Dbq Samurai

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Recommended: Samurai and knights: are the similarities greater than the differences

“About one thousand years ago, people in two societies halfway around the world from each other faced this problem. In Europe, the mighty western Roman Empire had fallen, in the late 400s, leaving a continent divided among weak kingdoms”..... “The warriors of Europe were called knights. The warriors of Japan were called samurai.” (Mini-Q Background Essay). The downfall of the Roman Empire in the late 400s, led to the origination of knights and samurai, in Europe and Japan. These new forms of warriors, arose due to feudalism, that appeared in the land. Samurai and knights may have portrayed similar characteristics, yet in general, these two kinds of warriors fought their own different kinds of battles, with their own different kinds of
“At about age 14 the trainees officially became samurai in a ceremony called genpuku.” (Adapted from the PBS series “Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire”, Document C). Samurai training began at childhood, and like many of the students now, it all began with them being in school. At the time school was a unique combination of the young warriors’ physical training, poetry, and their discipline. Kendo was their moral code of the samurai, and Zen Buddhism. In support of this, the document entitled, “Warrior Challenge” (Document C), states, “ The young warriors studied Kendo (the art of fencing with bamboo sticks), the moral code of the samurai and Zen Buddhism.” In addition to this, it was asserted that the young trainees officially became samurai. As a result of this, samurai were expected to live according to their strict ethical code influenced by Confucianism that stressed the importance of one’s master, and respect for superiors, and self-discipline. This code was named Bushido and apart from Kendo, it taught the samurai about the importance of their current occupations, and how their lives will change in their master's’ hands. With reference to, female samurai, girls also received martial arts training, even though they did not fight on the battlefield they played an important role in defending their homes as well as others against invaders. On the contrary, knights however did not abide by the

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