When speaking about the history of Japanese society, the samurai is a very interesting phenomenon. Although the samurai, as a human being, disappeared at the time when Japan opened itself to the West, much of the mentality of the Japanese people could years later, and can even now be traced back to the lifestyle of that warrior class. .
This essay is concerned with the role that religion played in the life of the samurai. The central question hereby is: "How is the religion of the samurai expressed in their views towards death?". First, as little introduction, I will explain what a samurai is and how they emerged. I will argue that Bushido was the central concept in the live of the historical samurai. Hereby I will make use of a helpful semiotic interpretation of Bushido, in accordance with what some famous semiotics said about the mechanism of Japanese culture in general. Finally, through discussing bushido and the influence of Zen, the role of religion and meaning of death for the samurai will become clear. .
Samurai, a history .
The history of the samurai started around the 8th century. The central court could not reign the whole country out of one place and therefore they appointed some governors to rule the provinces. They were chosen out of aristocratic families and could handle bow and horse well. These "gentleman-warriors", as Sato calls them, were the precursors of the samurai. Not all of these gentleman-warriors were closely connected to Kyoto, especially not those who ruled in the "wild areas". Gentleman-warriors evolved into leaders of clans wherein master-servant relationships developed. Land protection became a main issue.
By the 11th century 2 big clans dominated the militaristic field, the Minomoto and Taira. By that time there was a big conflict going on at the court and both clans became involved. Finally the Taira clan won but more important is that the samurai penetrated into the highest circle of government.