The samurai, records of which date back to the early 10th-century Kokin Wakashū, were the military nobility of medieval and early-modern Japan.
The word samurai comes from the Japanese verb saburai, which means to serve (someone).
The “Kamakura” government between 1185-1333 made the samurai the ruling class of Japanese society.
Tomoe Gozen c. 1157 – 1247) was a late twelfth-century samurai warrior, who served under Minamoto no Yoshinaka. She was recorded as remarkable for her beauty and deadliness. Gozensurvived the Genpei War and initial conflicts that lead to the first Shogunate and lived until the age of 90.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a 16th century military leader of Japan. He made a law that only the samurai could carry weapons.
Japan's first foreign samurai was an African slave named Yasuke and he personally served under the powerful feudal lord, Oda Nobunaga (June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582). Little is known about the origins of Yasuke. He may have been from Mozambique before coming to Japan in the late 16th century in the company of a Jesuit missionary named Alessandro Valignano. When Oda first saw him, he didn't believe his skin was actually black so he ordered him to strip and scrub his skin.
Samurai's would do the infamous hairstyle of shaving the top of their head and keep the back long otherwise known as “Chonmage” in order to keep them cool while fighting in the humid months but also to still keep their helmet secure on their head with the hair in the back.
The word samurai comes from the Japanese verb saburai, which means to serve (someone).
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| Samurai in armor in 1860s. Hand-coloured photograph by Felice Beato. |
The “Kamakura” government between 1185-1333 made the samurai the ruling class of Japanese society.
Tomoe Gozen c. 1157 – 1247) was a late twelfth-century samurai warrior, who served under Minamoto no Yoshinaka. She was recorded as remarkable for her beauty and deadliness. Gozensurvived the Genpei War and initial conflicts that lead to the first Shogunate and lived until the age of 90.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a 16th century military leader of Japan. He made a law that only the samurai could carry weapons.
Samurai's would do the infamous hairstyle of shaving the top of their head and keep the back long otherwise known as “Chonmage” in order to keep them cool while fighting in the humid months but also to still keep their helmet secure on their head with the hair in the back.
Having long and wild facial hair was also important for samurai due to it being a symbol of manliness and that those without it were made fun of. This caused some samurai to fake their beards.
Archery was part of the education of the noble Samurai and was practiced not for such purposes as the hunt or war, or purely aesthetic enjoyment, but to discipline the mind. Archery was considered a lesson in effortless self-control, perfect equanimity, and the attainment of utter detachment.
Nakano Takeko—one of the only known female samurais in history—led a women's unit in the Boshin War, a 19th-century Japanese civil war.
Rather than be captured, a defeated samurai would stab himself in the left belly, draw the blade to the right, then pull upwards.
Samurai would sometimes test their sword's effectiveness by attacking random civilians at night.
The process of seppuku was a suicide by disemboweling to preserve honor. It was also a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or had brought shame to themselves. Eventually seppuku became so ritualized that the abdominal cut was not even needed. The samurai merely reached for a fan instead of a knife, and doing so signaled the merciful beheading strike by the samurai's assistant.
As Japan modernized during the Meiji period beginning in the late 1860s, the samurai lost much of their power, and the status was ultimately dissolved.
Samurai had the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect. This right continued until the 1870s, when the Samurai were abolished, as Japan modernized its military into a national fighting force modeled on Western standards.
While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.
On December 22, 1885 Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
James Clavell's 1100 page epic novel about the history of Japan, Shogun, was published in 1975. Clavell was inspired by a single sentence in his daughter's school textbook that read "in 1600 an Englishman went to Japan and became a Samurai".
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| Samurai o carrying bow (yumi) and arrows in a yebira quiver |
Nakano Takeko—one of the only known female samurais in history—led a women's unit in the Boshin War, a 19th-century Japanese civil war.
Rather than be captured, a defeated samurai would stab himself in the left belly, draw the blade to the right, then pull upwards.
Samurai would sometimes test their sword's effectiveness by attacking random civilians at night.
The process of seppuku was a suicide by disemboweling to preserve honor. It was also a form of capital punishment for samurai who had committed serious offenses, or had brought shame to themselves. Eventually seppuku became so ritualized that the abdominal cut was not even needed. The samurai merely reached for a fan instead of a knife, and doing so signaled the merciful beheading strike by the samurai's assistant.
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| General Akashi Gidayu preparing to commit Seppuku after losing a battle for his master in 1582 |
As Japan modernized during the Meiji period beginning in the late 1860s, the samurai lost much of their power, and the status was ultimately dissolved.
Samurai had the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect. This right continued until the 1870s, when the Samurai were abolished, as Japan modernized its military into a national fighting force modeled on Western standards.
While the samurai numbered less than 10% of then Japan's population, their teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in modern Japanese martial arts.
On December 22, 1885 Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.
James Clavell's 1100 page epic novel about the history of Japan, Shogun, was published in 1975. Clavell was inspired by a single sentence in his daughter's school textbook that read "in 1600 an Englishman went to Japan and became a Samurai".
Around 650 residents in the town of Coria del Río, Spain have the surname Japón (Japan). They are the descendants of six samurai who traveled to Europe in the early 17th century and set up an embassy.
The name Jedi is said to have come from “Jidai Geki” , which was the name given in Japan to films about samurai.
The name Jedi is said to have come from “Jidai Geki” , which was the name given in Japan to films about samurai.
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