Samurai

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The samurai, also named bushi, were the members of the military class of Japan. In other words, they were Japanese warriors. The word samurai comes from the Japanese verb saburai, which means to serve (someone). Samurai lived during the Edo period.

[edit] History

The first samurai were warriors, who defended the people from being robbed by pirates and other criminals. At the beginning of the 8th and 9th century, Japan did not have many villages and the few villages on the island were far apart, so the emperor's soldiers could not protect everyone. That was the reason why the people created little groups of good fighters, the samurai. There were three classes of samurai; the first was Kenin, the highest were the mounted samurai and last but not least, there were also foot soldiers. This class was the lowest of these three classes.

During the Heian period (794-1185) the influence and importance of samurai grew. The reason was that the great, rich and powerful landowners hired them for protection of their properties. This went so far that two military clan were built at the end of the 12th century. The one was lead by Minamoto and the other by Taira. These two clans battled against one another and eventually Minamoto won and became a shogun, the highest military officer, and also the new ruler of Japan. During the reign of Minamoto the samurai received political positions. 1871 the emperor Meiji cancelled the wearing of swords in public and the samurai became less powerful. That was the start of the end for the samurai.

[edit] Weapons

Samurai were able to use many weapons, such as spears, bows, arrows, and guns. However, their most famous weapon, a long sword called a Katana, was their symbol.

A samurai carried two swords. In peace-time, he carried a Katana and a short sword, Wakizashi. In war-time, he carried a long sword, Tachi and a short sword, Tantō. He wore less armour than knights from Europe.

[edit] Beliefs

A samurai believes that his swords hold his soul, so they became the most important thing he has.

Furthermore, the samurai were allowed to fight anybody who did not show them proper respect. Every sword had to be tested; to do this, the owner of the sword could execute a criminal. With this method the warrior was able to test his sword's sharpness. Samurai lead their lives according to the ethic code of bushido, which translates as the way of the warrior. This implies loyalty to one's master, self-discipline and respectful, ethical behaviour. When a samurai lost his master, also called Daimyo, he was called a Ronin.

After a defeat, the samurai chose to commit ritual suicide, which is also called Seppuku. In this ritual they cut their stomach before the enemy was able to capture them, in the case of a war. In Europe, this ritual is mistaken for hara-kiri. Hara-kiri means "to cut the stomach". In other words, hara-kiri refers only to the action done by Seppuku and not the whole ritual. Seppuku was a more honourable death for a samurai than being captured by the enemy. Another reason to commit Seppuku was the death of the Daimyo. With this ritual, a samurai was able to show how loyal he was to his (dead) master. There were periods when Seppuku was forbidden, but despite the bans there were samurai who still committed it.

The bushi's training methods like meditation, judo and kendo are still followed today. Although the samurai do not have official recognition in modern Japan, the successors of these families are well respected.