant of a lord.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Kamakura Bakufu and the rise of Samurai 1.2 Ashikaga Shogunate and the Feudal Period 1.3 Oda, Toyotomi and Tokugawa 1.4 Tokugawa Shogunate 1.5 Modernization of the samurai (1854-1868) 1.6 Decline during the Meiji Restoration (1868-) 2 Western samurai 3 Culture 3.1 Education 3.2 Shudō 3.3 Names 3.4 Marriage 4 Philosophy 5 Women 6 Weapons 7 Etymology of samurai and related words 8 Myth and reality 9 Popular culture 9.1 Samurai in computer games 10 Famous Samurai 11 See also 12 References 13 Samurai Films 13.1 Historical 13.2 Influenced by samurai 14 External links

History

It is believed warriors and foot-soldiers in the sixth century may have formed a proto-samurai class. According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings ^[1] Following a disastrous military engagement with Tang China and Silla, Japan underwent widespread reforms. A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking The Tang Dynasty ( Middle Chinese: dhɑng (June 18 618&ndashJune 4 907 was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Silla (57 BC – 935 AD was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. One of the most important was that of the Taika Reform, issued by Prince Naka no Ōe (Emperor Tenji) in 646 AD. The were a set of doctrines established by Emperor Kōtoku in the year 646 Emperor Tenji (天智天皇 Tenji-tennō) also known as Emperor Tenchi ( Tenchi-tennō) ( 626 - January 7, 672 (the 3rd Day of This edict introduced Chinese cultural practices and administrative techniques throughout the Japanese aristocracy and bureaucracy^[1]. Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government As part of the Taihō Code, of 702 AD and the later Yōrō Code,^[2], the population was required to report regularly for census, which was used as a precursor for national conscription. The was an administrative reorganization enacted in 701 in Japan, at the end of the Asuka period. The was one iteration of several codes or governing rules compiled in early Nara period in Classical Japan. With an understanding of how the population was distributed, Emperor Mommu introduced the law whereby 1 in 3–4 adult males were drafted into the national military. Emperor Mommu (文武天皇 Monmu-tennō) (683-707 was the 42nd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession These soldiers were required to supply their own weapons, and in return were exempted from duties and taxes. ^[1] This was one of the first attempts by the Imperial government to form an organized army modelled after the Chinese system. It was called gundan-sei(軍団制) by later historians and is believed to have been short lived.

The Taihō Code classified Imperial bureaucrats into 12 ranks, each divided into two sub-ranks, 1st rank being the highest adviser to the emperor. Those of 6th rank and below were referred to as "samurai" and dealt with day-to-day affairs. Although these "samurai" were civilian public servants, the name is believed to have derived from this term. Military men, however, would not be referred to as "samurai" for many more centuries.

In the early Heian period, the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Emperor Kammu (桓武天皇) sought to consolidate and expand his rule in northern Honshū, but the armies he sent to conquer the rebellious Emishi people lacked motivation and discipline, and were unable to prevail. The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. (737&ndash806 was the 50th imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession or Honshu is the largest Island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of For the statesman at the Yamato imperial court see Soga no Emishi. Emperor Kammu introduced the title of Seiitaishogun (征夷大将軍) or shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" Skilled in mounted combat and archery (kyūdō, 弓道), these clan warriors became the emperor's preferred tool for putting down rebellions. Archery is the practice of using a bow or Crossbow to shoot Arrows Archery has historically been used in Hunting and Combat and has literally meaning " way of the bow " is the Japanese art of Archery. Although these warriors may have been educated, at this time (7th to 9th century) the Imperial court officials considered them to be little more than barbarians.

Ultimately, Emperor Kammu disbanded his army, and from this time, the emperor's power gradually declined . While the emperor was still the ruler, powerful clans around Kyoto (京都) assumed positions as ministers, and their relatives bought positions as magistrates. (IPA /kʲoːto / is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. To amass wealth and repay their debts, magistrates often imposed heavy taxes, resulting in many farmers becoming landless.

As the threat of robbery rose, the clans began recruiting these exiles in the Kanto plains. Because of their intense training in the martial arts, they proved to be effective guards. Small numbers would accompany tax collectors and, merely by their presence, deter thieves and bandits from attacking. They were saburai, armed retainers, yet their advantage of being the sole armed party quickly became apparent.

Through protective agreements and political marriages, they accumulated political power, eventually surpassing the traditional aristocracy.

Some clans were originally formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands and collect taxes. These clans formed alliances to protect themselves against more powerful clans, and by the mid-Heian period they had adopted characteristic Japanese armour and weapons, and laid the foundations of Bushido, their ethical code. However, Bushido was never a code of ethics per se, and only in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century did the term gain popular currency.

For most of samurai history, warriors described themselves as followers of Budo or Bushido and had a universal set of values dervived from Confucianisn, Buddhism and Shinto. Families such as the Imagawa had large numbers of influence and so their ethical code spread across the realm and were widely quoted by others. Kato Kiyomasa commanded over Japan's forces in Korea and therefore had a large influnce over the other warrior families.

By the 12th century, samurai were highly literate due to the general introduction of Confucianism from China during the 7th to 9th centuries, and aspired to the more cultured abilities of the nobility. This was achieved because education was required and some lords ordered the men to be educated. Examples such as Taira Tadanori (a samurai who appears in the Heike Monogatari or "Tale of the Heike") demonstrate that some warriors idealized the arts and aspire to become skilled in them; Tadanori is famous for his skill with the pen and the sword or the "bun and the bu", hormony of fighting and learning. The Tale of the Heike ( Heike monogatari, 平家物語 is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto Clans

Beginning around the fourteenth century, samurai were expected to be cultured and literate, and the ancient saying "Bun Bu Ryo Do" (文武両道, lit. literary arts, military arts, both ways) or "The pen and the sword in accord," was an ideal to which many aspired. The number of men who actually achieved the ideal and lived their lives by it was high. By the time of the Meiji restoration, Japanese literacy rates were higher than European literacy rates.

An early term for warrior, "uruwashii", was written with a kanji that combined the characters for literary study ("bun" 文) and military arts ("bu" 武), and is mentioned in the Heike Monogatari (late 12th century). are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana The Heike Monogatari makes reference to the educated poet-swordsman ideal in its mention of Taira no Tadanori's death:

"Friends and foes alike wet their sleeves with tears and said, 'What a pity! Tadanori was a great general, pre-eminent in the arts of both sword and poetry. ' "

According to William Scott Wilson in his book Ideals of the Samurai: "The warriors in the Heike Monogatari served as models for the educated warriors of later generations, and the ideals depicted by them were not assumed to be beyond reach. William Scott Wilson (b 1944 in Nashville Tennessee) is known for translating several works of Japanese literature, mostly those relating to the martial tradition Rather, these ideals were vigorously pursued in the upper echelons of warrior society and recommended as the proper form of the Japanese man of arms. With the Heike Monogatari, the image of the Japanese warrior in literature came to its full maturity. " Wilson then translates the writings of several warriors who mention the Heike Monogatari as an example for their men to follow.

Plenty of warrior writings document this ideal from the 13th century onward.

Kamakura Bakufu and the rise of Samurai

Originally the emperor and nobility employed these warriors. In time, they amassed enough manpower, resources and political backing in the form of alliances with one another, to establish the first samurai-dominated government.

As the power of these regional clans grew, their chief was typically a distant relative of the emperor, and a lesser member of either the Fujiwara, Minamoto, or Taira clans. was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period ( 794 – 1185 AD on those of their sons and grandsons who were not For other uses of the word Taira see Taira (disambiguation The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan

Though originally sent to provincial areas for a fixed four-year term as a magistrate, the toryo declined to return to the capital when their terms ended, and their sons inherited their positions and continued to lead the clans in putting down rebellions throughout Japan during the middle and later Heian period.

Samurai fought at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. The was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait off the southern tip of Honshū. Because of their rising military and economic power, the warriors ultimately became a new force in the politics of the court. Their involvement in the Hōgen in the late Heian period consolidated their power, and finally pitted the rival Minamoto and Taira clans against each other in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160. was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period ( 794 – 1185 AD on those of their sons and grandsons who were not For other uses of the word Taira see Taira (disambiguation The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan The was fought between rival subjects of the cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan in 1159.

The winner, Taira no Kiyomori, became an imperial advisor, and was the first warrior to attain such a position. was a general of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first Samurai -dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. He eventually seized control of the central government, establishing the first samurai-dominated government and relegating the emperor to figurehead status.

However, the Taira clan was still very conservative when compared to its eventual successor, the Minamoto, and instead of expanding or strengthening its military might, the Taira clan had its women marry emperors and exercise control through the emperor.

The Taira and the Minamoto clashed again in 1180, beginning the Gempei War which ended in 1185. The ( 1180 &ndash 1185) were a Conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clans and in late- Heian period Japan. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo established the superiority of the samurai over the aristocracy. was the founder and the first Shogun of the Kamakura Shogunate of Japan. In 1190, he visited Kyoto and in 1192, became Seii Taishogun, establishing the Kamakura Shogunate, or Kamakura Bakufu. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the Shogunate in Kamakura, near his base of power. is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan, about 50 km south-south-west of Tokyo. "Bakufu" means "tent government," taken from the encampments the soldiers would live in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as a military government.

Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility, or "buke", who were only nominally under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. Calligraphy (from Greek kallos "beauty" + graphẽ "writing" is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996 17 In spite of various machinations and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the Shogun and the samurai.

Ashikaga Shogunate and the Feudal Period

Various samurai clans struggled for power during the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates. The Kamakura shogunate ( Japanese: 鎌倉幕府 Kamakura bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship in Japan headed by the Shoguns from was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by the Shoguns of the Ashikaga family

Zen Buddhism spread among the samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace, Pure Land Buddhism was favored. Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Pure Land Buddhism ( Jìngtǔzōng; 浄土教 Jōdokyō; Korean: ko-Hang 정토종 jeongtojong; Vietnamese: 浄土宗 vi

In 1274, the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Empire sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern Kyūshū. The Yuan Dynasty ( Pinyin: Yuáncháo Dai Ön Ulus (Дай Юан Улс was a ruling Dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai The Mongol Empire ( Mongolyn Ezent Güren or mn Их Mонгол улс Ikh Mongol Uls; 1206–1368 was the largest contiguous Empire or Kyushu is the third-largest Island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all or large parts of the Armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory The Yuan army was eventually recalled and the invasion called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gunpowder in Japan. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely Gunpowder is a an explosive mixture of Sulfur, Charcoal and Potassium nitrate (also known as saltpetre/saltpeter that burns rapidly producing volumes

The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion, and began construction of a great, stone barrier around Hakata Bay in 1276. Hakata Bay (博多湾 - wan) is a bay in the northwestern part of Fukuoka city on the Japanese island of Kyūshū. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the border of the bay. This would later serve as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed. This set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.

In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 4,400 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again recalling their armies.

The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as kami-no-kaze, which literally translates as "wind of the gods. " This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind. " The kami-no-kaze lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.

In the 14th century, a blacksmith called Masamune developed a two-layer structure of soft and hard steel for use in swords. Masamune (正宗 Masamune) also known as Goro Nyudo Masamune (Priest Goro Masamune, is widely recognized as Japan 's greatest Swordsmith This structure gave much improved cutting power and endurance, and the production technique led to Japanese swords (katana) being recognized as some of the most potent hand weapons of pre-industrial East Asia. A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword Many swords made using this technique were exported across the East China Sea, a few making their way as far as India. The East China Sea is a Marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1249000 km² India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country

Issues of inheritance caused family strife as primogeniture became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before the 14th century. Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings To avoid infighting, invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates. The Kamakura shogunate ( Japanese: 鎌倉幕府 Kamakura bakufu) was a feudal military dictatorship in Japan headed by the Shoguns from was a feudal military dictatorship ruled by the Shoguns of the Ashikaga family

The Sengoku jidai ("warring-states period") was marked by the loosening of samurai culture with people born into other social strata sometimes making names for themselves as warriors and thus becoming de facto samurai. In this turbulent period, bushido ethics became important factors in controlling and maintaining public order.

Japanese war tactics and technologies improved rapidly in the 15th and 16th century. Use of large numbers of infantry called ashigaru ("light-foot," due to their light armour), formed of humble warriors or ordinary people with Nagayari (a long lance) or (Naginata), was introduced and combined with cavalry in maneuvers. The Japanese ashigaru (足軽 were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan The term lance has become a catchall for a variety of different Pole weapons based on the Spear. Naginata (なぎなた 薙刀 is a Pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the Samurai class The number of people mobilized in warfare ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands.

The arquebus, a matchlock gun, was introduced by the Portuguese via a Chinese pirate ship in 1543 and the Japanese succeeded in assimilating it within a decade. The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is The Matchlock was the first mechanism or "lock" invented to uncomplicate the firing of a hand-held firearm Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering Groups of mercenaries with mass-produced arquebuses began playing a critical role. The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is

By the end of feudal period, several hundred thousand firearms existed in Japan and massive armies numbering over 100,000 clashed in battles. By comparison, the largest and most powerful army in Europe, the Spanish, had only several thousand firearms and could only assemble 30,000 troops. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.

In 1592, and again in 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China (唐入り) and sent to Korea an army of 160,000 samurai (Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, 朝鮮征伐). China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. Two Japanese invasions of Korea and subsequent battles on the Korean peninsula took place during the years 1592-1598 Taking advantage of its mastery of the arquebus, Japanese samurai almost led the war to victory, but were unable to do so, due to the entry of Ming Chinese troops. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National A few of the more famous samurai generals of this war were Katō Kiyomasa, Konishi Yukinaga, and Shimazu Yoshihiro. ( July 25, 1562 - August 2, 1611) was a Japanese daimyō of the Sengoku and Edo period. Konishi Yukinaga (小西 行長 Konishi Yukinaga, born 1555 and died November 6, 1600) was a Japanese Christian Daimyo under was the second son of Shimazu Takahisa and younger brother of Shimazu Yoshihisa.

Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence. Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era, declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans, Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara and Tachibana. was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period ( 794 – 1185 AD on those of their sons and grandsons who were not For other uses of the word Taira see Taira (disambiguation The was a major Japanese clan in historical Japan This article is about the Tachibana (立花 samurai clan For the Tachibana (橘 court noble family、see Tachibana clan (kuge. In most cases, however, it is hard to prove these claims.

See also: Nanban trade period

Oda, Toyotomi and Tokugawa

Oda Nobunaga was the well-known lord of the Nagoya area (once called Owari Province) and an exceptional example of a samurai of the Sengoku Period. The Nanban trade ( Japanese: 南蛮貿易 nanban-bōeki, "Southern barbarian trade" or the Nanban trade period ( Japanese: 南蛮貿易時代 ( June 23, 1534 &ndash June 21, 1582) was a major Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history is the third-largest incorporated city and the fourth most populous urban area in Japan. was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of present day Aichi Prefecture. He came within a few years of, and laid down the path for his successors to follow, the reunification of Japan under a new Bakufu (Shogunate).

Oda Nobunaga made innovations in the fields of organization and war tactics, heavily used arquebuses, developed commerce and industry and treasured innovation. Consecutive victories enabled him to realize the termination of the Ashikaga Bakufu and the disarmament of the military powers of the Buddhist monks, which had inflamed futile struggles among the populace for centuries. Attacking from the "sanctuary" of Buddhist temples, they were constant headaches to any warlord and even the emperor who tried to control their actions. He died in 1582 when one of his generals, Akechi Mitsuhide, turned upon him with his army. nicknamed Jūbei or, was a Samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan.

Importantly, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (see below) and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who founded the Tokugawa Shogunate, were loyal followers of Nobunaga.  was the founder and first Shogun  of the Tokugawa shogunate Hideyoshi was brought up from a nameless peasant to be one of Nobunaga's top generals and Ieyasu had shared his childhood with Nobunaga. Hideyoshi defeated Mitsuhide within a month and was regarded as the rightful successor of Nobunaga by avenging the treachery of Mitsuhide.

These two were gifted with Nobunaga's previous achievements on which build a unified Japan and there was a saying: "The reunification is a rice cake; Oda made it. Hashiba shaped it. At last, only Ieyasu tastes it. " (Hashiba is the family name that Toyotomi Hideyoshi used while he was a follower of Nobunaga. )

Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who became a grand minister in 1586, himself the son of a poor peasant family, created a law that the samurai caste became codified as permanent and hereditary, and that non-samurai were forbidden to carry weapons, thereby ending the social mobility of Japan up until that point, which lasted until the dissolution of the Edo Shogunate by the Meiji revolutionaries.

It is important to note that the distinction between samurai and non-samurai was so obscure that during the 16th century, most male adults in any social class (even small farmers) belonged to at least one military organization of their own and served in wars before and during Hideyoshi's rule. It can be said that an "all against all" situation continued for a century.

The authorized samurai families after the 17th century were those that chose to follow Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. Large battles occurred during the change between regimes, and a number of defeated samurai were destroyed, went ronin or were absorbed into the general populace. A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan.

Tokugawa Shogunate

During the Tokugawa era, samurai increasingly became courtiers, bureaucrats, and administrators rather than warriors. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 With no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai gradually lost their military function during the Tokugawa era (also called the Edo period). The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868

By the end of the Tokugawa era, samurai were aristocratic bureaucrats for the daimyo, with their daisho, the paired long and short swords of the samurai (cf. The ( were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings The, lit "big and small" is a Japanese term referring to the traditional weapons of the Samurai. katana and wakizashi) becoming more of a symbolic emblem of power rather than a weapon used in daily life. A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword The (meaning "side arm" is a traditional Japanese sword with a Shōtō blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 inches with an average of 50 cm (20 inches

They still had the legal right to cut down any commoner who did not show proper respect (kiri sute gomen (斬り捨て御免)), but to what extent this right was used is unknown. In British law a commoner is someone who is neither the Sovereign nor a peer. Kiri sute gomen (斬り捨て御免 or 切り捨て御免 literally “authorisation to cut” or “authorisation to leave” (the body of the Victim) is an When the central government forced daimyos to cut the size of their armies, unemployed ronin became a social problem. A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan.

Theoretical obligations between a samurai and his lord (usually a daimyo) increased from the Genpei era to the Edo era. They were strongly emphasized by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius (ca 550 B. Confucius ( lit " Master Kung " September 28, 551 BC - 479 BC) was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher Life Mencius also known by his birth name Meng Ke or Ko, was born in the State of Zou (simp C. ) which were required reading for the educated samurai class. During the Edo period, after the general end of hostilities, the code of Bushido was formalized. It is important to note that bushido was an ideal, but that it remained uniform from the 13th century to the 19th century — the ideals of Bushido transcended social class, time and geographic location of the warrior class.

Bushido was formalized by many samurai in this time of peace in much the same fashion as chivalry was formalized after knights as a warrior class became obsolete in Europe. Chivalric order Chivalry is a term related to the Medieval institution of Knighthood. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. The conduct of samurai became a favorable model of a citizen in Edo, with formalities being emphasized. With time on their hands, samurai spent more time in pursuit of other interests such as becoming scholars.

Bushido still survives in present-day Japanese society, as do many other aspects of the samurai's way of life.

Modernization of the samurai (1854-1868)

Main article: Late Tokugawa shogunate

By this time, the Way of Death and Desperateness had been eclipsed by a rude awakening in 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry's massive steamships from the U. Matthew Calbraith Perry ( April 10, 1794 &ndash March 4, 1858) was the Commodore of the U S. Navy first imposed broader commerce on the once-dominant national policy of isolationism. Prior to that only a few harbor towns, under strict control from the Shogunate, were able to participate in Western trade, and even then, it was based largely on the idea of playing the Franciscans and Dominicans off against one another (in exchange for the crucial arquebus technology, which in turn was a major contributor to the downfall of the classical samurai). The term Franciscan is commonly used to refer to members of Catholic The Order of Preachers ( Latin: Ordo Praedicatorum) after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is

From 1854, the samurai army and the navy were modernized. A Naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. The was a naval training institute between 1855 when it was established by the government of the Shogun, until 1859, when it was transferred to Tsukiji ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto. Viscount was a Japanese Navy admiral faithful to the Tokugawa Shogunate, who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin

French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. It is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay in the Miura Peninsula, and the city stretches across ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" The was a Civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the Viscount was a Japanese Navy admiral faithful to the Tokugawa Shogunate, who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin A French Military Mission to Japan (1867) was established to help modernize the armies of the Bakufu. is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander"

The last showing of the original samurai was in 1867 when samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma provinces defeated the Shogunate forces in favor of the rule of the emperor in the Boshin War (1868-1869). often called, was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi prefecture. This article is about the province For alternative meanings of the word Satsuma, see Satsuma (disambiguation was an old province The was a Civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the The two provinces were the lands of the daimyo that submitted to Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600). Background and pretext Even though Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified Japan and consolidated his power following the Siege of Odawara in 1590 his ill-fated

Decline during the Meiji Restoration (1868-)

Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in favor of a more modern, western-style, conscripted army in 1873. Felice Beato (born 1833 or 1834 died c 1907 sometimes known as Felix Beato, was a Corfiote Photographer. The (3 November 1852 — 30 July 1912 or Meiji the Great was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession reigning from 3 February Samurai became Shizoku (士族) who retained some of their salaries, but the right to wear a katana in public was eventually abolished along with the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

The samurai finally came to an end after hundreds of years of enjoyment of their status, their powers, and their ability to shape the government of Japan. However, the rule of the state by the military class was not yet over.

In defining how a modern Japan should be, members of the Meiji government decided to follow the footsteps of United Kingdom and Germany, basing the country on the concept of "noblesse oblige. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. In French, " noblesse oblige " means literally " Nobility obligates" " Samurai were not to be a political force under the new order.

With the Meiji reforms in the late 19th century, the samurai class was abolished, and a western-style national army was established. The, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan 's political and social structure The Imperial Japanese Armies were conscripted, but many samurai volunteered to be soldiers and many advanced to be trained as officers. Much of the Imperial Army officer class was of samurai origin and they were highly motivated, disciplined and exceptionally trained.

The last samurai conflict was arguably in 1877, during the Satsuma Rebellion in the Battle of Shiroyama. The, was a revolt of Satsuma ex- Samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 1877 to September 241877 11 years into the Meiji Era. The took place on 1877-09-24, in Kagoshima, Japan It was the final battle of the Satsuma rebellion. This conflict had its genesis in the previous uprising to defeat the Tokugawa Shogunate, leading to the Meiji Restoration.

The newly formed government instituted radical changes, aimed at reducing the power of the feudal domains, including Satsuma, and the dissolution of samurai status. This led to the ultimately premature uprising, led by Saigō Takamori. was one of the most influential Samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era.

Samurai were many of the early exchange students, not directly because they were samurai, but because many samurai were literate and well-educated scholars. Some of these exchange students started private schools for higher educations, while many samurai took pens instead of guns and became reporters and writers, setting up newspaper companies, and others entered governmental service.

Only the name Shizoku existed after that. After Japan lost the World War II, the name Shizoku disappeared under the law on January 1, 1948. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Western samurai

The English sailor and adventurer William Adams (1564–1620) seems to have been the first foreigner to receive the dignity of samurai. For other people called William Adams see William Adams. Early life Adams was born in Gillingham, Kent, England The Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu presented him with two swords representing the authority of a samurai, and decreed that William Adams the sailor was dead and that Miura Anjin (三浦按針), a samurai, was born.  was the founder and first Shogun  of the Tokugawa shogunate Adams also received the title of hatamoto (bannerman), a high-prestige position as a direct retainer in the Shogun's court. A was a Samurai in the direct service of the Tokugawa shogunate of feudal Japan. He was provided with generous revenues: "For the services that I have done and do daily, being employed in the Emperor's service, the emperor has given me a living" (Letters). He was granted a fief in Hemi (逸見) within the boundaries of present-day Yokosuka City, "with eighty or ninety husbandmen, that be my slaves or servants" (Letters). is a city located in Kanagawa, Japan. It is located at the mouth of Tokyo Bay in the Miura Peninsula, and the city stretches across His estate was valued at 250 koku (measure of the income of the land in rice equal to about five bushels). KOKU (1003 FM, "Hit Radio 100" is a Radio station in the United States territory of Guam. A bushel is a unit of dry volume, usually subdivided into eight local Gallons in the systems of Imperial units and U He finally wrote "God hath provided for me after my great misery" (Letters) by which he meant the disaster-ridden voyage that had initially brought him to Japan.

Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn (1556?-1623?), a Dutch colleague of Adams' on their ill-fated voyage to Japan in the ship De Liefde, was also given similar privileges by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Jan Joosten van Lodensteijn (c 1560 – 1623 or simply Jan Joosten, was a native of Delft and one of the first Dutchmen in Japan, arriving It appears Joosten became a samurai and was given a residence within Ieyasu's castle at Edo. Today, this area at the east exit of Tokyo Station is known as Yaesu (八重洲). is a Train station located in the Marunouchi business district of Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, near the Imperial Palace grounds and the For the brand of amateur radio equipment see Yaesu (brand is a neighborhood in Chūō Tokyo, Japan, located north Yaesu is a corruption of the Dutchman's Japanese name, Yayousu (耶楊子). Also in common with Adam's, Joostens was given a Red Seal Ship (朱印船) allowing him to trade between Japan and Indo-China. For the RCA or RCA Victor record series see RCA Red Seal Records Red seal ships (朱印船 Shuinsen) were Japanese Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. On a return journey from Batavia Joosten drowned after his ship ran aground. Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta) is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia.

Also, during the Boshin War (1868-1869), French soldiers joined the forces of the Shogun against the Southern Daimyos favorable to the restoration of the Meiji emperor. The was a Civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the The (3 November 1852 — 30 July 1912 or Meiji the Great was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession reigning from 3 February It is recorded that the French Navy officer Eugène Collache fought in samurai attire with his Japanese brother-in-arms. Eugène Collache was an officer of the French Navy in the 19th century At the same time, the Prussian Edward Schnell served the Aizu domain as a military instructor and procurer of weapons. Edward and Henry Schnell were two brothers and German arms-dealers active in Japan during the Boshin war, in 1868-1869 is an area comprising the westernmost third of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan. He was granted the Japanese name Hiramatsu Buhei (平松武兵衛), which inverted the characters of the daimyo's name Matsudaira (松平). Matsudaira Katamori (松平容保 February 15, 1836 − December 5, 1893) was a Samurai that lived in the last days of the Hiramatsu (Schnell) was given the right to wear swords, as well as a residence in the castle town of Wakamatsu, a Japanese wife, and retainers. Aizuwakamatsu (会津若松市 -shi is a city located in the Aizu region of Fukushima, Japan. In many contemporary references, he is portrayed as wearing a Japanese kimono, overcoat, and swords, with Western riding trousers and boots.

Culture

As de facto aristocrats for centuries, samurai developed their own cultures that influenced Japanese culture as a whole.

Education

A samurai was expected to read and write, as well as to know some mathematics. Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a great samurai yet originally a peasant, could only read and write in hiragana and this was a significant drawback for him. is a Japanese Syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system, along with Katakana and Kanji; the Latin alphabet Samurai were expected, though not required, to have interests in other arts such as dancing, Go, literature, poetry, and tea. Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic Literature is the Art of written works Literally translated the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Ōta Dōkan who first ruled Edo wrote how he was shamed to realize that even a commoner had more knowledge of poetry than he. Ōta Dōkan (太田道灌 (1432-1486 also known as Ōta Sukenaga (太田資長 or Ōta Dōkan Sukenaga was a Japanese Samurai warrior-poet military literally bay - Door, " Estuary " edo once also spelled Yedo or Yeddo, is the

Shudō

Shudō (衆道), the tradition of love bonds between a seasoned and a novice samurai was held to be "the flower of the samurai spirit" and formed the real basis of the samurai aesthetic. is the Japanese tradition of age-structured Homosexuality prevalent in Samurai society from the Medieval period until the end of the 19th century It was analogous to the educational Greek pederasty and an honored and important practice in samurai society. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Pederasty or paederasty refers to an erotic relationship sexually expressed or not between an adolescent boy and an adult male outside his immediate family It was one of the main ways in which the ethos and the skills of the samurai tradition were passed down from one generation to another.

Another name for the bonds was bidō (美道 "the beautiful way"). The devotion that two samurai would have for each other would be almost as great as that which they had for their daimyo. The ( were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings Indeed, according to contemporary accounts, the choice between his lover and his master could become a philosophical problem for samurai. Hagakure and other samurai manuals gave specific instructions in the way that this tradition was to be carried out and respected. Hagakure ( Kyūjitai:; Shinjitai:; meaning In the Shadow of Leaves) or is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior drawn from a collection After the Meiji Restoration and the introduction of a more westernised lifestyle, the practice died out. The, also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan 's political and social structure

The bonds of shudo may not have been as widely practiced or as universally praised as some documents suggest. "Keichu Kibun Makurabunko" written in the Edo era by the pseudonymous Insaisen is clearly critical of shudo. ^[3]--Tsumugi (talk) 01:50, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Names

A samurai was usually named by combining one kanji from his father or grandfather and one new kanji. are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana Samurai normally used only a small part of their total name.

For example, the full name of Oda Nobunaga would be "Oda Kazusanosuke Saburo Nobunaga" (織田上総介三郎信長), in which "Oda" is a clan or family name, "Kazusanosuke" is a title of vice-governor of Kazusa province, "Saburo" is a name before genpuku, a coming of age ceremony, and "Nobunaga" is an adult name. ( June 23, 1534 &ndash June 21, 1582) was a major Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history Samurai were able to choose their own last names.

Marriage

The marriage of samurai was done by having a marriage arranged by someone with the same or higher rank than those being married. NOTICE TO WOULD-BE ROMEOS ************** While for those samurai in the upper ranks this was a necessity (as most had few opportunities to meet a female), this was a formality for lower ranked samurai. A formality is an established procedure or set of specific behaviors and utterances conceptually similar to a Ritual although typically secular and less involved Most samurai married women from a samurai family, but for a lower ranked samurai marriages with commoners were permitted. In these marriages a dowry was brought by the woman and was used to start their new lives. A dowry (also known as trousseau or tocher) is the money goods or estate that a woman brings to her soon to be husband in marriage

A samurai could have a mistress but her background was strictly checked by higher ranked samurai. A mistress is a man's long term female Sexual partner and companion who is not married to him especially used when the man is married to another woman In many cases, this was treated like a marriage. "Kidnapping" a mistress, although common in fiction, would have been shameful, if not a crime. When she was a commoner, a messenger would be sent with betrothal money or a note for exemption of tax to ask for her parent's acceptance and many parents gladly accepted. If a samurai's wife gave birth to a son he could be a samurai.

A samurai could divorce his wife for a variety of reasons with approval from a superior, but divorce was, while not entirely nonexistent, a rare event. Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the termination of a Marriage. A reason for divorce would be if she could not produce a son, but then adoption could be arranged as an alternative to divorce. Adoption is the act of legally placing a child with a Parent or parents other than those to whom they were born A samurai could divorce for personal reasons, even if he simply did not like his wife, but this was generally avoided as it would embarrass the samurai who had arranged the marriage. A woman could also arrange a divorce, although it would generally take the form of the samurai divorcing her. After a divorce samurai had to return the betrothal money, which often prevented divorces. Some rich merchants had their daughters marry samurai to erase a samurai's debt and advance their positions.

A samurai's wife would be dishonored and allowed to commit jigai (a female's seppuku) if she were cast off. The word means "suicide" in Japanese. The usual modern word for suicide is. is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by Disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for Samurai.

Philosophy

The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism and Shinto, influenced the samurai culture. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism, referred to in Chinese as Chan. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B is the native religion of Japan and was once its State religion. Zen meditation became an important teaching due to it offering a process to calm one's mind. The Buddhist concept of reincarnation and rebirth led samurai to abandon torture and needless killing, while some samurai even gave up violence altogether and became Buddhist monks after realizing how fruitless their killings were. Some were killed as they came to terms with these realizations in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship; this is, the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord. Confucianism ( is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system originally developed from the teachings of the fifth century B

Bushidō ("way of the warrior") was a term attached to a samurai "code of conduct" or way of life enforced during Edo period by the Tokugawa Shogunate, so that they could control the samurai more easily. The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of Its deceptive simplicity led to countless arguments over its interpretation. Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo is a manual of instruction into the way of the samurai. Hagakure ( Kyūjitai:; Shinjitai:; meaning In the Shadow of Leaves) or is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior drawn from a collection also read Yamamoto Jōchō ( June 11 1659 - November 30, 1719) was a samurai of the Saga Domain in Hizen Province under Even as it was published, it received a number of reviews that criticized its strict and impersonal interpretations. If the lord is wrong, for example if he ordered a massacre of civilians, should he observe loyalty to massacre as ordered or should he observe rectitude to let the civilians escape unharmed? If a man had sick parents but committed an unforgivable mistake, should he protect his honour by committing seppuku or should he show courage by living with dishonor and care for his parents?

The incident of 47 Ronin caused debates about the righteousness of the samurai's actions and how bushido should be applied. This page is about loyalty as faithfulness to a cause For its use in business see Loyalty business model or Loyalty Marketing. Righteousness in this article refers to the important theological concept in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Honor or Honour (see spelling differences) (the latter directly from the Latin word honos honoris) is the evaluation of a person's is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by Disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for Samurai. Gallantry redirects here Or see Gallant for other meanings Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity The revenge of the, also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the eighteenth century They had defied the shogun by taking matters into their own hands but it was an act of loyalty and rectitude as well. This page is about loyalty as faithfulness to a cause For its use in business see Loyalty business model or Loyalty Marketing. Righteousness in this article refers to the important theological concept in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Finally, their acts were agreed to be rectitude but not loyalty to the shogun. Righteousness in this article refers to the important theological concept in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. This page is about loyalty as faithfulness to a cause For its use in business see Loyalty business model or Loyalty Marketing. This made them criminals with conscience and eligible for seppuku.

Women

Maintaining the household, or ie, was the main duty of samurai women. This was especially crucial during early feudal Japan, when warrior husbands were often traveling abroad or engaged in clan battles. The wife, or okusan (meaning: one who remains in the home), was left to manage all household affairs, care for the children, and perhaps even defend the home forcibly. For this reason, many women of the samurai class were trained in wielding a polearm called a naginata or a special knife called the kaiken in an art called tantōjutsu (lit. Naginata (なぎなた 薙刀 is a Pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the Samurai class A is a Dagger formerly carried by men and women of the Samurai class in Japan. the skill of the knife), which they could use to protect their household, family, and honor if the need arose.

Traits valued in women of the samurai class were humility, obedience, self-control, strength, and loyalty. Ideally, a samurai wife would be skilled at managing property, keeping records, dealing with financial matters, educating the children (and perhaps servants, too), and caring for elderly parents or in-laws that may be living under her roof. Confucian law, which helped define personal relationships and the code of ethics of the warrior class required that a woman show subservience to her husband, filial piety to her parents, and care to the children. Too much love and affection was also said to indulge and spoil the youngsters. Thus, a woman was also to exercise discipline.

Though women of wealthier samurai families enjoyed perks of their elevated position in society, such as avoiding the physical labor that those of lower classes often engaged in, they were still viewed as far beneath men. Women were prohibited from engaging in any political affairs and were usually not the heads of their household.

This does not mean that samurai women were always powerless. Powerful women both wisely and unwisely wielded power at various occasions. After Ashikaga Yoshimasa, 8th shogun of the Muromachi shogunate lost interest in politics, his wife Hino Tomiko largely ruled in his place. was the 8th Shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1449 to 1473 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Nene, wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was known to overrule her husband's decisions at times and Yodo, his mistress, became the de facto master of Osaka castle and the Toyotomi clan after Hideyoshi's death. Chiyo, wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo, has long been considered the ideal samurai wife. According to legend, she made her kimono out of a quilted patchwork of bits of old cloth and saved pennies to buy her husband a magnificent horse on which he rode to many victories. The fact that Chiyo (though she is better known as "Wife of Yamauchi Kazutoyo") is held to such high esteem for her economic sense is illuminating in the light of the fact that she never produced an heir and the Yamauchi clan was succeeded by Kazutoyo's younger brother. The source of power for women may have been that samurai looked down upon matters concerning money and left their finances to their wives.

As the Tokugawa period progressed more value became placed on education, and the education of females beginning at a young age became important to families and society as a whole. Marriage criteria began to weigh intelligence and education as desirable attributes in a wife, right along with physical attractiveness. Though many of the texts written for women during the Tokugawa period only pertained to how a woman could become a successful wife and household manager, there were those that undertook the challenge of learning to read, and also tackled philosophical and literary classics. Nearly all women of the samurai class were literate by the end of the Tokugawa period.

Weapons

The samurai used various weapons, but the katana is the weapon that is synonymous with samurai. A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword Bushido teaches that the katana is the samurai's soul and sometimes a samurai is pictured as entirely dependent on the katana for fighting. They believe that the katana was so precious that they often gave them names and considered them as part of the living. However the use of swords did not become common in battle until the Kamakura period (1185–1333), where the tachi and uchigatana (the predecessor to the katana) became prevalent. The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 by the first Kamakura Shogun The is a Japanese sword, often said to be more curved and slightly longer than the Katana. The is a type of Japanese sword. From the Heian to the Edo period, the primary battlefield sword was the Tachi. The katana itself did not become the primary weapon until the Edo period. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868

After a male child of the bushi was born, he would receive his first sword in a ceremony called mamori-gatana. The sword, however, was merely a charm sword covered with brocade to which was attached a purse or wallet, worn by children under five. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a ceremony called Genbuku (元服), a male child was given his first real swords and armour, an adult name, and became a samurai. A katana and a wakizashi together are called a daisho (lit. The, lit "big and small" is a Japanese term referring to the traditional weapons of the Samurai. "big and small").

The wakizashi itself was a samurai's "honour blade" and purportedly never left the samurai's side. The (meaning "side arm" is a traditional Japanese sword with a Shōtō blade between 30 and 60 cm (12 and 24 inches with an average of 50 cm (20 inches He would sleep with it under his pillow and it would be taken with him when he entered a house and had to leave his main weapons outside.

The Tantō was a small dagger sometimes worn with or instead of the Wakizashi in a daisho. A is a common Japanese single or occasionally double edged Knife or Dagger with a blade length between 15 and 30 cm (6-12 inches The tanto or the wakizashi was used to commit seppuku, a ritualized suicide. is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by Disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for Samurai.

The samurai stressed skill with the yumi (longbow), reflected in the art of kyujutsu (lit. is the Japanese term for bows and includes the Longbow, Daikyū and the Shortbow, hankyū) used in the is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow Although the Samurai of feudal Japan are perhaps best known for their Swordsmanship the skill of the bow). The bow would remain a critical component of the Japanese military even with the introduction of firearms during the Sengoku Jidai period. The yumi, an asymmetric composite bow made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather, was not as powerful as the Eurasian reflex composite bow, having an effective range of 50 meters (about 164 feet) or 100 meters ([328 feet]) if accuracy was not an issue. A composite bow is a bow made from disparate materials laminated together usually applied under tension Bamboo is a group of Woody perennial Evergreen Plants in the True grass family Poaceae, subfamily Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Leather is a material created through the Tanning of hides and Skins of Animals primarily Cattlehide The Tanning process A composite bow is a bow made from disparate materials laminated together usually applied under tension It was usually used on foot behind a tedate (手盾), a large and mobile bamboo wall, but shorter versions (hankyu) could also be used from horseback. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto ceremony of Yabusame (流鏑馬). is a type of Japanese archery, one that is performed while riding a Horse.

In the 15th century, the yari (spear) also became a popular weapon. Yari (槍 is the Japanese term for Spear, or more specifically the straight-headed spear It displaced the naginata from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized around massed, inexpensive foot troops (ashigaru). Naginata (なぎなた 薙刀 is a Pole weapon that was traditionally used in Japan by members of the Samurai class The Japanese ashigaru (足軽 were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan A charge, mounted or dismounted, was also more effective when using a spear than a sword and it offered better than even odds against a samurai using a sword. In the Battle of Shizugatake where Shibata Katsuie was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi, the Seven Spearmen of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳七本槍) played a crucial role in the victory. The was a battle in Sengoku period Japan between supporters of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobutaka. or was a Japanese military commander during the Sengoku Period who served Oda Nobunaga.

The latter half of the 16th century saw the introduction of the teppo or arquebus in Japan through Portuguese trade, enabling warlords to raise effective armies from masses of peasants. The Arquebus (sometimes spelled harquebus, harkbus or hackbut; from Dutch haakbus, meaning "hook gun" is The new weapons were highly controversial. Their ease of use and deadly effectiveness was perceived by many samurai as a dishonorable affront to Bushido tradition. Oda Nobunaga made deadly use of the teppo at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, leading to the end of the Takeda clan. ( June 23, 1534 &ndash June 21, 1582) was a major Daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history The took place in 1575 at Nagashino Castle in the Mikawa province of Japan. The was a famous clan of Daimyō (feudal lords in Japan's late Heian Period to Sengoku period.

After their initial introduction by the Portuguese and the Dutch, the teppo, were produced on a large scale by Japanese gunsmiths. The Portuguese people (os Portugueses literally the Portuguese) are the Ethnic group or Nation native to the country of Portugal, in the west The Dutch people ( Dutch:) are the dominant Ethnic group of the Netherlands. By the end of the 16th century, there were more firearms in Japan than in any European nation. Teppo, employed en masse largely by ashigaru peasant foot troops were in many ways the antithesis of samurai valor. The Japanese ashigaru (足軽 were conscripted foot-soldiers of medieval Japan With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate and an end to civil war, production of the guns declined sharply with prohibitions to ownership. By the Tokugawa Shogunate most spear-based weapons had been phased out partly because they were suboptimal for the close-quarter combat common in the Edo period, this combined with the aforementioned restrictions on fire-arms resulted in the Daisho being the only weapons typically carried by samurai. The, lit "big and small" is a Japanese term referring to the traditional weapons of the Samurai.

In the 1570s cannons became a common part of the samurai's armoury. They often were mounted in castles or on ships being used more as anti-personnel weapons though in the siege of Nagashino castle (1575) a cannon was used to good effect against an enemy siege-tower. The first popular cannon in Japan were swivel-breech loaders nick-named kunikuzushi or "Destroyer of Provinces". Kunikuzushi weighed 264 lb (120 kg). and used 40 lb (18 kg). chambers, firing a small shot of 10 oz. The Arima clan of Kyushu used guns like this at the battle of Okinawate against the Ryozoji clan. By the time of the Osaka campaign (1614-1615) cannon technology had improved in Japan to the point where at Osaka, Ii Naotaka managed to fire an 18 lb (8. 2 kg). shot into the castle's keep.

Some other weapons used by samurai were jō, bō, and the Chinese trebuchets (more as an anti-personnel weapon than a siege engine). A is an approximately 1276 m (418 foot) long Wooden staff, used in some Japanese martial arts. bō (棒 ぼう or kon, is a long staff, usually made of tapered hard wood for example white oak Bamboo and in some cases for training purposes A trebuchet or trebucket is a Siege engine that was employed in the Middle Ages either to smash Masonry Walls or to throw

Etymology of samurai and related words

The term samurai originally meant "those who serve in close attendance to nobility", and was written in the Chinese character (or kanji) that had the same meaning. A Chinese character, also known as a Han character ( is a Logogram used in writing Chinese (hanzi Japanese ( are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana In Japanese, it was originally pronounced in the pre-Heian period as saburapi and later as saburai, then samurai in the Edo period. The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. In Japanese literature, there is an early reference to samurai in the Kokinshū (古今集, early 10th century):

Attendant to your nobility

Ask for your master's umbrella

The dews 'neath the trees of Miyagino

Are thicker than rain

(poem 1091)

The word bushi (武士, lit. The, commonly abbreviated as, is an early Heian waka Imperial anthology, conceived by Emperor Uda (r "warrior or armsman") first appears in an early history of Japan called Shoku Nihongi (続日本記, 797 A. The is an imperially commissioned history of Japan written in the early Heian period D. ). In a portion of the book covering the year 723 A. D. , Shoku Nihongi states: "Literary men and Warriors are they whom the nation values". The term bushi is of Chinese origin and adds to the indigenous Japanese words for warrior: tsuwamono and mononofu.

Bushi was the name given to the ancient Japanese soldiers from traditional warrior families. The bushi class was developed mainly in the north of Japan. They formed powerful clans, which in the 12th Century were against the noble families who were grouping themselves to support the imperial family who lived in Kyoto. Samurai was a word used by the Kuge aristocratic class with warriors themselves preferring the word bushi. The kuge (公家 was a Japanese Aristocratic class that dominated the Japanese imperial court in Kyoto until the rise of the The term Bushidō, the "way of the warrior," is derived from this term and the mansion of a warrior was called bukeyashiki.

The terms bushi and samurai became synonymous near the end of the 12th century, according to William Scott Wilson in his book Ideals of the Samurai—Writings of Japanese Warriors. William Scott Wilson (b 1944 in Nashville Tennessee) is known for translating several works of Japanese literature, mostly those relating to the martial tradition Wilson's book thoroughly explores the origins of the word warrior in Japanese history as well as the kanji used to represent the word. Wilson states that bushi actually translates as "a man who has the ability to keep the peace, either by literary or military means, but predominantly by the latter".

It was not until the early modern period, namely the Azuchi-Momoyama period and early Edo period of the late 16th and early 17th centuries that the word saburai was replaced with samurai. The came at the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, when the political unification that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate took place The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 However, the meaning had changed long before that.

During the era of the rule of the samurai, the term yumitori (弓取, "bowman") was also used as an honorary title of an accomplished warrior even though swordsmanship had become more important. (Japanese archery (kyujutsu) is still strongly associated with the war god Hachiman. is the traditional Japanese martial art of wielding a bow Although the Samurai of feudal Japan are perhaps best known for their Swordsmanship is the Shinto God of War, and divine protector of Japan and the Japanese people )

A samurai with no attachment to a clan or daimyo (大名) was called a ronin (浪人). The ( were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan. In Japanese, the word ronin means "wave man", a person destined to wander aimlessly forever, like the waves in the sea. The word came to mean a samurai who was no longer in the service of a lord because his lord had died, because the samurai had been banished or simply because the samurai chose to become a ronin.

The pay of samurai was measured in koku of rice (180 liters; enough to feed a man for one year). Samurai in the service of the han are called hanshi. The, or domains, were the Fiefs of Feudal Lords of Japan that were created by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and existed until their

The following terms are related to samurai or the samurai tradition:

• Uruwashii
  a cultured warrior symbolized by the kanji for "bun" (literary study) and "bu" (military study or arts)
• Buke (武家)
  A martial house or a member of such a house
• Mononofu (もののふ)
  An ancient term meaning a warrior. The Topkapı Palace (Topkapı Sarayı or in Ottoman: طوبكابي بالاذيis a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, which was the official and
• Musha (武者)
  A shortened form of bugeisha (武芸者), lit. martial art man.
• Shi (士)
  A word roughly meaning "gentleman," it is sometimes used for samurai, in particular in words such as bushi (武士, meaning warrior or samurai).
• Tsuwamono (兵)
  An old term for a soldier popularized by Matsuo Bashō in his famous haiku. was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan During his lifetime Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form today is a form of Japanese poetry. Previously called Literally meaning a strong person.

natsukusa ya tsuwamono domo ga yume no ato Matsuo Bashō

Summer grasses, All that remains Of soldiers' dreams (trans. Lucien Stryk)

Myth and reality

Most samurai (during the Edo period) were bound by a strict code of honor and were expected to set an example for those below them. Honor or Honour (see spelling differences) (the latter directly from the Latin word honos honoris) is the evaluation of a person's A notable part of their code is seppuku (切腹, seppuku^?), which allowed a disgraced samurai to regain his honor by passing into death, where samurai were still beholden to social rules. is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by Disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for Samurai. Whilst there are many romanticised characterisations of samurai behaviour such as the writing of Bushido (武士道, Bushidō^?) in 1905, studies of Kobudo and traditional Budo indicate that the samurai were as practical on the battlefield as were any other warrior. is a Japanese term describing Martial arts. In English it is used almost exclusively in reference to Japanese martial arts.

Despite the rampant romanticism of the 20th century, samurai could be disloyal and treacherous (e. g. , Akechi Mitsuhide), cowardly, brave, or overly loyal (e. nicknamed Jūbei or, was a Samurai who lived during the Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. g. , Kusunoki Masashige). Kusunoki Masashige (楠木 正成 b 1294-1336 was a 14th century Samurai who fought for Emperor Go-Daigo in his attempt to wrest rulership of Japan away Samurai were usually loyal to their immediate superiors, who in turn allied themselves with higher lords. These loyalties to the higher lords often shifted; for example, the high lords allied under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (豊臣秀吉) were served by loyal samurai, but the feudal lords under them could shift their support to Tokugawa, taking their samurai with them. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed The was a powerful Daimyo family of Japan. They descended from Emperor Seiwa (850-880 and were a branch of the Minamoto clan (Seiwa Genji by the There were, however, also notable instances where samurai would be disloyal to their lord or daimyo, when loyalty to the emperor was seen to have supremacy. The ( were powerful territorial lords who ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings ^[4]

Popular culture

Further information: Samurai cinema

Jidaigeki (lit. While earlier Samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based samurai movies post World War II have become more action-based with darker is a Genre of Film, Television, and Theatre in Japan. The name means "period drama" and the period is usually the Edo period historical drama) has always been a staple program on Japanese movies and TV. Drama is the specific mode of Fiction represented in Performance. The programs typically feature a samurai with a kenjutsu who stood up against evil samurai and merchants. Mito Kōmon (水戸黄門), a fictitious series of stories about Tokugawa Mitsukuni's travel is a popular TV drama in which Mitsukuni travels disguised as a retired rich merchant with two unarmed samurai disguised as his companions. is a Japanese Jidaigeki that has been on prime-time television since 1969 was a prominent Daimyo who was known for his influence in the politics of the early Edo period. He finds trouble wherever he goes, and after gathering evidence, he has his samurai knock around unrepentantly evil samurai and merchants, before revealing his identity. It is then obvious to the villains that he can destroy their entire clan and the villains surrender in the hope that his punishments will not extend to their families.

The samurai-themed works of film director Akira Kurosawa are among the most praised of the genre, influencing many filmmakers across the world with his techniques and storytelling. Notable works of his include Seven Samurai, in which a besieged farming village hires a collection of wandering samurai to defend them from bandits, Yojimbo, where a former samurai involves himself in a town's gang war by working for both sides, and The Hidden Fortress, in which two foolish peasants find themselves helping a legendary general escort a princess to safety. is a 1954 Japanese film co-written edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. is a 1961 Jidaigeki (period drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. is a 1958 film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki The latter was one of the primary inspirations for George Lucas's Star Wars, which also borrows a number of aspects from the samurai, for example the Jedi Knights of the series. George Walton Lucas Jr (born May 14, 1944) is an Academy Award -winning American Film director, producer, Screenwriter Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded The Jedi are members of a fictional monastic order in the ''Star Wars'' galaxy, created by George Darth Vader's costume is largely inspired by a samurai's mask and armour. Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader is a fictional character in George Lucas ' Science fiction saga Star Wars.

Samurai films and westerns share a number of similarities and the two have influenced each other over the years. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. Kurosawa was inspired by the works of director John Ford and in turn Kurosawa's works have been remade into westerns such as The Seven Samurai into The Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars. The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 Western film directed by John Sturges about a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from A Fistful of Dollars ( Per un Pugno di Dollari in Italy and officially on-screen in the U There is also an anime adaptation (Samurai 7) of "The Seven Samurai" which spans many episodes. is a 2004 Japanese Anime series produced by Gonzo and based on Akira Kurosawa's popular 1954 movie Seven Samurai.

Eiji Yoshikawa is one of the most famous Japanese historical novelists. was a Japanese Historical novelist probably one of the best and most famous authors in the genre An historical novel is a Novel in which the story is set among historical events or more generally in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the Author His retellings of popular works, including Taiko, Musashi and Heike Tale are popular among readers for their epic naratives and rich realism in depicting samurai and warrior culture. In Japan, Sesshō (摂政 was a title given to a Regent who was named to assist either a child emperor before his Coming of age, or an is a Japanese novel written by Eiji Yoshikawa and serialized in 1935 in Asahi Shimbun. The Tale of the Heike ( Heike monogatari, 平家物語 is an epic account of the struggle between the Taira and Minamoto Clans

Another fictitious television series, Abarembo Shogun, featured Yoshimune, the eighth Tokugawa shogun. was a Japanese Television program on the TV Asahi network Set in the eighteenth century, it showed fictitious events in the life of Yoshimune was the eighth Shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, ruling from 1716 until his abdication in 1745 The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" Samurai at all levels from the shogun down to the lowest rank, as well as ronin, featured prominently in this show. A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan.

Shōgun is the first novel in James Clavell's Asian Saga. Shōgun is a 1975 novel by James Clavell. It is the first Novel (chronologically speaking in the author's Asian Saga. James Clavell, born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell ( 10 October, 1924 – 7 September, 1994) was a British (later It is set in feudal Japan around the year 1600 and gives a highly fictionalized account of the rise of Tokugawa Ieyasu to the Shogunate, seen through the eyes of an English sailor whose fictional heroics are loosely based on William Adams' exploits.  was the founder and first Shogun  of the Tokugawa shogunate is a military rank and historical title in Japan. The Japanese word for "general" it is made up of two Kanji words sho, meaning "commander" For other people called William Adams see William Adams. Early life Adams was born in Gillingham, Kent, England

A Hollywood movie, The Last Samurai, containing a mixture of fact and fiction, was released in 2003 to generally good reviews in North America. The Last Samurai is a 2003 Drama film / War film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the Screenplay based on The film's plot is loosely based on the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and also on the story of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the Boshin War. The, was a revolt of Satsuma ex- Samurai against the Meiji government from January 29 1877 to September 241877 11 years into the Meiji Era. was one of the most influential Samurai in Japanese history, living during the late Edo Period and early Meiji Era. Jules Brunet (2 January 1838-12 August 1911 was a French officer who played an active role in Mexico and Japan, and later became a General and Chief of Viscount was a Japanese Navy admiral faithful to the Tokugawa Shogunate, who fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin The was a Civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the

The movie Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, starring actor Forest Whitaker takes as its central character a black assassin in contemporary America who gains inspiration from the Hagakure. Ghost Dog The Way of the Samurai is a 1999 samurai Action film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15 1961 is an American actor producer, and director. The soundtrack album positions hip hop against readings of the Hagakure. Hagakure ( Kyūjitai:; Shinjitai:; meaning In the Shadow of Leaves) or is a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior drawn from a collection

Kill Bill by Quentin Tarantino can be described as a glorification of the katana. Kill Bill is the fourth film by Writer - director Quentin Tarantino. Quentin Jerome Tarantino (born March 27, 1963) is an Academy Award - BAFTA Award - and Palme d'Or -winning Emmy - and A is a type of Japanese sword ( nihontō) and often is called a "samurai sword It is primarily inspired by old kung-fu movies and relates little to the samurai. This same distortion of samurai culture continues onto the low-budget world of the cult film, where in films such as Samurai Vampire Bikers From Hell, the primary characters attempt to portray a lineage to the samurai but are more closely linked to the anime or comic book culture of the late twentieth century. A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Samurai Vampire Bikers From Hell is a 1992 Martial art based Cult film that was directed by and stars Scott Shaw. (anime in Japanese, A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative

The samurai have also appeared frequently in Japanese comics (manga) and animation (anime). ˈmɑŋgə is the Japanese word for Comics (sometimes called komikku コミック and print Cartoons In their modern form manga date from shortly (anime in Japanese, Most common are historical works where the protagonist is either a samurai or former samurai (or another rank/position) who possesses considerable martial skill. Two of the most famous examples are Lone Wolf and Cub, where the former proxy executioner for the Shogun and his toddler son become hired killers after being betrayed by other samurai and nobles, and Rurouni Kenshin, where a former assassin, after helping end the Bakumatsu era and bringing about the Meiji era, finds himself protecting newfound friends and fighting off old enemies while upholding his oath to never kill again through the use of a reverse-bladed sword. is a well-known Gekiga or Manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. is a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Nobuhiro Watsuki.

Samurai-like characters are not just restricted to historical settings and a number of works set in the modern age, and even the future, include characters who live, train and fight like samurai. Notable examples include Goemon Ishikawa XIII from the Lupin III series of comics, television series, and movies, and Motoko Aoyama from the romantic comedy Love Hina. is a Fictional character created by Monkey Punch for his Lupin III series is a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Kazuhiko Kato under the Pen name of " Monkey Punch " is a Japanese Manga series written and illustrated by Ken Akamatsu. Another more western movie is The Hunted (1995), where a surviving samurai clan protects a witness from evil ninjas. The Hunted is a 1995 Film directed by J F Lawton and starring Christopher Lambert, John Lone and Joan Chen Some relevance to the samurai can even be seen in the show Beyblade, which is set in the present. is an Anime and Manga series about a group of kids battling with highly powerful Spinning tops enchanted with sacred bit-beasts or spirits of mythical One character, Jin of the Gale, seems to be a mix of samurai and ninja traits. Another anime involving samurai, which is intended for adult audiences, is 2004's Samurai Champloo, which portrays Edo-period Japan combined with modern street-culture and hip-hop. (anime in Japanese, is a Japanese animated television series consisting of twenty-six episodes Hip hop is a Subculture, which is said to have begun with the work of DJ Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, and Afrika Bambaattaa One of the show's main characters is Jin, once an accomplished samurai who became a wandering ronin after killing his master.

American comic books have adopted the character type for stories of their own. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative For instance, the Marvel Universe superhero Wolverine during the 1980s attempted to use the ideals and concept of the samurai as a means to control his violent urges in a constructive manner. The Marvel Universe is the fictional Shared universe where most of the comic stories published by Marvel Comics take place A superhero (sometimes rendered super-hero or super hero) is a Fictional character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to acts of derring-do The ronin have also been a feature in popular series such as Ronin by Frank Miller and Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai. Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American Writer, Artist and Film director best known for his dark is a Comic book series created by Stan Sakai. Set primarily at the beginning of Edo period Japan (early 17th century with anthropomorphic Stan Sakai ( Japanese: 坂井 スタン Sakai Sutan; born May 25 1953) is a third-generation Japanese American who became known

The concept of a samurai, as opposed to that of a knight, has led to a major gap in how a warrior or a hero is characterised in Japan and the rest of the world. Knight is the English term for a social position originating in the Middle Ages. According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and A samurai does not have to be tall and heavily muscled to be strong - he can be barely five feet tall, seemingly weak and even handicapped. Females can also be samurai. Equating size with power and strength does not readily appeal to the Japanese aesthetic. Perfect examples of this can be found in the Blind Swordsman Zatoichi movie series. Zatoichi (座頭市 Zatōichi) is a Fictional character featured in one of Japan's longest running series of Films and a Television series

It is also important to note the uses of samurai in the Hip Hop music in both American and Japanese cultures. It is commonly seen as a tangent to the “gangtas” in rap music. Fusions of this are apparent in collaborations rap artists of both cultures and inclusion of anime. ^[5]

Samurai in computer games

Samurai are also heroes and enemies in many computer games, and can be found especially in RPG, strategy, action, adventure, and fighting game genres. A computer role-playing game ( CRPG) is a broad Video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers A Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often "winning An action game is a game that challenges a player's speed dexterity and reaction time An adventure is an activity that comprises Risky dangerous and uncertain experiences A fighting game (also referred as a versus fighting game, competitive fighting game, tournament fighting game or head-to-head fighting game)

For example, samurai can be seen in the strategy game series Age of Empires, RTS Battle Realms and in the Ultima Online: Samurai Empire MMORPG. Age of Empires is a series of computer Video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. Battle Realms, released by Ubisoft in 2001, is an Asian themed Real-time strategy Computer game and is the first game created Samurai Empire is the sixth expansion to the A massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) is a genre of Computer role-playing games (CRPGs in which a large number of players interact with Samurai battles also provide the theme for the strategy simulation Shogun: Total War, which portrays Sun-Tzu war philosophy and realistic battle physics. Shogun Total War ( STW) is the first of Creative Assembly's Total War series. Sun Tzu ( ("Master Sun" also called Sun Wu ( is traditionally considered to be the author of The Art of War (also simply called the Samurai character class is available in the famous RPG Wizardry 8. Wizardry 8 is the 8th title in the Wizardry series of Computer role-playing games by Sir-Tech. Final Fantasy V, X, X-2 and XI also contain a samurai class. is a Console role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in as a part of the Final Fantasy series also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, is a Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG developed and published by Square (later Square

Some popular Japanese titles featuring samurai include Shingen the Ruler, Samurai Warriors, Brave Fencer Musashi, Musashi: Samurai Legend, and Seven Samurai 20XX. Shingen the Ruler ( Takeda Shingen 2 in Japan) is a strategic war game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES produced by Samurai Warriors (戦国無双 Sengoku Musou in Japan) is the first title in the series of video games created by Koei 's is an Action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) in 1998 for the Sony PlayStation Musashi Samurai Legend, known in Japan as, is a third-person Action game developed and published by Square Enix Co is a PlayStation 2 game released by Sammy Studios in 2004 Its story and concept are based upon Akira Kurosawa 's 1954 movie Seven Samurai Also, there is a lead character portraying a samurai in the sci-fi thriller game Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse named Jin Uzuki. --> TC --> is primarily a series of Science fiction A character/reference from the Xenosaga series is Shion Uzuki 's calm composed and older brother Jin Uzuki, Shion Uzuki's brother, is a samurai who fights with a sword only and wears a traditional kimono. A character/reference from the Xenosaga series is the female protagonist in the PlayStation 2 trilogy known as the Xenosaga Other popular Japanese games featuring samurai as main characters are the Onimusha, Genji and Way of the Samurai series. Onimusha Warlords, released in Japan as, is the first game of the ''Onimusha'' series, released for the PlayStation 2 at first Genji Dawn of the Samurai (released as Genji in Europe) is a PlayStation 2 game released on September 20, 2005. For the samurai code of conduct see Bushido. Way of the Samurai is a PlayStation 2 Action-adventure In Ninja Gaiden, one boss is a mounted samurai while another is a demonic fiend who takes the form of a samurai. is a series of Video games by Tecmo featuring the Dragon Ninja, Ryu Hayabusa.

Several fighting games hold samurai fighters, for example, Bishamon from Darkstalkers, and Sodom from Street Fighter Alpha. Darkstalkers, known in Asia as, is a series of 2D Fighting games produced by Capcom during the late 1990s for the CPS II hardware is a Video game character from the Final Fight and Street Fighter series Street Fighter Alpha Warriors' Dreams, known as in Japan, Asia, South America and Spain, is a Fighting game by Samurai Shodown has a roster full of samurai characters. This article is specifically about the original Samurai Shodown game Haohmaru and Genjuro are the most traditional samurai warriors in this fighting game. This is a list of characters appearing in the ''Samurai Shodown'' series. This is the list of characters that has appeared in Flame of Recca. Soul Calibur offers two samurai characters: Mitsurugi and Yoshimitsu. is the second game in the ''Soul'' series of Fighting games developed and produced by Namco. is a Video game character designed for the Soul series of Fighting games.

Famous Samurai

Minamoto Yoshiie Minamoto Yoshitsune Kusunoki Masashige Sanada Yukimura Uesugi Kenshin Yamamoto Tsunetomo

Takeda Shingen Date Masamune Oda Nobunaga Toyotomi Hideyoshi Tokugawa Ieyasu

Akechi Mitsuhide Miyamoto Musashi Sasaki Kojiro Sakamoto Ryoma Saigo Takamori

See also

• Japanese clans
• Kendo
• Kiri sute gomen
• Ninja
• Onna bugei-sha
• Okinawan Samurai
• List of samurai
• List of Japanese battles
• Samurai cinema
• Seiwa Genji
• Lone Wolf and Cub

References

Samurai Films

Historical

Directed by Akira Kurosawa

• The Seven Samurai
• The Hidden Fortress
• Ran
• Kagemusha
• Yojimbo
• Sanjuro

Other films

• Samurai Trilogy- stars Toshirō Mifune
• Shōgun
• Twilight Samurai
• When the Last Sword Is Drawn
• Sword of Doom
• Aragami
• Samurai Fiction
• Lone Wolf and Cub film series
• The Last Samurai
• 47 Ronin
• Ninja Scroll (Anime)

Influenced by samurai

• Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
• Ronin
• The Way of the Gun
• Le Samourai

External links

• Conservation of Samurai Armour at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Samurai Armour at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• SengokuDaimyo.com The website of Samurai Author and Historian Anthony J. is a 1954 Japanese film co-written edited and directed by Akira Kurosawa. is a 1958 film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune as General Rokurota Makabe and Misa Uehara as Princess Yuki is a 1985 film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. The title (which means "Shadow Warrior" in Japanese) is a term used for an Impersonator. is a 1961 Jidaigeki (period drama film directed by Akira Kurosawa. is a 1962 black and white Japanese Samurai film directed by Akira Kurosawa and starring Toshirō Mifune. The Samurai Trilogy is a film Trilogy directed by Hiroshi Inagaki and starring Toshiro Mifune as Miyamoto Musashi and Koji Tsuruta Toshirō Mifune (ja 三船 敏郎 Mifune Toshirō toɕiɺoː 1 April, 1920 – 24 December, 1997) was a Japanese Shōgun is an American Television Miniseries based on the namesake novel by James Clavell. The Twilight Samurai or is a 2002 Japanese Film directed by Yoji Yamada. is a 2003 Japanese movie directed by Yojiro Takita. It tells the story of two Shinsengumi Samurai, one of whom Saitō Hajime, is is a Jidaigeki movie released in 1966. It was directed by Kihachi Okamoto and stars Tatsuya Nakadai. Aragami is a 2003 Japanese Action film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. Samurai Fiction (aka SF Episode One) is the English language title for SF・サムライ・フィクション ( SF samurai is a well-known Gekiga or Manga created by the writer Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima. The Last Samurai is a 2003 Drama film / War film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick, who also co-wrote the Screenplay based on The revenge of the, also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the took place in Japan at the start of the eighteenth century is a Japanese action thriller Anime, set in feudal Japan, by critically acclaimed director / Writer Yoshiaki Kawajiri Ghost Dog The Way of the Samurai is a 1999 samurai Action film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan. The Way of the Gun is a 2000 Film, directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Ryan Phillippe, Benicio del Toro Le Samouraï (English title The Samurai) is a 1967 French minimalist crime drama / Thriller film directed Bryant.
• Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai online
• The Beautiful Way — A history of homosexuality in the samurai tradition
• The Samurai Archives Japanese History page
• The God of Samurai
• Infosite about the samurai and his weapons
• The world of the perfect Flower — Bushido and Zen, Today and Yesterday
• Ancient photos of samurai (Japanese site)

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