Brief History of the Samurai

courtesy of Mark McGee

Japan has a history that dates back thousands of years. Scientists believe the Japanese
people descended from many groups that migrated to the islands from other parts of Asia,
including China and Korea. As early as 4500 B.C., the Japanese islands were inhabited by
fishermen, hunters and farmers. The early culture was known as "Jomon," which meant "cord
pattern." That's because the people made pottery decorated with rope-like designs. Scientists
believe a Caucasian race called the "Ainu" were the first inhabitants of what is now Japan. The
Ainu still exist today, mostly in the northernmost islands of Japan called "Hokkaido." The next
major Japanese cultural changed occurred about 200 B.C. The people were known as "Yayoi."
The Yayoi were mostly farmers. Scientists believe the present-day Japanese closely resemble
the Yayoi in appearance and language.
War played a central part in the history of Japan. Warring clans controlled much of the
country. A chief headed each clan; made up of related families. The chiefs were the ancestors
of Japan's imperial family. The wars were usually about "land." Only 20% of the land was fit for
farming. The struggle for control of that land eventually gave rise to the Samurai.
One of the important dates in the history of the Japanese warring class is 660 B.C. That's
when, according to legend, Jimmu Tenno became head of a confederation of warlike clans.
Tenno was known as "The Divine Warrior." He led his people from Kyushu to the Kinki region and
conquered the people there. Tenno settled in the area of Yamato. This eventually gave rise to
the Yamato dynasty and state. The leaders of Yamato believed themselves to be of divine
origin.
The Yamato clans conducted many military campaigns on the Asian mainland. The
targets included Korea and China. These campaigns led to the importation of Korean and
Chinese culture, technology and martial arts.
Legend says that Emperor Keiko was the first person with the title of "Shogun." The word
meant "Barbarian-subduing General." Legend continues that Keiko had a son named "Prince
Yamato." He was cunning, fearless, strong and a great martial artist. Many believe that Yamato
was a role model for future Samurai.
Ancient Yayoi warriors developed weapons, amour and a code during the ensuing
centuries that became the centerpiece for the Japanese Samurai. Early weapons included bows,
arrows and swords. Amour included a helmet that protected head and neck, a breastplate that
protected the chest, arm and shoulder protectors, and a belly wrap.
By the mid-Heian period, later armour included protection for the legs and thighs. Armour
changed as the type of battles changed. A big change occurred in the 5th century when horses
were introduced to Japan. Another change occurred in the 15th century because of the
constancy of war and the introduction of guns into battle. The code developed from the Chinese
concept of the virtues of warriors doing battle to the Samurai code of chivalry known as Kyuba
no michi ("The Way of Horse and Bow") to the Bushido (which means "Way of the Warrior")
code. Their lives were ruled by a strict code of duty, bravery, honor and sacrifice and personal
loyalty above life itself; ritual suicide by disembowelment (seppuku) was institutionalized as a
respected alternative to dishonor or defeat. It was their ethical code.

The samurai attached great importance to the circumstances of their own death. If a
samurai died of his own accord, it was considered a valiant end. Rather than suffer defeat or
humiliation at the hands of an enemy, samurai warriors often chose ritual suicide.
"Bushido" means "Way of the Warrior." It was at the heart of the beliefs and conduct of
the Samurai. The philosophy of Bushido is "freedom from fear." It meant that the Samurai
transcended his fear of death. That gave him the peace and power to serve his master faithfully
and loyally and die well if necessary. "Duty" is a primary philosophy of the Samurai. Bushido
was formalized by samurai such as Imagawa Ryoshun as early as the 13th century. The conduct
of samurai served as role model behavior for the other social classes.
The Samurai rose out of the continuing battles for land among three main clans: The
Minamoto, the Fujiwara and the Taira. Some clans were originally formed by farmers who had
taken up arms to protect themselves from the Imperial magistrates sent to govern their lands
and collect taxes. These clans formed alliances to protect themselves against more powerful
clans.
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 (they were the feudal local landowners in Japan) 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. Initially, their responsibility was restricted to arresting rebels
and collecting needed army provisions, and they were forbidden from interfering with Kokushi
Governors, but their responsibility gradually expanded and thus the samurai-class appeared as
the political ruling power in Japan.
The Samurai became expert in fighting from horseback and on the ground. The Samurai
were like a police force. The samurai first came to power in Japan during the 12th century. They
were members of the privileged upper class and had authority over common citizens and
ordinary soldiers.
The training of the samurai in martial arts began at the early age of five. They were most
often taught by their fathers or uncles. Most grew up to have families of their own. Many were
farmers and many were well-educated in history and literature, especially poetry.
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.
Girls also received martial arts training. Although most samurai women did not fight on
the battlefield, they were prepared to defend their homes against invaders.
The Samurai wore two swords (daisho). One was long; the other short. The long long,
curved, sword (daito - katana) was more than 24 inches. The short sword (shoto - wakizashi)
was between 12 and 24 inches. If any soldier or common citizen disobeyed or offended a
samurai, by law, the samurai had the right to take its life. 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).
During the Tokugawa shogunate, samurai increasingly became courtiers, bureaucrats,
and administrators rather than warriors. With no warfare since the early 17th century, samurai
gradually lost their military function during the Tokugawa era (also called the Edo period). By
the end of the Tokugawa era, samurai were aristocratic bureaucrats for the daimyo, with their
daisho, the paired long and short swords of the samurai (cf. katana and wakizashi) becoming
more of a symbolic emblem of power rather than a weapon used in daily life. They still had the
legal right to cut down any commoner who did not show proper respect (kiri-sute gomen) (
), but to what extent this right was used is unknown. When the central government
forced daimyos to cut the size of their armies, unemployed Ronin became a social problem.
The last showing of the original samurai was in 1867 when samurai from Choshu and
Satsuma provinces defeated the Shogunate forces in favor of the rule of the Emperor in the
Boshin War (18681869). The two provinces were the lands of the daimyo that submitted to
Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara (1600).
Emperor Meiji abolished the samurai's right to be the only armed force in favor of a more
modern, western-style, conscripted army in 1873. Samurai became Shizoku () who retained
some of their salaries, but the right to wear a katana in public was eventually abolished along
with the right to execute commoners who paid them disrespect. The samurai finally came to an
end after hundreds of years of enjoyment of their status, their powers, and their ability to shape
the government of Japan. However, the rule of the state by the military class was not yet over.
In defining how a modern Japan should be, members of the Meiji government decided to follow
the footsteps of the United Kingdom and Germany, basing the country on the concept of
noblesse oblige. Samurai were not a political force under the new order. With the Meiji reforms
in the late 19th century, the samurai class was abolished,
In 1876, the Japanese emperor banned the samurai from wearing swords. By that time,
many samurai took pens instead of guns and became reporters and writers, setting up
newspaper companies, and others entered governmental service. Some samurai became
businessmen. For example, Iwasaki Yataro, who was the great-grandson of a samurai,
established Mitsubishi. Although the samurai no longer exist, descendants of samurai families
in Japan today are still highly respected. The teachings of the martial arts carry on their code of
honor and discipline. Today, the samurai are a popular subject for books and can be seen in
many martial arts movies.