The Ninja was one of Japans greatest mysteries and greatest warrior of all time. However dishonourable the job, it still got done. So there are many questions that arise from these mysterious people like who were they, and exactly what did they do, and so to answer these questions we must look deeper into the history of feudal Japan.
The Ninja first appeared in feudal japan in the fifteenth century and are often thought of as the first spies. However there was little trace of left after the ninja finally disappeared around the beginning of the Edo period in the sixteenth century which made it hard to find information about them today. They were said to come from the lower class in japan and often just peasants just trying to find a way to make a living. The word Ninja came from the Japanese language Kanji and in this language the word was “shinobi”, this word meant stealthy soldier and also used to describe the ninja when they came around. As the Ninja was a very risky job a required a lot of skill one thing it did not require however was literacy. Often times the Ninja was either illiterate or could read and write very little. Instead they learned war epics such as the Tale of Hogan (Hōgen Monogatar) and the Tale of Heike (Heike Monogatari).
The Ninjas were mostly peasants in japan and sense they were around the same time as the samurai some were even rejected samurai who felt sense they could not be a samurai and achieve great honour would be a ninja that they knew would be very dishonourable. The Ninjas were hired by feudal lords in japan to plunder and when they wanted someone to be Tgone without any trouble. They also led the way into nighttime attacks after having been there scouting out the place for information to give ...
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...m from being able to hide in small spaces. The Saya, the sword scabbard, was often longer than the sword itself so they could hide papers and sometimes distraction powder in it. This could also serve as a breathing tube if the ninja had to swim under water for any length of time. And the last but not the least weapon is the Shuko, these Shuko were a very dangerous weapon and were also known as climbing claws. They were used by the ninja to scale walls and climb trees. They are a metal band with four curved spikes on one side to fit over your hands. However these were not only for climbing they were also used to defend against sword attackers.
So you can see the skilled ninja was the most efficient and handy warrior to have in feudal Japan especially when it came to feudal lords who needed a quick, hard, and dirty job done fast without having to get their hands dirty.
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.
Musui’s Story is the exciting tale of a low class samurai’s life towards the end of the Tokugawa era. Although one would normally imagine a samurai to be a noble illustrious figure, Musui’s Story portrays the rather ignominious life of an unemployed samurai. Nonetheless, this primary account demonstrates the tenacity of samurai values and privileges present at the end of the Tokugawa shogunate. The social status of samurai had been elevated to such a state that even someone like Musui was easily able to gain influence in everyday affairs with his privileges. Not only that, but he had retained his values as a warrior and still kept great pride for his arts in weaponry.
The samurai are one of the most reconizable and most renowned warriors of the ancient times. They were members of a unique military class called the Japanese warriors. They emereged and grew more and more important during the Heian period (794-1185) when powerfull land owners hired them for their personal saftey and protection of their property. In the later times of the Heian period the most powerful military families, the Minamoto and Taira, had taken over political power over Japan and fought wars and battles for supremacy. When shogun Minamoto Yoritomo established a new government in Kamakura in 1192, the shogun (the highest military officer) became the ruler of Japan.
Heike Monogatari, with its multitude of battles and skirmishes, provides a wonderful chance to analyze the way of the warrior in ancient Japan. There aren't a great number of surviving works from this period that show in such great detail both the brute and the compassion of the Japanese warriors. They followed carefully a distinct set of principles which made up the well-rounded warrior. Loyalty to one's master, bravery and glory in any situation, strength, martial skills, compassion, and interest in the arts were all held with the highest esteem. Few warriors could become well known without possessing each of these skills. Religious beliefs shaped a warrior's behavior tremendously. Most warriors were heartfelt believers of both Shinto and Buddhism, and followed the ideas of karmic retribution, the four noble truths, the six realms, and the sacred rituals of battle and death. Examples of these, and many other religious ideas abound in Heike.
Jiu Jitsu is a martial art originally from Japan. Jiu Jitsu was used as a weapon by the samurais from the 8th to the 16th century, and it was mainly used in the battlefield. Jiu Jitsu means in Japanese “gentle art” because the technique of this martial...
Thesis. In my essay I will be talking about the samurais and knights their weapons and armor, their religious beliefs, And their edumacation.
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 1185-1868 the samurai were in control of of a lot of land started to over power the ninja. But before the samurai it was a lot more peaceful than the samurai but not as much. When farmers weren't able to share land with other farmers for crops the would usually have a fight or duel of such kind. Farmers would usually use a kama for a fighting. The Kama was meant to be used as a farming tool to cut grass or to cut crops. The kama has been evolved from a Jangama similar to a sickle. The Kama was usually made out of bamboo and thick yarn.
The sense of necessary honor was very unique to the samurai society. It enabled samurai to develop a culture derived from their individualistic ways. Socially, the samurai initiated many new aspects of popular Japanese culture. In their drive to fulfill their independent fight for honor and status samurai began to take part in high status activities. Being a part of a warrior class gave samurai warriors a distinct character of ruthless killers, but during the Muromachi period in Japan, culture among the samurai flourished. It became common to see samurai enjoying no theatre, developing gardens, and taking part in the flourishing tea ceremony (Keene). This became important to the samurai because they were desperate to have a sense of honor and power. These activities were enjoyed by the samurai who had enough time and money to spare. This showed status and power to the individual samurai. Also, within soc...
Easy Japanese clans each has their own Kami as a guardian of the clans. As time go on, around 500 B.C.E “When one clan took over another, its guardian Kami became the other clan’s Kami as well” (World Religion Shinto, page 42). In the sixth century, Shinto and Buddhism began a long and close relationship. People celebrating Shinto festivals as well as celebrating Buddhist holy days and they worship the deities of both religion. The large ground of Buddhist temple often contains smaller Shintoism shrine so it is convenient for people to worship both religions. There are many combinations and interaction between these two and, perhaps, now of the most famous one is Zen Buddhism and Shintoism. Zen Buddhism came to Japan in the 12th century, and Japanese found the echoes of Shinto in this religion. Both Shinto and Zen Buddhism both emphasized on simplicity and discipline, refinement and Buddha or Kami is in every single aspect of life. In the Shogun era, Shinto is the major religion, especially under the Tokugawa rule. “What came to be known as Tokugawa values and traditions permeated Japanese culture. They included reverence for the Kami for the blessing of nature, respect for parents and worship of ancestors, and loyalty to the government. Those core value continue to underline Japanese culture” (World religion Shinto, page 61) The daimyo and the samurai study art
Japan had interesting cultures and had different religions. Shinto was Japan's first religion. Shinto which means ¨the way of Kami¨ (Kami means superior being) and it express the love and respect of japanese nature . Kami can be gods, deities, and extraordinary spirits. Shinto came from animistic beliefs. The ancient people used to believe everything in nature had a spirit and when those powerful spirits get moody they cause an event, for example lightning storms or powerful floods. Since Japan has experienced with natural disasters they believe if they're one with nature these causes won´t happen. The japanese are feared to disturb nature by causing kegare (defilement or pollution). Shinto tries to focus on purity, sincerity, and harmony. Shinto stresses on purifying diseases, wounds, and other
Although its origins are unknown, it is the oldest religion in Japan and one of the eldest in the world. Shintoism shaped Japanese culture greatly by influencing their art, music, and education. The ideologies of Shintoism are unique to the religion it self, except for the few that there are show similarities to the Buddhism from influences because of the religions co-existing. Other religions can learn from Shintoism because they believe in the fact that their Gods are not perfect’ therefore, because human beings are decedents from kami, they too are prone to making mistakes. Shintoism is also in touch with the natural world unlike other religions that separate themselves from nature by believing in a God and going to see him in church. Instead they could go out and look for their God or Gods in all things because everything possesses kami. Shintoism remains an interesting and complex religion because one cannot read sacred texts to discover more about Shintoism. Instead to be apart of Shintoism one must be one with the natural world and the
This was discussed by the film team when trying to decide how to equip the warriors in the movie. Zwick was of the opinion that this would be another good way to help the audience understand that there were two very different ideas fighting for the future of Japan. He thought that the samurai in the movie should represent the old ways of Japan and that would help focus the audience to the struggle between old and new. It also allows Zwick to show the Americans attitude towards the Japanese during the time period. On more than one occasion, the samurai were referred to as savages with bows and
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...
I believe we can all agree that Japanese samurais and European knights are two of the most skilled and famous forms of warriors in history, right? Well both warriors began their trade at a very young age, and went through multiple stages of training throughout their lives. They both had a code of honor basically, but they differed from one another in quite a few ways. The big question is, “Were the similarities greater than the differences?”. Right off the bat I began to ponder the technicalities of the answer to this question. Before I get too scrambled up in the technicalities, let’s discuss some these differences and the similarities and figure out how this plays out. Before we conduct this discussion, let’s review our key terms. A clan is a group of close-knit and interrelated families. Feudalism was a political and economic system that flourished in Europe from the 9th to the 15th century, based on higher classes giving random services and items in exchange for something else. Knights were men who served their lord as a mounted soldier in armor. Samurai’s were members of a powerful military social class in feudal Japan. A shogun was a hereditary commander-in-chief in feudal Japan. Chivalry was the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code. Bushido was the code of honor and morals developed by the Japanese samurai.