Ninja and Samurai Magazine: About Samurai

Men in armor on the battlefield,evading swords that come from directions and cutting down their enemies.They are the Samurai,archetypal Japanese warriors.

Samurai (Edo era)

It's not unusual for Japanese to be describes as ''Samurai'.But how did the people of Japan in general come to associated with Samurai warriors?Let's try to unravel this mystery by taking a look at Japanese history.

Samurai (Edo era)

The word "Samurai"is derived from the word "Saburou"which means "to serve".It's believed that the forerunners of the Samurai were men who served the nobility as guards,roughly 1,000 years ago.

Masayuki Okudaira (Samurai in Edo period)

Some Samurai served the nobility,but other Samurai were farmers who fought to defend their land.The courtier and imperial families didn't have own armed forces, so the Samurai employed for the fight between the imperial families and courtier.Therefore Samurai gained forces gradually.

Samurai (edo era)

At the end of the 12th century, Minamoto no Yoritomo established the Kamakura shogunate,and the reign of the Samurai began.Samurai came to have power rather than the Emperor or the Imperial Court.

Japanese nobility

Normally Samurai wears two swords,one is Katana the other is Wakizashi.
High-ranking Samurai liked to use Katana. Although those who used a long spear or long sword were able to fight advantageously, it was the Samurai's pride to use a Katana.

Heikurou Shibusawa (Samurai in Edo - Meiji period)

The loyalty to the Lord was absolute thing to follow.Samurai were risking his life on his behavior.If Samurai failed important things they will kill themselves by cutting abdomen.

Samurai (edo era)

During the age of civil war in the 16th century, Samurai warriors fought and died in the battles for land expansion and power.A series of superstar warlords emerged.

Samurai (Edo era)

It was an era when military strength was the key to gaining political power.

The beginning of the 17th century opened a stunning new chapter in the history of the Samurai.

Samurai (Edo era)

The Edo shogunate was established in what is now Tokyo,and thereafter,around 250 years of peaces would reign throughout Japan.

Samurai (Edo era)

Fighters by trade,the Samurai had no choice but to embark on a completely different way of life.

Katana (Samurai sword)

Wakizashi (Samurai short sword)

During the Edo period,the shogunate promoted the teachings of Chu Hsi Confucianism,a school of Chinese philosophy.And the Samurai incorporated these ideas into everyday life. A strong spiritual backbone became the hallmark of Samurai values.

Samurai (Edo era)

Be loyal to your master.
Observe proper etiquette.
Do what's right without hesitation.
Show compassion for the weak.

Yoroi (Samurai armor )

Samurai spirits is now still exist in Japanese.Meiji government destroyed Tokugawa shogunate and Samurai era ended.Samurai was based on protection of the Tokugawa shogunate, Meiji government took all the privileges of the Samurai.

Samurai (Edo era)

Samurai became ordinary people. They got no salary and could not wear katana.

Nao Sakamoto (Samurai in Edo period)

The general and the samurai were obstructive because a Meiji government wanted to make completely new Japan.So real Samurai disappeared after Meiji era in Japan but Samurai spirits still exist in Japanese heart.

Samurai (Kamakura era)

If you find Samurai in Japan,It's not real Samurai.They're just pretending a samurai.Maybe they are actors or the person who does a performance.Sometimes the man with a traditional Japanese soul is called a samurai.For example,the Japanese representative of baseball is called "Samurai".