The samurai has been a popular icon in Japan since the Heian era (500 A. D. ? 1200 A. D.) In western culture, the samurai has been a pop culture icon since WWII, when the Japanese acted under a more violent type of bushido, or ?the way of the warrior? however, the position of the samurai isn?t given much thought on today. In fact, before writing this report, my knowledge of the samurai must?ve been about the same as yours. Now, I shall share with you my knowledge of the samurai, including their history, role in society, and influence on culture today.
When you want to look at the history of the samurai, you must also look at the history of Japan. It is unavoidable. From the time emperor Jimmu came into power in 600 B. C. there have been stories of the samurai. Though, the term ?samurai? didn?t come to be until he set up the ?buke? class, there have been stories about samurai- like figures since before the empire was established.
For example; there is a story that, before Jimmu came to rule Japan, he was attacked by eighty ?braves? (bandits). He responded to this by bestowing a banquet upon them. Then, Jimmu had eighty butlers, each with a sword, wait on them. Soon, Jimmu gave the signal by singing, and the butlers slew the braves. One would assume that the eighty butlers were then put into the buke, or ?warrior?, class, so this story has a seemingly small connection to the samurai. There are other stories pertaining to the beginnings of the samurai, but I thought this one was most interesting.
Stories told later in the Heian era are much more fantastical than they are today. Some involve young samurais wrestling deities, some involve them killing their brothers, some involve a fieldtrip to the underworld? they?re very versatile. However, all the samurai in these stories shared one trait; all died a hero?s death. In Japan, it was considered heroic and honorable to die for the imperial family.
The samurai?s claim to fame in real life was beating back the Mongol invasion, twice. Though the samurai were outnumbered, outmanned, and out of reasons to fight back, they still won. A normal person would wonder how, and a not-so-normal person would tell them ?it?s because of the divine winds!? or Kamikaze if you prefer. The Kamikaze were two typhoons that took place during the Japanese-Mongol war in the late Heian era. Though the war was in summer, when typhoons are most common, it was passed off as divine intervention.
Still, throughout the age of the samurai, they remained powerful, respected figures. The term ?samurai? literally means ?one who serves? and is a gender-specific term. Samurai often had shoguns or daimyos as their masters. Once a samurai lost his or her master, said samurai became a ronin and, more often than not, started living a life of crime.
Perhaps the most famous samurai was named Miyamoto Musashi, though it is not a household name, he is well known among samurai fanatics like me. Miyamoto is what most of us think when the word samurai is mentioned. His primary weapon was a sword, he even had some involvement in poetry. Miyamoto was also the author of the ?Book of Five Rings?, a reference to the samurai approach to business used by Wall Street people.
Not all samurai were comrades in arms, though. Whenever Japan split due to civil unrest, both sides retained their famous samurai. In the battle of Sekigahara, for example, two clans kept in line by Hideyoshi each controlled a separate part of Japan. Sekigahara was widely considered to be the unofficial beginning of the Tokugawa bakufu; the last shogunate to control Japan.
Regardless of the split, the samurai kept their beliefs, such as bushido. Bushido, literally translated as ?way of the warrior?, was a code of honor used in the buke class. Bushido was like a samurai?s manual for how to behave, and had rules such as a samurai who dishonors himself must commit seppuku.
On that note, seppuku was a tamer form of hari-kari, or disembowelment of oneself. The steps of seppuku include; stabbing yourself in the upper right corner of your stomach, slicing a diagonal line down to the lower left corner, slicing to the upper left, slicing to the lower right, and finally back to the upper right. If that doesn?t kill you, you stab yourself in the neck. In case of hesitation or dying too early in the process, a friend is often expected to be near you while you prepare to stab yourself.
As you can tell, samurai had to have been skilled in all kinds of weapons to survive. It is a common misconception that the main weapon of the samurai had always been the sword. This may not be too far from the truth when addressing samurai on foot, but mounted samurai held the bow and arrow in higher regard. No matter if the samurai were mounted or on foot, most had skill in using a wakazaki, a two- handed long sword, a tanto, a small dagger used as a last resort, a katana, a steel short sword, and a bow.
Women at the time also had the privilege of becoming akin to samurai. The most common way for a woman to get into the buke class was to marry a samurai. That being said, most women in the class did have some skill in martial arts, these women were called onna bugi-sha. Some of these women fought in wars, earning them the title of ?female warrior?
Today, the culture of the samurai has an impact on life. For example, martial arts classes that involve use of weapons often use bamboo katanas as their primary examples. One of these classes, known as kendo, even utilizes the fighting style of the samurai. Some of these classes show how to use staff- like weapons. A cornered samurai with nothing else on hand may have used something like that if it were nearby.
In WWII, the samurai was first introduced into western culture when Japan entered the Axis Powers with Italy and Germany. The Japanese acted on a form of bushido that would make most famous samurai cringe. With every battle they lost, Japanese soldiers either got into a fight they couldn?t win, or committed seppuku. When the Japanese won a battle, the prisoners of war were forced into labor on a bridge in Edo, or Tokyo as we know it today, most died during the project.
Somehow, though, the idea of the samurai stuck with us and became a respected figure in western media. Cartoons such as ?Samurai Jack? portrayed the samurai as rigorous sword- wielding superhumans. Others like ?Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? had the samurai play the bad guy, like they did in WWII. Some even touch upon the ?female samurai?, such as the Mulan series.
The samurai was also put to extremes in eastern culture too. In anime, samurai come in all shades of noble, annoying, respected, and shy. Looking to a historically accurate anime, Boku no Genji depicts Sekigahara in grater detail than I have here, and Axis Powers; Hetalia has Japan fight much like a samurai. The less historic Bamboo Blade makes bushido a little more lighthearted and good humored in its cast of female kendo students. In addition to these animes, the manga Usagi tells the tale of a rabbit, who also happens to be exactly what comes to mind when we think ?samurai?. Even in an anime loosely based on Shakespeare, the heroine Juliet?s vigilante alter- ego acts on bushido.
In video games, the samurai is more or less portrayed with historical accuracy. In Total War, the samurai appear exactly as they do in real life. In Romance of The Three Kingdoms, the characters show more traits of samurai than Chinese soldiers. In visual novels, the samurai characters may be plucked from history, but things are always more fantastical.
In conclusion, the samurai has much more to it than western culture tells us today. Samurai were respectable, formidable, and somewhat elegant figures who acted in honor. They lived to serve and often died for honor. I hope that reading my report has been an eye- opening experience.
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