History of Samurai The Japanese warrior, known as the samurai, has played a significant role in Japan's history and culture throughout the centuries. Their ancestors can be traced back to as far as can be remembered. Some stories have become mysterious legends handed down over the centuries. In this report you will learn who the samurai were, their origins as we know them, how they lived and fought and their evolution to today. It will be clear why the samurai stand out as one of the most famous group of warriors of all times. Looking back in time, the first Japanese battles recorded are in the first few centuries AD. At this time Japanese warriors went across the sea to Korea to help one kingdom battling two rival kingdoms. Four hundred men set out and fought on foot carrying their bows, spears and swords. They were quickly beaten by warriors attacking on horseback. They probably had never seen an attack like that before, with horses being ridden. Even though there were horses in Japan they had not been used for riding or fighting, but to help in carrying and pulling goods. In the next century, however, there is evidence that horses were being ridden and used in warfare by warriors who would later be called samurai (History Channel). The term samurai was first used in the 10th century and means “those who serve”. In the beginning it stood for men who guarded the capital for the Emperor, some where used as tax collectors. Later the word grew to include any military man who served a powerful landlord, almost like a police force for that time. They would go around the countryside on horseback collecting taxes from the peasants, often this was in the form of rice. This money helped the Emperor pay for his lavish life style. The word, samurai, quickly spread and was respected (and maybe feared a little) for the men it represented. The noblemen depended on the strength of the samurai. Since their power and wealth was directly related to how much land they owned, the noblemen kept small armies of samurai to protect their property from thieves and invaders. Eventually many noble families joined together to form clans that became more powerful than the emperor, who was the traditional head of the Japanese government (How Samurai Work 11). In the 12th century the two most powerful clans were the Minomoto and the Taira. The two came to battle in 1160 w... ... middle of paper ... ... in body and mind, to governing of the Emperors, to the study of the martial arts. Their code of honor and loyalty are traditions that all Japanese respect and try to live up to even today. The self sacrifice of ones own life for a common cause was even seen in World War II when Japanese pilots deliberately crashed their planes into United States ships anchored at Pearl Harbor. This was a devastating attack and can show the horror caused by revenge and their belief in sacrifice and honor. They were even called kamikaze pilots after the famous samurai battle of long ago. The influence of the samurai continues to be seen in Japan today in a positive way with the stories and legends of heroic samurai and the bushido as their guide. Works Cited Gaskin, Carol. and Hawkins, Vince. The Ways of the Samurai. New York: Byron Preiss Visual Publications, 2003 “History of the Samurai.” http://home.online.no/~p-loeand/samurai/hist-eng.htm “How Samurai Work.” http://science.howstuffworks.com/samurai.htm The History Channel: The Samurai. Videocassette. A&E Television Networks, 2003. 100 min. Turnbull, Stephen. Samurai, The World of the Warrior. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2003
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.
The first way that samurais have an advantage is with their armor. In document D written by Terry Bennett it says that the knights have pure metal on them which weighs from 40-60 pounds.not only do the knights have tons of weight , but they also put armor on their
In the ancient Japanese culture, one great aspect was on how they emphasized on the intrinsic themes of loyalty and honor. They had fierce warriors known as samurai’s. A samurai was a traditional warrior who would protect and be loyal to their masters no matter what. They were known to be skilled soldiers, benevolent men, self-sacrifice, sense of shame, along with other major characteristics that embodied them as a samurai. While this class of warrior no longer exist today, the remembrance of a samurai is present in the minds of the characters in the novel, The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. Tsukiyama does a fascinating piece of work by really elaborating and describing the great attributes that Matsu possess of a true samurai. In the
Japanese Samurai-What did they wear? What weapon did they use? How were they physically and
As learners of Europe and Japan, the question “ who would win a battle-a samurai or knight” is commonly kept in mind. A samurai and knight are similar in many ways. A samurai would mostly win the battle because they have better weapons, armor, and training. While knights and samurai have many similarities, in a one on one battle, the advantage would be to the samurai and this can be seen in weapons, armor, and training.
According to Document C “Japan Memoirs of a Secret Empire”, talks about how the samurai and knights both started training at a young ages. The knights started training at ages 4-5 a little earlier than the Samurai who started training at 6-7. The Samurai training only lasted until they were 14 unlike the knights whose training lasted until they were 21. Although, the samurai training was shorter they still covered all the important areas. They also had similar armor and both consisted of metal. The samurai had a little bit more movement in their arms, but the armor was used for the same reasons, protection. Document D by Terry Bennett says, “Samurai did not wear armor on their right arm so they could easily draw their bow.” These similarities were significant because without these things both classes would lose the battle every time, and if they didn’t have armor they would get killed, and these similarities is one of the reasons the two groups are so alike. Both of the classes were so a like that’s it’s hard to acknowledge their
In the book Samurai, Warfare and the State in Early Medieval Japan, Karl Friday focuses on war in early medieval Japan. A central thesis could be the political primacy of the imperial court. (Lamers 2005) This is the tenth through fourteenth centuries, before the samurai became prominent in Japan and were trying to form themselves into more of what we think of them today. Friday focuses on five aspects of war in his book; they are the meaning of war, the organization of war, the tools of war, the science of war, and the culture of war.
First of all, training methods of knights and samurais were different. Samurai had various training for personal toughness at the battlefield.
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 of Tokugawa Japan, the yangban of Choson Korea, and the gentry of Ming China were three very powerful and elite groups of East Asia. These groups consisted of high ranking government officials with judicial power and influence. Although the groups were located in the same region they had their similarities and differences in how they obtained power and how they used their power. Japanese samurai were military nobility who had almost as much power as the emperor, but were not the highest ranking officials whereas the yangban officials of Korea were the highest ranking rulers. The gentry of the Ming period of China were once high ranking rulers; however, the gentry were defined as retired Chinese bureaucrats. Socially, all of these groups, at one point or another, were high ranking officials with power in office. The elite groups ruled in different areas of Asia, but they had similarities as well as differences in sources of power, functions as officials, and the problems they faced as elite groups in Asia.
"Explain the meanings and discuss the concepts and origins of Samurai and Bushido code, then relate these concepts towards the modern Japanese Soldier and Leader during World War 2 and show evidence to support that the Japanese soldier treated enemy prisoners exploiting Samurai and Bushido traditions."
According to Hurricane Katrina At Issue Disasters, economic damages from Hurricane Katrina have been estimated at more than $200 billion… More than a million people were displaced by the storm… An estimated 120,000 homes were abandoned and will probably be destroyed in Louisiana alone (At * Issue). For this perspective, “Hurricane Katrina change the Gulf Coast landscape and face of its culture when it hit in 2005” (Rushton). A disaster like Katrina is something the victims are always going to remember, for the ones the lost everything including their love ones. Katrina became a nightmare for all the people that were surround in the contaminated waters in the city of New Orleans. People were waiting to be rescue for days,
Hurricane Katrina was one of the most devastating natural disasters to happen in the United States. The storm resulted in more then US$100 billion in damage when the cities flood protection broke and 80% of the city was flooded (1). The protection failure was not the only cause for the massive flooding, the hurricanes clockwise rotation pulled water from north of New Orleans into the city. 330,000 homes were destroyed and 400,000 people from New Orleans were displaced, along with 13,00 killed (1). Although the population quickly recovered, the rate of recovery slowed down as the years went on leading us to believe not everyone
Stories about war and implements of such can be observed throughout the course of Japanese history. This shows the prevalence of martial training and the profession of arms as a tradition that has not faded since ancient times (Friday and Humitake 13).
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...