The samurai were élite warriors in Japan during the 1200’s to the early 1700’s. Fifth century Japan saw conflicts with Korea and China, but Japan had a very untrained army, with a clumsy Calvary, and poor infantry men (Blumberg 1). The reason was that horses were seen as a burden and were never bred to be strong, fast, and large for war purposes (Blumberg 2). In the 6th and 9th centuries, a series of rebellions in Japan began from the Emishi people of the northern home islands; these country people were very well-trained in mounted archery. The nimble Emishi would defeat the Japanese riders with ease (Blumberg 2). But during the war against the Emishi, Japan learned to breed horses for fighting, adapted new fighting methods, and developed new weapons. They replaced the slow, straight-sword with two curved blades that were faster and lighter. For the next 350 years, infantry was replaced with mounted archers, and we start to see the 13th century samurai form (Blumberg 3). The Bushido Code, the code that all samurai follow, helped form medieval Japan.
The warrior class and ruling class in the 13th century to the 17th century were known as the samurai (Clark 1). The samurai were skilled in archery, swordsmanship, horseback riding, and martial arts: the ability to kill with their bare hands (Clark 2). The two swords that the samurai used were the katana, a curved, medium-sized blade used for two-handed combat, and the wakizashi, a dagger or small-bladed weapon for thrusting (Blumberg 7). The samurai specialized in mounted archery as well. They had a medium sized, very flexible bow that made firing arrows from a horse easier. With
Japan's newly trained and bred horses, along with the discipline of the samurai, it made for an uns...
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... the enemy's foot soldiers were close, the samurai would dismount and use their swords (Blumberg 9). That would change in the 15th century when the Chinese started to use an early version of the musket. The Japanese then had to change their fighting techniques to use spears so as not to have to dismount their horses. This was useful, since they could charge without stop, allowing them more time in between the Chinese gunfire (Blumberg 12).
The Bushido Code has been around since the 13th century and is the way of the samurai. The samurai was a powerful ruling class and warrior class in medieval Japan. The samurai were powerful warriors with great respect and ethics for their country. They impacted modern Japan by passing on the high ethical and moral standards still recognized today, and it is the reason why Japan is one of the friendliest countries in the world.
In document B written by Catharina Blomberg, it says, “Loyalty toward the feudal lord in Japan was hereditary.” If becoming a samurai was hereditary, then some samurai weren’t chosen to be a samurai because of their abilities, but because they were the son of a samurai. That means that not all samurai are the best fighters. It also says in document E, written by the DBQ project, “To dishonour knighthood was the greatest disgrace.” Part of the code is to always obey your king, so a knight would want to fight harder and not back out.
Japanese Samurai-What did they wear? What weapon did they use? How were they physically and
Do you know someone in the military? A loved one, a friend, do you know what they go through? I may not, but I do know about the harsh training and war that occurred for the Samurais and Knights. In Europe and Japan the empires were falling and Clans were taking over Japan. The government came up with an idea to create feudalism. There was an agreement in both Europe and Japan that exchanged land for protection. The similarities between Samurai and Knights were greater than the differences. This can be shown by looking at the three most similar areas: social position, training and armor, and life, honor, and death. The Samurai and Knights has their differences, but were the similarities greater than those differences.
European knights wore armor that is made of metal. Due to the metal armor, their whole body was protected very well, and yet it was too heavy. In addition, it sometimes even limited knight’s vision and breathing ability because of the large protection of the helmet. In contrast, samurai’s armor was very light compared to the knight’s. “Samurai wore armor that is made of leather and steel laced together with silk cords.” Therefore, samurai was able to move quickly and agilely. However, samurai’s armor had less protection for their body, making them more vulnerable than knights. Their weapons had some differences as well. The primary weapons of knights were the long lance and the sword, but they also used poleaxe, dagger, and mace. The sword was always the foundational weapon of knights, whereas, the sword was not the one of the major weapons for samurais. Samurais primarily used the bow and arrow and the Yari that is, “One of the Japanese traditional blades in the form of a
In also shows that the Japanese samurai were warriors of the shogun rulers during feudal times and they were fearsome in combat and were fast on horseback. In the movie the Samurai wore armor made of metal plates and leather, held together by cords and buckles, carrying their sword or bow. The movie shows Samurai were the only people in Japan who could carry swords and they wore their hair tied back at the top of their head in a knot. The brow and crown, at the top of the head, were shaved bare to represent that they were a
Joseph Conlans “State of War; The Violent Order of Fourteenth Century Japan” is an depth look at Japans emerging warrior class during a time period of constant warfare in Medieval Japan. His work however doesn’t revolve around the re-fabrication and in-depth analysis of battles sieged like many contemporary examinations of wars and battles won and lost. Instead the author vies to navigate the reader on journey into the warrior class’s lives and how they evolved through a statistical analysis of records. This illustrates how warfare changed and transformed with the constant evolving of the Samurai, but it also includes how their actions affected their Political environment as well as the society in which they dwelled from the bottom up. Through his survey of records and documents, Conlan is able to give readers a compelling look into the Warrior class and at times shatters in the process many of the pre-conceived general notions that one may hold about this ancient class of professional warriors. Many of the notions & common misconceptions debunked in this scholarly piece include the idea that the Samurai was a male only fraternity, reserved for those of impeccable candor and loyalty. When truth be known, woman and young men (boys) were also trained in the art of war and thus were as likely to be found on the battle fields as men when times were tough and solider numbers were depleted. Further, another misconception (Generally thought to be caused by the popular and well known; “The Bushido Code: The Eight Virtues of the Samurai”) of the warrior class is that all of these men were truly Samurai which translated to “one who serves” when really, loyalty for the warrior class as Conlan points out only went as far as ones right to ...
Hard and soft, day and night, girl and boy. These are all differences but one that is not mentioned is samurai and knights. Japanese emperors and the imperial court was challenged by the rise of clans. Like Europe, Japan found itself in pieces. In turn, nobles trained warriors who, in exchange for farmland or food and lodging, swore to be loyal to the nobles and to defend them. The warriors from Europe were called knights. The warriors from Japan were called samurai. From 1000 to 1600 CE in Japan and Europe, samurai and knights were the muscle and the soul of the warrior class. Critics may argue samurai and knights are very similar but in reality, they have more differences. They different because of their loyalty and honor, and their training
During the middle ages there were different types of warriors around the world. Two of those prestigious warrior groups were the knights and samurai. Knights were European warriors while samurai were the warriors of Japan. Although they both had similarities and differences, as well as advantages and disadvantages, one group had the upper hand. That group would be the knights and it shows in their weapons, training, and armor. All of those are expressed within the DBQ evidence packet.
The samurai were the warriors for the shogun in the feudal times of Japan. The samurai were one of the highest ranked class. The samurai’s from Japan used a variety of weapons. Some were quite different in design and size and some were very similar. The variety of weapons had a variety of purposes. Most people know of the samurai sword and the shuriken or more commonly known as the ninja or throwing star. What most people don’t know is that there were a lot more then just those weapons. Some of those being the Naginata, Tetsubo and the Kunai Knife. The Samurai
Throughout History, there have been many different groups or events that are still widely known today. Groups of people such as the Indians or Vikings are popular groups which are referenced constantly in today’s society. However, none of these groups is more known or referenced than the Japanese Samurai. Originating in 646 AD, these Japanese warriors developed from a loose organization of farmers to the dominant social class in Feudal Japan. Along with their dominant military and political standing, the samurai brought with them a unique code or moral belief that became the core of Samurai culture. Because of this, the Samurai and their principles still affect modern day Japanese society with social customs today deriving directly and indirectly from the beliefs of the Samurai.
These warriors have somethings in common but the differences are way greater than the similarities. In these far off places they have similar system with no similarities of warriors. Almost all of the details of the samurai and knights were complete opposites. If you were a warrior in the 1200’s how would you rather prepare? As a samurai or a
Japan lasted from 1185-1603. During that time Japan had emperors, shoguns, daimyos, samurai, and peasants who were all apart of a social class, and all together it was called the Samurai Society. The emperor was just a figurehead for the shogun. The shogun was a powerful military leader that ruled in the emperor’s name. Daimyo were powerful landlords. The daimyo often led armies of samurai. These samurai were trained professional warriors who served daimyo and shoguns. The samurai had to follow a certain code of rules for samurai called Bushido. One of their rules included to always have self-discipline to become a good samurai. The samurai warriors wore light armor, helmets (usually shaped like an animal), and had two swords around their waist. Their armor had a lot of detail and color to it, like their unique helmets. After the samurai comes the peasants, which included farmers and fishermen. They usually always work, then pay takes to the shogun. They usually gave the shogun what they earned from working like food or crops. What made their jobs a bit difficult was their topography. Japan’s topography included many mountains, undersea volcanoes, and barely any flat land to farm on. The Japanese didn’t only work they also practiced their religion. For example, they practiced Confucianism, Buddhism (...
The samurai are training on focusing on their zen garden. The knight battle on their horse into battle. Samurai they didn't trained the same way as the knight. Samurai learned how to shoot a bow at 3 years old. Knights learn watching the Knights train from as a 10 years old.
During this time, culture and arts flourished! In Kyoto, the emperor's power grew weaker as wealthy landowners gained power. They eventually contracted private militaries. They were called Samurai and they followed a code called Bushido and were supposed to be loyal to their employers. (aka if they were going to get captured by another samurai, they were supposed to commit suicide.) A large civil war broke out between rival families in 1180. By 1185 the Minamoto family emerged victorious, ending the war in a naval battle by
There are many historical aspects of the Japanese, but the most interesting is the history of the Samurai. In Japans history war played a large role in the country. Controlling clans fought for parts of the land and overall control of the country. These clans were powerful families that resided in the country and who all wanted power and control of Japan for themselves. The families that would be in control were known as Shoguns. These shoguns would have warriors that fought for them if any of the other clan families would try to attack him in order to overthrow him and take his power from him. The Samurai followed a code that developed from Chinese beliefs when in battle. The Samurais code was known as the Bushido. This code was also known as “The Way of The Warrior” which was the main belief s...