Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Samurai Weapons, Armor and Combat
The samurai eventually became associated with the sword; but this was a later development. Japan’s first warriors fought on horseback with bows and arrows. When fighting on foot, warriors used a wide range of weapons. One of the most unusual was the naginata, which consisted of a long wooden handle and a curved blade. The naginata could be used for stabbing, slashing, or chopping opponents.
Early Japanese armor was lightweight so that it would not slow down horses or hinder bodily movements. A combatant on horseback had to be able to easily swivel his upper body around to fire at an enemy who was off to one side or the other. Most armor consisted of small pieces of overlapping metal. Personal armor might also include a breastplate, a helmet, and a facemask.
As samurai traditions developed, combat itself became highly ritualized. It was customary for two opposing sides to begin by meeting each other at opposite ends of the battlefield.
The warriors with the most fearsome reputations would then shout insults and challenges at the enemy, daring one of them to ride out and engage him in battle. This continued until the individual duels became so numerous that they intermingled into a chaotic group battle.
At some point the samurai began the gruesome practice of taking heads. After a battle, the winning side collected the heads of the enemy dead. These were later presented to their warlord to commemorate the victory.
Being beheaded was bad enough; but an even worse fate for a samurai was capture in battle. This usually meant an agonizing, humiliating death. When cornered by the enemy in a hopeless situation, committing suicide was seen as the lesser of two evils. By the 1400s, the practice of ritual disembowelment, or seppuku / 切腹, was widely established.
Japanese weapons, armor, and battle tactics evolved over time. During the ninth and tenth centuries, swords and spears began to replace bows and arrows as the weapons of choice. Within a few hundred years, the sword would even become the symbol of samurai status. The samurai custom was to wear two swords, a long katana, or combat sword, and a wakizashi—a short sword used for disemboweling oneself or severing the head of a slain enemy.
The movement from the bow to the sword necessitated a change in armor. The flexibility needed to fight effectively with a sword made suits of armor impractical. Swordsmanship also required greater visibility, so helmets and facemasks were gradually discarded.
Guns were available in Japan from the 1500s onward. However, the gun was initially shunned by most samurai for several reasons.
According to the code of bushidō / 武士道, the gun—which could kill at a distance—was a cowardly weapon. In addition, most European firearms were still difficult to use, and prone to misfires. (There were, however, a few notable exceptions which proved the rule. Oda Nobunaga won the battle of Nagashino in 1575 by employing firearms en masse on the battlefield.)
Samurai fighting tactics were challenged by outsiders when Kublai Khan’s Mongul forces invaded Japan twice during the 1200s.
The Monguls employed battlefield tactics for which the samurai proved unprepared. Whereas the samurai favored ritualized, man-to-man combat, the Monguls fought as units. The Monguls also had no qualms about unmanly weapons that killed an enemy from afar. Catapults and primitive explosives were both included in the Mongul arsenal. Japan was only saved from Mongul domination by two fortuitous typhoons that twice wrecked the Mongul invasion fleets.
http://www.japanese123.com/samurai.htm
Early Japanese armor was lightweight so that it would not slow down horses or hinder bodily movements. A combatant on horseback had to be able to easily swivel his upper body around to fire at an enemy who was off to one side or the other. Most armor consisted of small pieces of overlapping metal. Personal armor might also include a breastplate, a helmet, and a facemask.
As samurai traditions developed, combat itself became highly ritualized. It was customary for two opposing sides to begin by meeting each other at opposite ends of the battlefield.
The warriors with the most fearsome reputations would then shout insults and challenges at the enemy, daring one of them to ride out and engage him in battle. This continued until the individual duels became so numerous that they intermingled into a chaotic group battle.
At some point the samurai began the gruesome practice of taking heads. After a battle, the winning side collected the heads of the enemy dead. These were later presented to their warlord to commemorate the victory.
Being beheaded was bad enough; but an even worse fate for a samurai was capture in battle. This usually meant an agonizing, humiliating death. When cornered by the enemy in a hopeless situation, committing suicide was seen as the lesser of two evils. By the 1400s, the practice of ritual disembowelment, or seppuku / 切腹, was widely established.
Japanese weapons, armor, and battle tactics evolved over time. During the ninth and tenth centuries, swords and spears began to replace bows and arrows as the weapons of choice. Within a few hundred years, the sword would even become the symbol of samurai status. The samurai custom was to wear two swords, a long katana, or combat sword, and a wakizashi—a short sword used for disemboweling oneself or severing the head of a slain enemy.
The movement from the bow to the sword necessitated a change in armor. The flexibility needed to fight effectively with a sword made suits of armor impractical. Swordsmanship also required greater visibility, so helmets and facemasks were gradually discarded.
Guns were available in Japan from the 1500s onward. However, the gun was initially shunned by most samurai for several reasons.
According to the code of bushidō / 武士道, the gun—which could kill at a distance—was a cowardly weapon. In addition, most European firearms were still difficult to use, and prone to misfires. (There were, however, a few notable exceptions which proved the rule. Oda Nobunaga won the battle of Nagashino in 1575 by employing firearms en masse on the battlefield.)
Samurai fighting tactics were challenged by outsiders when Kublai Khan’s Mongul forces invaded Japan twice during the 1200s.
The Monguls employed battlefield tactics for which the samurai proved unprepared. Whereas the samurai favored ritualized, man-to-man combat, the Monguls fought as units. The Monguls also had no qualms about unmanly weapons that killed an enemy from afar. Catapults and primitive explosives were both included in the Mongul arsenal. Japan was only saved from Mongul domination by two fortuitous typhoons that twice wrecked the Mongul invasion fleets.
http://www.japanese123.com/samurai.htm
The Decline of the Samurai
In the early 1600s, Tokugawa Ieyasu unified the country, pacified the rebellious daimyo warlords, and put an end to Japan’s era of civil war. The Tokugawa shogunate kept the peace for the next 250 years. This was good news for the general populace, but bad news for the samurai.
With the end of constant warfare, the main source of samurai employment was swept away. The samurai were forced to become administrators in peacetime. Many were employed in this capacity by the regional daimyos, who now reported to the shogun in Edo.
The samurai might also find employment in the bakufu / 幕府—the central government set up by the shogun. Ultimately, however, there weren’t enough of these jobs to go around. The samurai were far more numerous than the aristocrats of Medieval Europe; they comprised about five percent of the Japanese population.
The result of this imbalance was mass unemployment among the samurai. Those samurai who could not find work might become itinerant, masterless ronin. These ronin often organized themselves into gangs, and roamed the countryside as bandits.
Moreover, a conflict was growing between the samurai and the rising merchant class. The samurai had long regarded the merchant class as little more than an evil necessity. Now, however, the merchants were gaining more power.
As the overall financial situation within the samurai class deteriorated, many warriors became heavily indebted to merchants. Unable or unwilling to pay, these samurai often used their connections in the bakufu government, which sometimes acted on the indebted samurai’s behalf, and pressured merchants to settle debts at reduced rates.
The final blow to the samurai came in 1853, when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor and demanded that the bakufu open up Japan to foreign commerce. The bakufu was indecisive in the face of American demands, and popular sentiment turned against it. The bakufu signed a treaty with the United States that effectively opened Japan to the outside world. Soon foreigners (first the Americans—then the Europeans) began to set up trading settlements; and Western influences abruptly began pouring into the country.
Within the samurai class there was widespread anger over the new foreign presence. Foreigners had been banished from Japanese soil since the early 1600s, when the shogun expelled Europeans upon pain of death.
Now they were forcing their way back in, and the bakufu seemed powerless to stop them. The situation was made worse by the fact that the Emperor had refused to endorse the American treaty.
http://www.japanese123.com/samurai3.htm
With the end of constant warfare, the main source of samurai employment was swept away. The samurai were forced to become administrators in peacetime. Many were employed in this capacity by the regional daimyos, who now reported to the shogun in Edo.
The samurai might also find employment in the bakufu / 幕府—the central government set up by the shogun. Ultimately, however, there weren’t enough of these jobs to go around. The samurai were far more numerous than the aristocrats of Medieval Europe; they comprised about five percent of the Japanese population.
The result of this imbalance was mass unemployment among the samurai. Those samurai who could not find work might become itinerant, masterless ronin. These ronin often organized themselves into gangs, and roamed the countryside as bandits.
Moreover, a conflict was growing between the samurai and the rising merchant class. The samurai had long regarded the merchant class as little more than an evil necessity. Now, however, the merchants were gaining more power.
As the overall financial situation within the samurai class deteriorated, many warriors became heavily indebted to merchants. Unable or unwilling to pay, these samurai often used their connections in the bakufu government, which sometimes acted on the indebted samurai’s behalf, and pressured merchants to settle debts at reduced rates.
The final blow to the samurai came in 1853, when U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Tokyo harbor and demanded that the bakufu open up Japan to foreign commerce. The bakufu was indecisive in the face of American demands, and popular sentiment turned against it. The bakufu signed a treaty with the United States that effectively opened Japan to the outside world. Soon foreigners (first the Americans—then the Europeans) began to set up trading settlements; and Western influences abruptly began pouring into the country.
Within the samurai class there was widespread anger over the new foreign presence. Foreigners had been banished from Japanese soil since the early 1600s, when the shogun expelled Europeans upon pain of death.
Now they were forcing their way back in, and the bakufu seemed powerless to stop them. The situation was made worse by the fact that the Emperor had refused to endorse the American treaty.
http://www.japanese123.com/samurai3.htm
Samurai's Katana Sword
Katana (刀:かたな, Katana?) is a type of Japanese backsword or longsword (大刀:だいとう, daitō?). In use after the 1400s, the Katana is a curved, single-edged sword traditionally used by the samurai.
Pronounced [kah-tah-nah] in the kun'yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji 刀, the word has been adopted as a loan word by the English language; as Japanese does not have separate plural and singular forms, both "katanas" and "katana" are considered acceptable plural forms in English.
The katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or shōtō, a similarly made but shorter sword, both worn by the members of the warrior class. It could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped blade.
The two weapons together were called the daishō, and represented the social power and personal honour of the samurai. The long blade was used for open combat, while the shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing, close quarters combat, decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.
Japanese swords are fairly common today, antique and even modern forged swords can still be found and purchased. Modern nihontō or Japanese-made swords are only made by a few hundred smiths in Japan today at contests hosted by the All Japan Swordsmiths Association.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katana
Pronounced [kah-tah-nah] in the kun'yomi (Japanese reading) of the kanji 刀, the word has been adopted as a loan word by the English language; as Japanese does not have separate plural and singular forms, both "katanas" and "katana" are considered acceptable plural forms in English.
The katana was typically paired with the wakizashi or shōtō, a similarly made but shorter sword, both worn by the members of the warrior class. It could also be worn with the tantō, an even smaller similarly shaped blade.
The two weapons together were called the daishō, and represented the social power and personal honour of the samurai. The long blade was used for open combat, while the shorter blade was considered a side arm, more suited for stabbing, close quarters combat, decapitating beaten opponents when taking heads on the battlefield, and seppuku, a form of ritual suicide.
Japanese swords are fairly common today, antique and even modern forged swords can still be found and purchased. Modern nihontō or Japanese-made swords are only made by a few hundred smiths in Japan today at contests hosted by the All Japan Swordsmiths Association.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katana
Samurai Terms
- bakufu - Japanese military rule; rule of the shogun- budo - The Way of combat; a name adopted in the 20th century for martial arts in general with an emphasis on their peaceful aspects
-bushi - Warrior; name given to all the warriors who made up families with a warrior tradition
- bushido - Way of the warrior; a code of honor and social behavior; succeeded the unwritten code of the Way of the bow and the horse
- daimyo - a feudal lord; maintained a great number of samurai in their service, who all swore an oath of allegiance to them according to the rules of Bushido
- ken-jutsu - The warrior art of the sword; art of using the sword as soon as it is drawn from the scabbard, in order to attack the enemy; transformed into the art of kendo
- kendo - Way of the sword; a martial art (budo) of using the sword (ken). This art was developed from the earliest times by the warriors (bushi) of Japan, and from the 14th century on by the samurai. Ken-jutsu was prohibited in 1867 when the samurai were forbidden to carry swords, but was transformed into a martial sport (kendo) for physical and mental training of the young.
- naginata - weapon used by foot soldiers against horsemen or to cut the tendons of horses or to disembowel them; also favorite weapon of the wives of samurai and of warrior monks
- ninja - a group of men and women specially trained for espionage and assassination; generally drawn from the lower classes and used by the daimyo to assassinate enemies and penetrate enemy fortresses
- ronin - during the Tokugawa period, name given to all bushi and samurai who did not serve a particular master, either because the master had died or because his lands had been confiscated. A number of these ronin became martial arts teachers or began some other job which was compatible with their samurai status (e.g., bodyguards).
- samurai - a class of bushi (warriors). The original samurai were there for the protection of their lord and were especially trained in martial arts. Later the name was given to all bushi of a certain rank belonging to warrior families
- seppuku - the act of ritual suicide performed by the samurai (The expression hara-kiri, to cut the abdomen, more widely used in the West, is considered more vulgar.)
- shogun - title given by the emperor to the daimyo who showed himself to be the richest and the most powerful of all the lords- so-jutsu - techniques of using the lance, and performed wearing the ancient armor of the samurai
http://www.historicalweapons.com/samuraiwarrior.html
-bushi - Warrior; name given to all the warriors who made up families with a warrior tradition
- bushido - Way of the warrior; a code of honor and social behavior; succeeded the unwritten code of the Way of the bow and the horse
- daimyo - a feudal lord; maintained a great number of samurai in their service, who all swore an oath of allegiance to them according to the rules of Bushido
- ken-jutsu - The warrior art of the sword; art of using the sword as soon as it is drawn from the scabbard, in order to attack the enemy; transformed into the art of kendo
- kendo - Way of the sword; a martial art (budo) of using the sword (ken). This art was developed from the earliest times by the warriors (bushi) of Japan, and from the 14th century on by the samurai. Ken-jutsu was prohibited in 1867 when the samurai were forbidden to carry swords, but was transformed into a martial sport (kendo) for physical and mental training of the young.
- naginata - weapon used by foot soldiers against horsemen or to cut the tendons of horses or to disembowel them; also favorite weapon of the wives of samurai and of warrior monks
- ninja - a group of men and women specially trained for espionage and assassination; generally drawn from the lower classes and used by the daimyo to assassinate enemies and penetrate enemy fortresses
- ronin - during the Tokugawa period, name given to all bushi and samurai who did not serve a particular master, either because the master had died or because his lands had been confiscated. A number of these ronin became martial arts teachers or began some other job which was compatible with their samurai status (e.g., bodyguards).
- samurai - a class of bushi (warriors). The original samurai were there for the protection of their lord and were especially trained in martial arts. Later the name was given to all bushi of a certain rank belonging to warrior families
- seppuku - the act of ritual suicide performed by the samurai (The expression hara-kiri, to cut the abdomen, more widely used in the West, is considered more vulgar.)
- shogun - title given by the emperor to the daimyo who showed himself to be the richest and the most powerful of all the lords- so-jutsu - techniques of using the lance, and performed wearing the ancient armor of the samurai
http://www.historicalweapons.com/samuraiwarrior.html
Samurai Weapons
The samurai used various weapons, but the katana is the weapon that is synonymous with samurai. Bushido teaches that the katana is the samurai's soul and sometimes a samurai is pictured as entirely dependent on the katana for fighting.
They believe that the katana was so precious that they often gave them names and considered them as part of the living. However the use of swords did not become common in battle until the Kamakura period (1185–1333), where the tachi and uchigatana (the predecessor to the katana) became prevalent.
The katana itself did not become the primary weapon until the Edo period.
After a male child of the bushi was born, he would receive his first sword in a ceremony called mamori-gatana. The sword, however, was merely a charm sword covered with brocade to which was attached a purse or wallet, worn by children under five. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a ceremony called Genbuku (元服), a male child was given his first real swords and armour, an adult name, and became a samurai. A katana and a wakizashi together are called a daisho (lit. "big and small").
The wakizashi itself was a samurai's "honour blade" and purportedly never left the samurai's side. He would sleep with it under his pillow and it would be taken with him when he entered a house and had to leave his main weapons outside.
The Tantō was a small dagger sometimes worn with or instead of the Wakizashi in a daisho. The tanto or the wakizashi was used to commit seppuku, a ritualized suicide.
Samurai helmet with a half-face mask, made of leather and iron, Edo period, 17th century. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
The samurai stressed skill with the yumi (longbow), reflected in the art of kyujutsu (lit. the skill of the bow). The bow would remain a critical component of the Japanese military even with the introduction of firearms during the Sengoku Jidai period. The yumi, an asymmetric composite bow made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather, was not as powerful as the Eurasian reflex composite bow, having an effective range of 50 meters (about 164 feet) or less (100 meters [328 feet] if accuracy was not an issue).
It was usually used on foot behind a tedate (手盾), a large and mobile bamboo wall, but shorter versions (hankyu) could also be used from horseback. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto ceremony of Yabusame (流鏑馬).
In the 15th century, the yari (spear) also became a popular weapon, displacing along with the naginata from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized around massed, inexpensive foot troops ashigaru. A charge, mounted or dismounted, was more effective when using a spear than a katana and it offered better than even odds against a samurai using a katana. In the Battle of Shizugatake where Shibata Katsuie was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi, the Seven Spearmen of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳七本槍) played a crucial role in the victory.
The latter half of the 16th Century saw the introduction of the teppo or arquebus in Japan through Portuguese trade, enabling warlords to raise effective armies from masses of peasants. The new weapons were highly controversial. Their ease of use and deadly effectiveness was perceived by many samurai as a dishonorable affront to Bushido tradition. Oda Nobunaga made deadly use of the teppo at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, leading to the end of the Takeda clan.
After their initial introduction by the Portuguese and the Dutch, the teppo, were produced on a large scale by Japanese gunsmiths.
By the end of the 16th Century, there were more firearms in Japan than in any European nation. Teppo, employed en masse largely by ashigaru peasant foot troops were in many ways the antithesis of samurai valor. With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate and an end to civil war, production of the guns declined sharply with prohibitions to ownership.
By the Tokugawa Shogunate most spear-based weapons had been phased out partly because they were suboptimal for the close-quarter combat common in the Edo period, this combined with the aforementioned restrictions on fire-arms resulted in the Daisho being the only weapons typically carried by samurai.
In the 1570s cannons became a common part of the samurai's armory. They often were mounted in castles or on ships being used more as anti-personnel weapons though in the siege of Nagashino castle (1575) a cannon was used to good effect against an enemy siege-tower.
The first popular cannon in Japan were swivel-breech loaders nick-named kunikuzushi or "Destroyer of Provinces". Kunikuzushi weighed 264 lbs. and used 40 lb. chambers, firing a small shot of 10 oz. The Arima clan of Kyushu used guns like this at the battle of Okinawate against the Ryozoji clan.
By the time of the Osaka campaign (1614-1615) cannon technology had improved in Japan to the point where at Osaka, Ii Naotaka managed to fire an 18 lb. shot into the castle's keep.
Some other weapons used by samurai were jō, bō, and the Chinese trebuchets (more as an anti-personnel weapon than a siege engine).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
They believe that the katana was so precious that they often gave them names and considered them as part of the living. However the use of swords did not become common in battle until the Kamakura period (1185–1333), where the tachi and uchigatana (the predecessor to the katana) became prevalent.
The katana itself did not become the primary weapon until the Edo period.
After a male child of the bushi was born, he would receive his first sword in a ceremony called mamori-gatana. The sword, however, was merely a charm sword covered with brocade to which was attached a purse or wallet, worn by children under five. Upon reaching the age of thirteen, in a ceremony called Genbuku (元服), a male child was given his first real swords and armour, an adult name, and became a samurai. A katana and a wakizashi together are called a daisho (lit. "big and small").
The wakizashi itself was a samurai's "honour blade" and purportedly never left the samurai's side. He would sleep with it under his pillow and it would be taken with him when he entered a house and had to leave his main weapons outside.
The Tantō was a small dagger sometimes worn with or instead of the Wakizashi in a daisho. The tanto or the wakizashi was used to commit seppuku, a ritualized suicide.
Samurai helmet with a half-face mask, made of leather and iron, Edo period, 17th century. Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.
The samurai stressed skill with the yumi (longbow), reflected in the art of kyujutsu (lit. the skill of the bow). The bow would remain a critical component of the Japanese military even with the introduction of firearms during the Sengoku Jidai period. The yumi, an asymmetric composite bow made from bamboo, wood, rattan and leather, was not as powerful as the Eurasian reflex composite bow, having an effective range of 50 meters (about 164 feet) or less (100 meters [328 feet] if accuracy was not an issue).
It was usually used on foot behind a tedate (手盾), a large and mobile bamboo wall, but shorter versions (hankyu) could also be used from horseback. The practice of shooting from horseback became a Shinto ceremony of Yabusame (流鏑馬).
In the 15th century, the yari (spear) also became a popular weapon, displacing along with the naginata from the battlefield as personal bravery became less of a factor and battles became more organized around massed, inexpensive foot troops ashigaru. A charge, mounted or dismounted, was more effective when using a spear than a katana and it offered better than even odds against a samurai using a katana. In the Battle of Shizugatake where Shibata Katsuie was defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then known as Hashiba Hideyoshi, the Seven Spearmen of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳七本槍) played a crucial role in the victory.
The latter half of the 16th Century saw the introduction of the teppo or arquebus in Japan through Portuguese trade, enabling warlords to raise effective armies from masses of peasants. The new weapons were highly controversial. Their ease of use and deadly effectiveness was perceived by many samurai as a dishonorable affront to Bushido tradition. Oda Nobunaga made deadly use of the teppo at the Battle of Nagashino in 1575, leading to the end of the Takeda clan.
After their initial introduction by the Portuguese and the Dutch, the teppo, were produced on a large scale by Japanese gunsmiths.
By the end of the 16th Century, there were more firearms in Japan than in any European nation. Teppo, employed en masse largely by ashigaru peasant foot troops were in many ways the antithesis of samurai valor. With the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate and an end to civil war, production of the guns declined sharply with prohibitions to ownership.
By the Tokugawa Shogunate most spear-based weapons had been phased out partly because they were suboptimal for the close-quarter combat common in the Edo period, this combined with the aforementioned restrictions on fire-arms resulted in the Daisho being the only weapons typically carried by samurai.
In the 1570s cannons became a common part of the samurai's armory. They often were mounted in castles or on ships being used more as anti-personnel weapons though in the siege of Nagashino castle (1575) a cannon was used to good effect against an enemy siege-tower.
The first popular cannon in Japan were swivel-breech loaders nick-named kunikuzushi or "Destroyer of Provinces". Kunikuzushi weighed 264 lbs. and used 40 lb. chambers, firing a small shot of 10 oz. The Arima clan of Kyushu used guns like this at the battle of Okinawate against the Ryozoji clan.
By the time of the Osaka campaign (1614-1615) cannon technology had improved in Japan to the point where at Osaka, Ii Naotaka managed to fire an 18 lb. shot into the castle's keep.
Some other weapons used by samurai were jō, bō, and the Chinese trebuchets (more as an anti-personnel weapon than a siege engine).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
Samurai Philosophy
The philosophies of Buddhism and Zen, and to a lesser extent Confucianism, influenced the samurai culture as well as Shinto. Zen meditation became an important teaching due to it offering a process to calm one's mind. The Buddhist concept of reincarnation and rebirth led samurai to abandon torture and needless killing, while some samurai even gave up violence altogether and became Buddhist monks after realizing how fruitless their killings were.
Some were killed as they came to terms with these realizations in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship; this is, the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord.
Bushidō "way of the warrior" was a term attached to a samurai "code of conduct" or way of life enforced during Edo period by the Tokugawa Shogunate, so that they could control the samurai more easily.
Its deceptive simplicity led to countless arguments over its interpretation. Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo is a manual of instruction into the way of the samurai. Even as it was published, it received a number of reviews that criticized its strict and impersonal interpretations. If the lord is wrong, for example if he ordered a massacre of civilians, should he observe loyalty to massacre as ordered or should he observe rectitude to let the civilians escape unharmed?
If a man had sick parents but committed an unforgivable mistake, should he protect his honour by committing seppuku or should he show courage by living with dishonor and care for his parents?
The incident of 47 Ronin caused debates about the righteousness of the samurai's actions and how bushido should be applied. They had defied the shogun by taking matters into their own hands but it was an act of loyalty and rectitude as well. Finally, their acts were agreed to be rectitude but not loyalty to the shogun. This made them criminals with conscience and eligible for seppuku.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
Some were killed as they came to terms with these realizations in the battlefield. The most defining role that Confucianism played in samurai philosophy was to stress the importance of the lord-retainer relationship; this is, the loyalty that a samurai was required to show his lord.
Bushidō "way of the warrior" was a term attached to a samurai "code of conduct" or way of life enforced during Edo period by the Tokugawa Shogunate, so that they could control the samurai more easily.
Its deceptive simplicity led to countless arguments over its interpretation. Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai by Yamamoto Tsunetomo is a manual of instruction into the way of the samurai. Even as it was published, it received a number of reviews that criticized its strict and impersonal interpretations. If the lord is wrong, for example if he ordered a massacre of civilians, should he observe loyalty to massacre as ordered or should he observe rectitude to let the civilians escape unharmed?
If a man had sick parents but committed an unforgivable mistake, should he protect his honour by committing seppuku or should he show courage by living with dishonor and care for his parents?
The incident of 47 Ronin caused debates about the righteousness of the samurai's actions and how bushido should be applied. They had defied the shogun by taking matters into their own hands but it was an act of loyalty and rectitude as well. Finally, their acts were agreed to be rectitude but not loyalty to the shogun. This made them criminals with conscience and eligible for seppuku.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
Modernization of the Samurai
By this time, the Way of Death and Desperateness had been eclipsed by a rude awakening in 1853, when Commodore Matthew Perry's massive steamships from the U.S. Navy first imposed broader commerce on the once-dominant national policy of isolationism.
Prior to that only a few harbor towns, under strict control from the Shogunate, were able to participate in Western trade, and even then, it was based largely on the idea of playing the Franciscans and Dominicans off against one another (in exchange for the crucial arquebus technology, which in turn was a major contributor to the downfall of the classical samurai).
From 1854, the samurai army and the navy were modernized.
A Naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto.
French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French Military Mission to Japan (1867) was established to help modernize the armies of the Bakufu.
The last showing of the original samurai was in 1867 when samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma provinces defeated the Shogunate forces in favor of the rule of the emperor in the Boshin War (1868-1869). The two provinces were the lands of the daimyo that submitted to Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
Prior to that only a few harbor towns, under strict control from the Shogunate, were able to participate in Western trade, and even then, it was based largely on the idea of playing the Franciscans and Dominicans off against one another (in exchange for the crucial arquebus technology, which in turn was a major contributor to the downfall of the classical samurai).
From 1854, the samurai army and the navy were modernized.
A Naval training school was established in Nagasaki in 1855. Naval students were sent to study in Western naval schools for several years, starting a tradition of foreign-educated future leaders, such as Admiral Enomoto.
French naval engineers were hired to build naval arsenals, such as Yokosuka and Nagasaki. By the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, the Japanese navy of the shogun already possessed eight western-style steam warships around the flagship Kaiyō Maru, which were used against pro-imperial forces during the Boshin war, under the command of Admiral Enomoto. A French Military Mission to Japan (1867) was established to help modernize the armies of the Bakufu.
The last showing of the original samurai was in 1867 when samurai from Chōshū and Satsuma provinces defeated the Shogunate forces in favor of the rule of the emperor in the Boshin War (1868-1869). The two provinces were the lands of the daimyo that submitted to Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
The Fudal Period
Various samurai clans struggled for power during the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates.
Zen Buddhism spread among samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace, Pure Land Buddhism was favored.
In 1274, the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Empire sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern Kyūshū. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 Samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army was eventually recalled and the invasion called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gun powder in Japan.
The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion, and began construction of a great, stone barrier around Hakata Bay in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the border of the bay. This would later serve as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed. This set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.
In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 4,400 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again recalling their armies.
Samurai and defensive wall at Hakata. Moko Shurai Ekotoba, (蒙古襲来絵詞) c.1293.
The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the Samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as kami-no-kaze, which literally translates as "wind of the gods." This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind." The kami-no-kaze lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.
In the 14th century, a blacksmith called Masamune developed a two-layer structure of soft and hard steel for use in swords. This structure gave much improved cutting power and endurance, and the production technique led to Japanese swords (katana) being recognized as some of the most potent hand weapons of pre-industrial East Asia. Many swords made using this technique were exported across the East China Sea, a few making their way as far as India.
Issues of inheritance caused family strife as primogeniture became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before the 14th century. To avoid infighting, invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates.
The Sengoku jidai ("warring-states period") was marked by the loosening of samurai culture with people born into other social strata sometimes making names for themselves as warriors and thus becoming de facto samurai. In this turbulent period, bushido ethics became important factors in controlling and maintaining public order.
Japanese war tactics and technologies improved rapidly in the 15th and 16th century. Use of large numbers of infantry called ashigaru ("light-foot", due to their light armour), formed of humble warriors or ordinary people with Nagayari (a long lance) or (Naginata), was introduced and combined with cavalry in maneuvers. The number of people mobilized in warfare ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Nanban (Western)-style samurai cuirass, 16th century.
The arquebus, a matchlock gun, was introduced by the Portuguese via a Chinese pirate ship in 1543 and the Japanese succeeded in assimilating it within a decade. Groups of mercenaries with mass-produced arquebuses began playing a critical role.
By the end of feudal period, several hundred thousand firearms existed in Japan and massive armies numbering over 100,000 clashed in battles. By comparison, the largest and most powerful army in Europe, the Spanish, had only several thousand firearms and could only assemble 30,000 troops.
In 1592, and again in 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China (唐入り) and sent to Korea an army of 160,000 samurai (Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, 朝鮮征伐). Taking advantage of its mastery of the arquebus, Japanese samurai and their soldiers almost lead the war to victory.
The most famous samurai in this war are Kato Kiyomasa and Shimazu Yoshihiro.
Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence.
Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans, Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara and Tachibana. In most cases, however, it is hard to prove these claims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
Zen Buddhism spread among samurai in the 13th century and helped to shape their standards of conduct, particularly overcoming fear of death and killing, but among the general populace, Pure Land Buddhism was favored.
In 1274, the Yuan Dynasty of the Mongol Empire sent a force of some 40,000 men and 900 ships to invade Japan in northern Kyūshū. Japan mustered a mere 10,000 Samurai to meet this threat. The invading army was harassed by major thunderstorms throughout the invasion, which aided the defenders by inflicting heavy casualties. The Yuan army was eventually recalled and the invasion called off. The Mongol invaders used small bombs, which was likely the first appearance of bombs and gun powder in Japan.
The Japanese defenders recognized the possibility of a renewed invasion, and began construction of a great, stone barrier around Hakata Bay in 1276. Completed in 1277, this wall stretched for 20 kilometers around the border of the bay. This would later serve as a strong defensive point against the Mongols. The Mongols attempted to settle matters in a diplomatic way from 1275 to 1279, but every envoy sent to Japan was executed. This set the stage for one of the most famous engagements in Japanese history.
In 1281, a Yuan army of 140,000 men with 4,400 ships was mustered for another invasion of Japan. Northern Kyūshū was defended by a Japanese army of 40,000 men. The Mongol army was still on its ships preparing for the landing operation when a typhoon hit north Kyūshū island. The casualties and damage inflicted by the typhoon, followed by the Japanese defense of the Hakata Bay barrier, resulted in the Mongols again recalling their armies.
Samurai and defensive wall at Hakata. Moko Shurai Ekotoba, (蒙古襲来絵詞) c.1293.
The thunderstorms of 1274 and the typhoon of 1281 helped the Samurai defenders of Japan repel the Mongol invaders despite being vastly outnumbered. These winds became known as kami-no-kaze, which literally translates as "wind of the gods." This is often given a simplified translation as "divine wind." The kami-no-kaze lent credence to the Japanese belief that their lands were indeed divine and under supernatural protection.
In the 14th century, a blacksmith called Masamune developed a two-layer structure of soft and hard steel for use in swords. This structure gave much improved cutting power and endurance, and the production technique led to Japanese swords (katana) being recognized as some of the most potent hand weapons of pre-industrial East Asia. Many swords made using this technique were exported across the East China Sea, a few making their way as far as India.
Issues of inheritance caused family strife as primogeniture became common, in contrast to the division of succession designated by law before the 14th century. To avoid infighting, invasions of neighboring samurai territories became common and bickering among samurai was a constant problem for the Kamakura and Ashikaga Shogunates.
The Sengoku jidai ("warring-states period") was marked by the loosening of samurai culture with people born into other social strata sometimes making names for themselves as warriors and thus becoming de facto samurai. In this turbulent period, bushido ethics became important factors in controlling and maintaining public order.
Japanese war tactics and technologies improved rapidly in the 15th and 16th century. Use of large numbers of infantry called ashigaru ("light-foot", due to their light armour), formed of humble warriors or ordinary people with Nagayari (a long lance) or (Naginata), was introduced and combined with cavalry in maneuvers. The number of people mobilized in warfare ranged from thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Nanban (Western)-style samurai cuirass, 16th century.
The arquebus, a matchlock gun, was introduced by the Portuguese via a Chinese pirate ship in 1543 and the Japanese succeeded in assimilating it within a decade. Groups of mercenaries with mass-produced arquebuses began playing a critical role.
By the end of feudal period, several hundred thousand firearms existed in Japan and massive armies numbering over 100,000 clashed in battles. By comparison, the largest and most powerful army in Europe, the Spanish, had only several thousand firearms and could only assemble 30,000 troops.
In 1592, and again in 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi decided to invade China (唐入り) and sent to Korea an army of 160,000 samurai (Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, 朝鮮征伐). Taking advantage of its mastery of the arquebus, Japanese samurai and their soldiers almost lead the war to victory.
The most famous samurai in this war are Kato Kiyomasa and Shimazu Yoshihiro.
Social mobility was high, as the ancient regime collapsed and emerging samurai needed to maintain large military and administrative organizations in their areas of influence.
Most of the samurai families that survived to the 19th century originated in this era declaring themselves to be the blood of one of the four ancient noble clans, Minamoto, Taira, Fujiwara and Tachibana. In most cases, however, it is hard to prove these claims.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
The Rise of the Samurai
Originally these warriors were workers of the emperor and noble, but slowly they gathered enough power to establish the first samurai-dominated government.
As regional clans gathered manpower and resources and struck alliances with each other, their chief was typically a distant relative of the emperor, and a lesser member of one of three families the Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira.
Though originally sent to provincial areas for a fixed four year term as a magistrate, the toryo declined to return to the capital when their terms ended, and their sons inherited their positions and continued to lead the clans in putting down rebellions throughout Japan during the middle and later Heian period.
Samurai fighting at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. Because of their rising military and economic power, the warriors ultimately became a new force in the politics of the court. Their involvement in the Hōgen in the late Heian period consolidated their power, and finally pitted the rival Minamoto and Taira clans against each other in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160.
The winners, Taira no Kiyomori became an imperial advisor, the first warrior to attain such a position, and eventually seized control of the central government, establishing the first samurai-dominated government and relegating the emperor to figurehead status.
However, the Taira clan was still very conservative in comparison with its eventual successor, the Minamoto, and instead of expanding or strengthening its military might, the Taira clan had its women marry emperors and exercise control through the emperor.
Samurai Residence of "Kamakura Period" The Taira and the Minamoto clashed again in 1180, beginning the Gempei War which ended in 1185. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo established the superiority of the samurai over the aristocracy. In 1190, he visited Kyoto and in 1192, became Seii Taishogun, establishing the Kamakura Shogunate, or Kamakura Bakufu. Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the Shogunate in Kamakura, near his base of power. "Bakufu" means tent government, taken from the encampments the soldiers would live in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as a military government.
Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility buke, who were only nominally under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. In spite of various machinations and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the shogun and the samurai.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
As regional clans gathered manpower and resources and struck alliances with each other, their chief was typically a distant relative of the emperor, and a lesser member of one of three families the Fujiwara, Minamoto, Taira.
Though originally sent to provincial areas for a fixed four year term as a magistrate, the toryo declined to return to the capital when their terms ended, and their sons inherited their positions and continued to lead the clans in putting down rebellions throughout Japan during the middle and later Heian period.
Samurai fighting at the naval battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. Because of their rising military and economic power, the warriors ultimately became a new force in the politics of the court. Their involvement in the Hōgen in the late Heian period consolidated their power, and finally pitted the rival Minamoto and Taira clans against each other in the Heiji Rebellion of 1160.
The winners, Taira no Kiyomori became an imperial advisor, the first warrior to attain such a position, and eventually seized control of the central government, establishing the first samurai-dominated government and relegating the emperor to figurehead status.
However, the Taira clan was still very conservative in comparison with its eventual successor, the Minamoto, and instead of expanding or strengthening its military might, the Taira clan had its women marry emperors and exercise control through the emperor.
Samurai Residence of "Kamakura Period" The Taira and the Minamoto clashed again in 1180, beginning the Gempei War which ended in 1185. The victorious Minamoto no Yoritomo established the superiority of the samurai over the aristocracy. In 1190, he visited Kyoto and in 1192, became Seii Taishogun, establishing the Kamakura Shogunate, or Kamakura Bakufu. Instead of ruling from Kyoto, he set up the Shogunate in Kamakura, near his base of power. "Bakufu" means tent government, taken from the encampments the soldiers would live in, in accordance with the Bakufu's status as a military government.
Over time, powerful samurai clans became warrior nobility buke, who were only nominally under the court aristocracy. When the samurai began to adopt aristocratic pastimes like calligraphy, poetry and music, some court aristocrats in turn began to adopt samurai customs. In spite of various machinations and brief periods of rule by various emperors, real power was now in the hands of the shogun and the samurai.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai#Kamakura_Bakufu_and_the_rise_of_samurai
The Samurai Warrior
The Samurai rose out of the continuing battles for land among three main clans: the Minamoto, the Fujiwara and the Taira, and was consolidated in the Tokugawa period. Under the Tokugawa shogunate (1603-1867), the samurai were removed from direct control of the villages, moved into the domain castle towns, and given government stipends. They were encouraged to take up bureaucratic posts. As a result, they lost a measure of their earlier martial skill. Dissatisfied samurai from the Choshu and Satsuma domains of W Japan were largely responsible for overthrowing the shogun in 1867.
When feudalism was abolished after the Meiji restoration, some former samurai also took part in the Satsuma revolt under Takamori Saigo in 1877. As statesmen, soldiers, and businessmen, former samurai took the lead in building modern Japan. The Samurai eventually became a class unto themselves between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D. They were called by two names: Samurai (knights-retainers) and Bushi (warriors). Some of them were related to the ruling class. Others were hired men. They gave complete loyalty to their Daimyo (feudal landowners) and received land and position in return. Each Daimyo used his Samurai to protect his land and to expand his power and rights to more land.
The Samurai became expert in fighting from horseback and on the ground. They practiced armed and un-armed combat. The early Samurai emphasized fighting with the bow and arrow. They used swords for close-in fighting and beheading their enemies. Battles with the Mongols in the late 13th century led to a change in the Samurai's fighting style. They began to use their sword more and also made more use of spears and naginata. The Samurai slowly changed from fighting on horseback to fighting on foot.
The ideal samurai was supposed to be a stoic warrior who followed an unwritten code of conduct, later formalized as Bushido, which held bravery, honour, and personal loyalty above life itself; ritual suicide by disembowelment (seppuku) was institutionalized as a respected alternative to dishonour or defeat. The Samurai were privileged to wear two swords (daisho), and at one time had the right to cut down any commoner who offended them. One sword was long; the other short.
The long sword (daito - katana) was more than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto - wakizashi) was between 12 and 24 inches. The Samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the "soul" of their warriorship. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. The Samurai's desire for tougher, sharper swords for battle gave rise to the curved blade we still have today.
The sword had its beginning as iron combined with carbon. The swordsmith used fire, water, anvil and hammer to shape the world's best swords. After forging the blade, the sword polisher did his work to prepare the blade for the "furniture" that surrounded it. Next, the sword tester took the new blade and cut through the bodies of corpses or condemned criminals. They started by cutting through the small bones of the body and moved up to the large bones. Test results were often recorded on the nakago (the metal piece attaching the sword blade to the handle).
In 1867 the Samurai were banned from the carrying of swords. This attempt to end a thousand year tradition was not received lightly by the proud warrior class and the "stick" katana was born. Innocuous walking canes now concealed the revered blades but the katana, the "Soul of the Samurai", lived on.
Lower-ranking samurai, eager for advancement and realizing a new sense of national purpose in the face of encroachment by the Western powers during the mid-19th century, took part in the movement against the Tokugawa regime (military dictatorship) that resulted in the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The samurai class lost its privileged position when feudalism was officially abolished in 1871. Discontented former samurai rose in rebellion several times during the 1870s, but these revolts were quickly suppressed by the newly established national army.
http://www.historicalweapons.com/samuraiwarrior.html
When feudalism was abolished after the Meiji restoration, some former samurai also took part in the Satsuma revolt under Takamori Saigo in 1877. As statesmen, soldiers, and businessmen, former samurai took the lead in building modern Japan. The Samurai eventually became a class unto themselves between the 9th and 12th centuries A.D. They were called by two names: Samurai (knights-retainers) and Bushi (warriors). Some of them were related to the ruling class. Others were hired men. They gave complete loyalty to their Daimyo (feudal landowners) and received land and position in return. Each Daimyo used his Samurai to protect his land and to expand his power and rights to more land.
The Samurai became expert in fighting from horseback and on the ground. They practiced armed and un-armed combat. The early Samurai emphasized fighting with the bow and arrow. They used swords for close-in fighting and beheading their enemies. Battles with the Mongols in the late 13th century led to a change in the Samurai's fighting style. They began to use their sword more and also made more use of spears and naginata. The Samurai slowly changed from fighting on horseback to fighting on foot.
The ideal samurai was supposed to be a stoic warrior who followed an unwritten code of conduct, later formalized as Bushido, which held bravery, honour, and personal loyalty above life itself; ritual suicide by disembowelment (seppuku) was institutionalized as a respected alternative to dishonour or defeat. The Samurai were privileged to wear two swords (daisho), and at one time had the right to cut down any commoner who offended them. One sword was long; the other short.
The long sword (daito - katana) was more than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto - wakizashi) was between 12 and 24 inches. The Samurai often gave names to their swords and believed it was the "soul" of their warriorship. The oldest swords were straight and had their early design in Korea and China. The Samurai's desire for tougher, sharper swords for battle gave rise to the curved blade we still have today.
The sword had its beginning as iron combined with carbon. The swordsmith used fire, water, anvil and hammer to shape the world's best swords. After forging the blade, the sword polisher did his work to prepare the blade for the "furniture" that surrounded it. Next, the sword tester took the new blade and cut through the bodies of corpses or condemned criminals. They started by cutting through the small bones of the body and moved up to the large bones. Test results were often recorded on the nakago (the metal piece attaching the sword blade to the handle).
In 1867 the Samurai were banned from the carrying of swords. This attempt to end a thousand year tradition was not received lightly by the proud warrior class and the "stick" katana was born. Innocuous walking canes now concealed the revered blades but the katana, the "Soul of the Samurai", lived on.
Lower-ranking samurai, eager for advancement and realizing a new sense of national purpose in the face of encroachment by the Western powers during the mid-19th century, took part in the movement against the Tokugawa regime (military dictatorship) that resulted in the Meiji Restoration of 1868.
The samurai class lost its privileged position when feudalism was officially abolished in 1871. Discontented former samurai rose in rebellion several times during the 1870s, but these revolts were quickly suppressed by the newly established national army.
http://www.historicalweapons.com/samuraiwarrior.html
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