The samurai (bushi) were the military class of ancient and pre-modern Japan, the Japanese equivalent of medieval knights in England. The samurai had a major influence in the development of Shogun Japan; in order to understand this, the following should be known about the samurai. These warriors typically wore the kimono in their everyday life, and wore loincloth beneath their unique elaborate armour. Military training mainly consisted of firing arrows on horseback and sword fighting. The role of the samurai was to obey and protect their daimyo/lord. They followed the seven principles of the Bushido code. Unlike the English knights, their life was mostly about philosophy and loyalty. .
What did they wear?.
Samurai wore interesting clothing. The hakama was the traditional samurai pants used by samurai horsemen to protect the legs (Little Star Enterprises Inc. n.d). Anyways, the samurai wore the kimono most of the time; however the hitatare style of clothing and loincloth became popular as well. The kimono was a matt fabric robe for everyday life. The loincloth (fundoshi) was often worn under kimono or armour as an underwear (The Samurai Archives 2001). The hitatare style of dress was popular especially between the 12th and 17th centuries for samurai to wear under armour and was also used as ninja clothing (Little Star Enterprises Inc. n.d). The quality of the clothing someone wore depended heavily on their wealth/class.
Samurai armour developed massively over time and was influenced by the ancient Chinese armour. The armour can be categorised by their construction in three groups: scale, lamellar and full-plate armours. Ancient armours were made using scales and lamellae and adapted from the Chinese. Boris Bedrosov (2007) explains where the earliest information about the ancient Japanese armours came from, "The earliest information about Japanese armour can be found in the ancient chronicles Kojiki and Nihongi, both written in the first quarter of the 8th century.
Samurai And Religion Introduction When speaking about the history of Japanese society, the samurai is a very interesting phenomenon. ... Samurai, a history The history of the samurai started around the 8th century. ... Samurai fought for their daimyo. ... Bushido is also known as the way of the samurai. ... It had a great influence on the lives of the samurai. ...
The Last Samurai The Last Samurai was an excellent historical-fiction movie. Taking place during the Meiji period of Japanese history, the Japanese emperor is ecstatic for acquiring all western ideas, cultures, and styles. ... The samurai comply and escort Algren back to Tokyo. ... The story impresses the samurai and he readies his army. ... In the end the samurai are eliminated by machine guns. ...
Samurai and Bushido: What You Didn't Know It is fairly common for people to have heard of samurai. ... In this paper, I will cover the history of the samurai and the principles by which they lived their lives. ... Boys born onto the samurai class were schooled in many areas, but expected to become a samurai above all other things. ... Shinto was a major part of samurai life. ... They were some of the most revered people in the history of Japanese society, and rightfully so, because of their heroics and bravery. ...
From 1185 to 1868 the Samurai was the premier warrior of the Japanese. ... Given this brief background of the Samurai, it seems odd that many Samurai "retired- to pursue other interests. ... So the Samurai class found themselves with a lot of time on their hands. ... If a Samurai did not take up an art form, he would surely commission an artist to make beautiful designs for the Samurai. ... It seems odd that a culture that has a history of both civil war and global expansionism would have such a rich culture in art and beauty. ...
Many historical events have made Japanese society today, however the Meiji Restoration was the most significant event that happened in the last millenium of Japanese history. ... The Samurai clans were happy for a while, until they were stripped of their status, however, the lower ranking samurai didn't seem to mind at all. ... These groups were the Choshu and Satsuma clans of the samurai. ... However, the samurai had their last run in 1877, in the Satsuma rebellion. ... In conclusion, the Meiji Restoration not only marked a significant turning point in the history of Japan, but it was th...
The Meiji Revolution or "Restoration" is one of the single most important events in modern Japanese history. This "revolution" greatly affected the events of history within Japan as well as Japan's relations with outsiders. ... This caused trouble in Japan and the samurai began to rebel. ... The next period of Japanese history reflects the modernisation of Japan. ... The young samurai dominated Japanese society for the next forty years. ...
Although the settings occur at immensely different times in history, both develop common relationships and insights in the battles that threaten the two protagonists. ... He follows the code of the samurai and follows the motto, "If one were to say in a word what the condition of being a samurai is, its basis lies first in seriously devoting one's body and soul to his master"(Online). ... The circumstances of the second battle prove to be more grueling for the warrior prince and the samurai. ... Evidence for this action are demonstrated when he gives Pearline the bullets to his gun an...
It is a long misunderstood and neglected period of Japanese history by both foreign historians and Japanese historians (Hall, 2). ... Its poor standing with historians led to it being neglected in history books and to a belief that there was no source material available on the period (Hall, 3). ... The Zen and Samurai culture both took root during this period and they were mutually beneficial to each other. The Zen ideas of meditation and self discipline appealed to the Samurai and the way they lived their lives. ...
Samurai must be encouraged to study both the civil and military arts and to lead a simple and frugal life'. ... Chikamatsu was born into the Samurai family, who later dropped from the rank of Samurai and joined the townspeople; it was for (and about) the merchant class that a majority of the greatest writers wrote about and the Samurai's status was on the decline due to their moral code of life. ... Everyone was ranked according to caste: samurai, peasants, artisans, and merchants. ... Only the samurai could bear swords long ones in the countryside, short ones in town. Samurai were ...