Samurai

Samurai's are portrayed as proud and noble warriors who are able to strike down the mightiest of enemies with just a blow from their katanas. Beyond that, not many people know much about samurai's. In fact, samurai (侍) is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, suburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility," the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai." According to Wilson, an early reference to the word "samurai" appears in the first anthology of poems (the Kokin Wakashu) which was completed in the first part of the 9th century. By the end of the 12th century, the word samurai had become almost completely synonymous to the word bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper ranks of the warrior class. The warriors had a code of conduct which became known as bushido. Some of their teachings can still be found today, such as Kendo, which means the way of the sword.

In the early Heian period, in the late 8th and early 9th centuries, Emperor Kammu sought to expand his rule over northern Honshu, but the armies he sent lacked the motivation and discipline needed to conquer the rebellious Emishi people, and failed in their task. Emperor Kammu introduced the title shogun, and began to rely on the powerful regional clans to conquer the Emishi. These warriors became the emperors preferred tool for putting down rebellion, since they were skilled in mounted combat and archery. At this time, the imperial court officials considered them little more than barbarians, even though some of them may have been educated.

Ultimately, Emperor Kammu disbanded his army, and from that time, his power gradually declined. Although the Emperor was officially the ruler, powerful clan leaders assumed position as ministers, and their rulers bought places as magistrates. To repay their debts and amass wealth, the magistrates then imposed heavy taxes, which resulted in many farmers becoming landless.

Some clans were originally formed by farmers who had taken up arms to protect themselves from the magistrates. These clans formed alliances to protect themselves from the more powerful clans, and by the mid Heian period they had adopted characteristic Japanese armor and weapons, and laid the foundations of Bushido, their code of conduct. They felt that the path of the warrior was one of honor, and they placed a lot of importance on being loyal to ones master until death. Originally the emperor and nobility hired the samurai, but in time they amassed enough power to form the first samurai-dominated government. Though the emperor remained, he was more of a figurehead, and had no real power.

Eventually, the samurai's began to fight between themselves for power, and many battles were fought because of this. However, after the samurai title became hereditary, more samurai's became bureaucrats, courtiers, and administrators instead of warriors. With no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai's began to lose their military function. By the end of the Tokugawa period, samurai's were aristocratic bureaucrats for the daimyo. However, they were still allowed to cut down commoners who did not show them proper respect.

Finally, Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in the country, in favor of a more modern conscripted army. Samurai's lost the right to wear a katana in public, along with the right to execute commoners who were disrespectful to them. That was the end of the warriors who had helped shape Japan for centuries.

The samurai's used a variety of weapons, the most famous of which is probably the katana (which most people will know as japanese samurai swords). However, the samurai's used other weapons as well. They used -

Clubs of wrought iron

Wakizashi

Tanto

Yumi (longbow)

Yari (Spear)

Naginata

Arquebus (later on)

bo (Staff)

jo (smaller wooden staff)

kanabo (iron studden wooden club)

The samurai's used many weapons. Some of them may not be mentioned here, but this is a general guide to the weapons they used.

In case I made a mistake or you would like me to add something, let me know and I will go over that area. I hope you enjoyed reading my hub.