ipl-logo

The Similarities And Differences Between European Knights And Japanese Samurai

650 Words3 Pages

Imagine, more than a thousand years ago in Medieval times, arose two professional warriors that lived up to swore oaths of loyalty, and an honored code. To keep order in the land, Feudalism demanded the two classes to fight to the death in order to defend their lord in battle. That is why European Knights and Japanese Samurai are different because of training they did, religion they followed, and the codes they lived by. The Knights and Samurai were different by their various different training methods. Each warrior had a hard time going through the long process of training. Starting their life of being a warrior in the beginning of their childhood were the Samurai, while Knights started at the age four or five starting to learn to ride a pony (Document C). Let alone, at what a young age these warriors began training to become their civilizations pride and honor. At age fourteen the trainees were finally able to go to the ceremony called, Genpuku to become a Samurai. Knights on the other hand, had to wait until twenty-one to become an official because they had a longer process of training …show more content…

Knights and Samurais had two different beliefs in how they lived. The feudal lord of Japan followed his loyalty by heredity with father to son, so that the relations to the lord went on between generations of families. As for the European contract, which consisted of legal obligations of lord and vassal respectively (Document B). The Samurai's life was considered loyal to his loren but also the life of his wife and children. The Samurai were not afraid of death and knew that life still goes on and they would be reincarnated. Although, the Knights death consisted of asking for forgiveness so the Knight will go to heaven to follow Christianity (Document F). These actions were chose by the warriors them self that shows courage and integrity to their family and

Show More
Related
601 Words | 3 Pages

At 14 they trained to become samurai warriors, and lived by the code of bushido. The knight training started at 4 or 5 where they learn to ride a pony, at age 7 the served as a page to his father ’s overlord,Then they practiced with a blunted or wooden swords. At the age of 14 they could become a squire, squires helped the knight they feed them, they dressed them, and helped them in battle. Then if they got approved to become a knight they would become a knight at

Read More
393 Words | 2 Pages

here are many similarities between the Samurai of medieval japan and the knights of medieval europe, especially considering their training, armor, and codes. For example, Documents A and B discuss how they both started training during childhood, how at age 14 they both progressed to the next level, and that the Samurai and Knights trained with some type of stick. However, the Samurai used bamboo sticks to train when the Knights used wooden sticks, and the Samurai were trained to fight on their feet but the Knights were trained to learn to fight and ride on a pony, and the Samurai were influenced by Zen Buddhism but the Knights were influenced by Christianity. According to Doucement A, “ At about 14 the trainees officially became samurai in

Read More
344 Words | 2 Pages

I will be explaining the social position of Samurai, and Knights from Document A. According to Document A the SAmurai were the 4th highest on the social pyramid. They were above peasant farmers, but

Read More
851 Words | 4 Pages

In Document C1, which was adapted from Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire, it says that children began training to become samurai by learning swordsmanship through fencing with bamboo sticks, which is also known as the art of Kendo. Since the samurai had practiced wielding a sword and fighting with longer than the knight, if the battle had devolved into a sword fight, the samurai would be the victor. It also says that in the same document that, “In their schooling they had physical training.” On the flipside, the knights had not received as harsh training as the samurai, mainly being a squire for a knight and learning from them, and squires were much older than the samurai-in-training who were children. And while the knights did start their training at 4 and 5, the beginning of their training focused on riding a horse (which also had to wear armor because of ranged weapons, meaning that even the horse was slow).

Read More
288 Words | 2 Pages

The two main similarities between the samurai and knights are the alliances with the warriors and the master and the starting to train at a young age. According to both of the PBS series passage boxes in Document C, it states, “Samurai were expected to live according to bushido... stressed loyalty to one’s master... Squires continued with weapon training…they would accompany their master knight into battle.”

Read More
687 Words | 3 Pages

Examples of these are that lances were longer than the Japanese Naginata, and swords were much bigger than the Japanese Katana. In Medieval Europe, lords were the military leaders, while in Tokugawa Japan, Shoguns and Daimyos lead the military system. Samurai and knights had different approaches to death, as knights were bound by Catholic law, while Samurai were not religious. Tokugawa Japan had many cultural and traditional differences from Medieval

Read More
191 Words | 1 Pages

The knights had a code they lived by. Honor, bravery, chivalry, and courtesy. This code was called knightly chivalry. The monarchy also brought the artisan class and changed the attitude toward the church and religion.

Read More
670 Words | 3 Pages

From completely different areas of the known world, two of the greatest groups of warriors are formed. Each trained-for-battle group, according to the Overview, “...who swore oaths of loyalty to noble lords and fought to the death to defend them in battle” spent years learning how to kill. The samurai and knights had many similarities and differences in terms of their training, armor, and codes. For both classes of warriors, training started when four or five. The types of training for samurai and knights included both physical and spiritual aspects.

Read More
788 Words | 4 Pages

The societies of Tokugawa Japan (c.1603-1867C.E.) and medieval Europe (c.1000-1500C.E.) had two things in common; a feudal system. A feudal system is something that features hierarchies or social structures. The feudal system normally starts with a religion, which is at the very top of the social pyramid, then it’s the King or monarch for Europe and the shogun for Japan, then there are the nobles for Europe and the daimyos for Japan. As we go down the pyramid there are the warriors, like the knight in Europe and the samurai in Japan, then there are the peasants. The peasants were included in both eras and are at the lowest part of the pyramid.

Read More
532 Words | 3 Pages

All of this leads to an impact on military, feudalistic society and Japan’s history. To commence, Samurai’s are important in Japanese history because they helped start feudalism and the Shogun’s rule. It all started when the central government had no authority over the large landowners. The Daimyo refused to pay their taxes, so when the Jurisdiction came to collect, the daimyo had this huge army of Samurais.

Read More
552 Words | 3 Pages

According to charts from various sources, samurai and knights are around the same rankings in a social pyramid (Doc. A). Both the samurai and knight are lower in the social pyramids at the time. They were both paid for their service with land from the lord he was working for. Another similarity is said in “The Heart of a Warrior: Origins and Religious Background of the Samurai System in Feudal Japan,” by Catharina Blomberg.

Read More
1403 Words | 6 Pages

(History.com, “Edo”) The people of Edo followed a strict caste system, greatly impacted by the Chinese Confucian values. The Feudal Japanese Society, people of Edo, was divided into four different castes: the Nobles, the Samurai, the Peasants, and the Chonin. The nobles included: the emperor; the figurehead of society, the shogun; the most powerful military lord, and the daimyos; lords who controlled their own region of Japan. The samurai were the professional warriors who were bound by a code of loyalty and honor to a daimyo.

Read More
1432 Words | 6 Pages

The Love Suicides at Amijima was created by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in 1721. This play was originally written as jōruri, better known as puppet theatre but was later performed into kabuki, the form of theater in which a play is interpreted through dance and song. The Love Suicides at Amijima was created during a time period called the Edo Period, this point in history was critical to the different forms of literature and art. During this period, Monzaemon as well as other artists became popular amongst the “commercial culture” (Keene, 46) which led to rise of Monzaemon’s various plays. This play is widely known for its tragic love story between two characters, Jihei and Koharu who because of their social statuses cannot be together, and seek suicide

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

what really fascinates me is that the samurai weren’t a rare elite force; however, they were an entire social class and they were about 10 percent of Japan’s population at that time. What really grabbed my attention is the way the dress up, they were stylish and at their time they were rock stars in their style of clothing. The samurai dressed up to move with speed, to have freedom of movement and travel. The weapons were unique

Read More
528 Words | 3 Pages

As of many warriors, They usually wear armor and train hard and strictly for war, an example of two warriors, were the Samurai and the Knights. These great warriors started out young to learn knowledge and had to start off to use rigorous, and difficult training to have a higher tolerance to pain, to be ready for any sort of combat, also to be alert of their surroundings. Armor is a no brainer for these two, they both needed armor for Protection, and use as a defense. All in all, both used armor to not die as fast. This is one of the boldest things they have in common.

Read More

More about The Similarities And Differences Between European Knights And Japanese Samurai

Related Topics

Open Document