In ancient Japan during the Heian Era, which lasted from 794-1185, the government began to lose control of the empire and the clans were all fighting with each other for power and land. To retain some authority, the emperor hired Samurai. While Samurai are most commonly known as warriors, they were originally hired to be tax collectors for the emperor. When the fighting between clans got worse, “For protection, large landowners hired armies of samurai, or trained professional warriors” (Ramirez, Stearns, Wineburg 517). The Samurai lived by a set of rules known as the Bushido code. The Samurai, who were highly respected because they were warriors, also lived a structured life, as the Bushido code was very strict. Although the Bushido Code was …show more content…
There are ancient and modern sources that comment on the idea of arranged marriages for the Samurai. Professor Emeritus Mikiso Hane, an internationally renowned scholar of Japanese history, wrote a book, Premodern Japan: A Historical Survey, which mentions the idea of arranging marriages. He states, “…The samurai built his power structure by extending his family ties to all his blood relations, enlarging it further by marriage connections…”(Hane 71). The Samurai built their power structure on the marriages, which meant that they were a very prominent part in helping the Samurai rise to a higher position. The political marriages often had no love between them and were very unstable (Samurai Warrior DVD). There are other sources that also talk about this rule. Modern historian Eleanor J. Hall also commented on the idea of arranged marriages in her book, Life Among the Samurai. She wrote, “Marriages were arranged by parents and elders, and mates were selected to further the interests of the clan (Hall 67)”. Marriages were not only arranged by the parents, but also by the elders of the clan. This shows that marriages were important because a great deal of preparation went into them. A Samurai also had to decide the best marriage possible so that it would benefit the clan. These rules affected the amount of power a Samurai’s family had, …show more content…
Many modern and ancient sources explain the Samurai’s view on death. Yamamoto Tsunetomo, a retired samurai scholar in the 18th century, wrote a book called Hagakure, which talks about the connection between the Bushido Code and the death of a Samurai. The book declared, “What is called Bushido is simply choosing death. In general, it means that when the moment of decision comes, you simply act so as to die quickly. There are no complications about it. Set yourself firmly, and dash forward” (Newman 57). It simply says that if the time comes, the Samurai must die for honor. He would either be killed by the other warrior during battle or by his own hand, which is called Seppuku, if he fails. A Samurai is vulnerable in the sense that he is always ready to die. He never knows when the time will come, but he knows that there is a possibility that he might die every time he goes into battle. Other sources also speak about the Samurai’s idea of death. Modern historian L. Frederic wrote a book called Daily Life in Japan at the Time of the Samurai that talks about the suicide of a Samurai. It states, “…defeated by the rebels. I am taking my own life to avenge the wrongs in the Beyond. Learn from my example how a true warrior dies by his own hand when Fate plays him false!” (Frederic 190). This expresses the idea of honorable suicide
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.
Samurais or a knight? The question was, who would win the battle? A samurai - a samurai? Or a king of a knight? Of course they both have their advantages and disadvantages, but they also both have things in common that they can't do.
Samurai's core value is not humiliating myself. They would even rather end their own lives if they had to put up with humiliation. For example, if their daimyo died or if they lost a battle, they committed seppuku “stomach- or abdomen-cutting”, which is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. They did this to die in honor. Furthermore, Samurai had to follow some rules called “Bushido”,which means “The way of the warriors”. The rules include fidelity, politeness, virility, and simplicity. While, knight's core value is not to commit a sin. Knights often believe killing himself is a sin, this is because of influence of Christianity. They would rather suffer being alive than to commit suicide. Knights also had to follow a set of strict rules called Chivalry, which puts emphasis on justice, loyalty, defense, courage, faith, humility, and nobility.
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.
Bushido - ???- the feudal-military Japanese code of behavior; the way of the warrior [samurai] Japanese chivalry [knighthood]
The top structure of the society includes the Shoguns, Daimyos and Samurais. ‘Shogun’ was the title granted by the Emperor to Japan’s top military commander (Web-japan.org, 2013). Initially Emperors controlled the country but over time Shoguns became more powerful than the Emperor and took over the whole government, the Shogun was generally the real ruler of the country until 1867 when feudalism was abolished (Web-japan.org, 2013). Daimyos were the lords and their roles were to manage and maintain the law, collect taxes and aiding in armed forces for the Shogun (Ask.com, 2013). Samurais were the members of the military class, they were the warriors of traditional Japan. The roles of the Samurais were to protect and serve their daimyos or lords usually in wars (Answers.yahoo.com, 2013).
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.
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 (...
Western Influence on Japan Japan, as a nation, is a continually changing society. Ever since Western nations became involved with Japan, its changes over recent times. have increased at a substantial rate. Japan now faces cultural, economic and economic challenges. and social differences as a result of the western involvement.
The samurai are a type of warrior class in Japan similar to the European knights. They were not only used as soldiers for combat in war but they also replaced the court government in terms of managing the local government. They pledged to keep the peace and stay loyal to their master. This is how they were used for most of history until the end of the Tokugawa period. Their rise all begins in the Kamakura period.
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.
In Hagakure, a great emphasis is placed on the samurai's approach towards death. The relationship between death and the samurai can not be understated. Death is inevitable, and an honorable death is the most desirable thing a samurai could hope for. The samurai should live his life as though his body is already dead, and through this "he gains freedom in the Way. His whole life will be without blame, and he will succeed in his calling". If a samurai lives his life as though his body is already dead, he will have not have to worry about actually dying. Once you have conquered death, the most inevitable and unconquerable part of existence, then you can conquer anything. If a samurai can conquer this most fundamental thing, then he will be successful in reaching his goal. Death is all-encompassing in samurai philosophy, and by understanding this we can make comparisons between the samurai and another important denomination in Japan at the time, the Buddhists.
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...
Did you know that most of the cartoon shows that are on television come from Japan? Japanese popular culture has made a huge hit all over the world. There are many forms of popular art in Japan. Some know forms are anime, music, and manga. These are the most notable ones and are also what makes up most of their fan base for pop culture. Some other forms include cosplaying, contemporary art, and fashion. Cosplaying is short for “costume play” and it means to dress up as a character from sources like anime, manga, film, and games. There are a few places in Japan where people usually cosplay, including Akihabara, Harajuku and Shibuya. In present day, it is almost impossible to not see some form of Japanese pop culture in our country. There are even festivals and conventions held just for it which happens in many places over the world every year. Most people who attend these events will often cosplay as a character from something most people would know. Japanese pop culture is also one of the biggest exports of Japan. Japanese popular culture is the most attractive part of Japan, which has created a big impact around the world.
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.