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Samurai, member of the Japanese warrior caste. The term samurai was originally used to denote the aristocratic warriors, but it came to apply to all the members of the warrior class that rose to power in the 12th century and dominated the Japanese government until the Meiji Restoration in 1868.
- Seppuku
seppuku, the honourable method of taking one’s own life...
- Honour
honour, a word with various meanings all of which derive...
- Tea Ceremony
The ceremony takes place in a tea house (), which ideally is...
- Bushido
Bushido, the code of conduct of the samurai of premodern...
- Seppuku
Samurai (侍、さむらい) were soldiers who served as retainers to lords (including daimyo) in Feudal Japan. During the Edo Period, they came to represent a hereditary class. Samurai existed from the late 12th century until their abolition in the late 1870s during the Meiji era.
- Miyamoto Musashi
- Tokugawa Ieyasu
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Oda Nobunaga
- Kusunoki Masashige
- Hattori Hanzo
- Sanada Yukimura
- Takeda Shingen
- Honda Tadakatsu
- Uesugi Kenshin
Born in 1584, Myamoto Mushashi was a famous and accomplished soldier, swordsman, and artist. He first engaged in real combat when he was 13. When he was on the losing side of the Battle Sekigahara in 1600, he became a ronin, or masterless samurai. He set out to develop the perfect sword technique and developed a style of fencing with two swords (th...
Born Matsudaira Takechiyo in 1542, this great samurai was the son of the lord of Mikawa province. He came of age in a Japan wracked with civil war and bloody feuds between territorial lords. At four years old, Ieyasu was sent as a hostage to the Imagawa clan to secure an alliance. He was raised and educated in their court. In 1567, he took leadersh...
This feudal lord lived from 1536/37 to 1598 and served as chief Imperial minister. He helped finish to 16th-century unification of Japan, helping to create the country we know today. Toyotomi Hideyoshiwas born a peasant. He lest home when e was still a boy and became a page to one of the feudal baron’s retainers. For a time, he became a foot soldie...
Oda Nobunaga’s story is the source of many others, but it is well worth knowing on its own. Born in 1534, Nobunaga lived in a deeply fractured Japan. Feuding warlords frequently clashed, causing much death and destruction. At 16, he took over a single district of Owari Province after his father’s death. He was considered an eccentric (at best) or a...
Hailing from Osaka, Kusunoki Masashige is still regarded as the model samurai. When he was born, in 1294, many samurai were very poor and very upset, as they believed that they had not been rewarded sufficiently by the government for their actions fighting the Mongolians. Some samurai banded together to form the Akuto, a group that did not belong t...
Born around 152, Hattori Hanzo (Hattori Masanari) was samurai in service to the Tokugawa clan. He was known to be a fearless warrior and performed many feats in service of the clan, including rescuing Tokugawa’s daughter from a castle and laying siege to another castle. After the death of Oda Nobunaga, he helped lead Tokugawa Ieyasu to safety and s...
Yukimura was born in 1567 and was known as A Hero who may appear once in a hundred years” and “Crimson Demon of War”. His clan, the Sanada, was caught up in the wars of Oda Nobunaga and eventually found themselves split after Nobunaga’s death, fighting on different sides. They primarily fought against the Tokugawa as they took power, with Yukimura ...
Born in 1521, Takeda Shingen was the feudal lord of Shinano Province, now Nagano prefecture. He was one of the warlords who struggled for power over the valuable Kanto Plain in eastern central Honshu. Takeda is best known for a series of battles he fought against another famous warrior, Uesugi Kenshin. The battles have become legendary. These fierc...
A loyal servant of Tokugawa Ieyasu, Honda Tadakatsu was a key figure in many of Ieyasu’s battles. It was thanks to his leadership skill that a fraction of the Tokugawa army was able to escape advancing Takeda troops before their decisive clash. Perhaps his greatest achievement came during the 1584 Komaki Campaign. Left to fight as Ieyasu departed t...
Famous opponent of Takeda Shingen, UesugiKenshin was born under the name Nagao Torachiyo, third son of the chief of the Echigo province. When his father died, the family struggled to maintain control of the area until he secured it, gaining control of neighboring provinces in the process. He changed his last name when the family provided refuge to ...
Jul 5, 2019 · The Samurai (also bushi) were a class of warriors that arose in the 10th century in Japan and which performed military service until the 19th century. Elite and highly-trained soldiers adept at using both the bow and sword, the samurai were an essential component of Japanese armies in the medieval period.
- Mark Cartwright
- Samurai were an elite class of Japanese warriors who performed military service for nobles. They were well-trained and highly skilled at riding hor...
- Many samurai, especially the highest levels of the class, fought to the death. If they were in danger of being captured they often killed themselve...
- Ronin, meaning 'wanderer' or 'masterless warrior', was a term applied to samurai who could not find regular military service. Ronin were particular...
- Samurai do not exist today, this class of Japanese warriors was formally abolished in 1876.
The samurai (or bushi) were the warriors of premodern Japan. They later made up the ruling military class which eventually became the highest ranking social caste of the Edo Period (1603-1867). Samurai employed a range of weapons such as bows and arrows, spears and guns, but their main weapon and symbol was the sword.
Samurai (lit. “one who serves”) is the term used to refer to members of Japan’s warrior class. The origins of the samurai can be traced to the eighth and ninth centuries, when large landholdings moved into the hands of the imperial family and related members of the aristocracy (nobles).
Oct 28, 2009 · The samurai, who abided by a code of honor and discipline known as bushido, were provincial warriors in feudal Japan before rising to power in the 12th century.
