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Role of the Samurai in Japanese Society
Role of the Samurai in Japanese Society
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Role of the Samurai in Japanese Society
Role of the Samurai in Japanese Society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Role of the Samurai in Japanese Society
There were many similarities and differences between Samurai and Knights, but I believe that the differences are greater than the similarities, in other other words I believe that there are more similarities than differences. The Samurai were honorable warriors in Japan that were loyal to his Daimyos. The Knights were honorable warriors in Europe who were loyal to his lord. I’m going to analyze documents related to social position, training and armor, and their beliefs. To better determine if the differences are greater than the similarities.
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.
To begin, the Shogunate’s were vastly superior in weaponry as they had guns, metal swords, bows and metal tipped spears. This meant that the shogunate warriors could attack from long range or fight close up. This is compared to the Polynesian, who used wooden spears, swords, axes, sling shoots or stone clubs. These weapons were less durable and the user would need to strike at such a powerful force to do the damage that the Shogunate weapons could
Samurai were warrior class who lived by an unwritten code called “Bushido.” They fought for the large landowners called Daimyo, they worked for the Daimyo’s protection and against other powerful landowners. The Samurai was taught the values and traditions, and had to be educated in literature and writing. Therefor samurai were also trained in meditation and fighting techniques such as archery, swordsmanship, and martial arts.
The samurai follows his feudal lord’s orders and never disobeys him, along with knights. However, the samurai shared a greater bond between his feudal lord than a knight
Japan’s rich history of power, wealth, and influence had many remarkable eras. One of the more notable periods in Japanese history was that of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). The Tokugawa Period was talked about in Musui’s Story, an autobiographical book, written by Kokichi Katsu. (Katsu ix) Katsu wrote Musui’s Story for three main reasons: to share how he had transformed from a low-ranking samurai to a well-known hero, to show his sense of self, and to serve as a cautionary tale for his descendants.
Loyalty, respect, self-less service and integrity are the values that map the life that I lead. When in consideration of
From the Kamakura Period of the late twelfth century to the Meiji Restoration in the nineteenth century, the samurai have held prominent positions as noble warriors in Japanese society. They have come to be famous in modern, Western pop culture as the fierce, stoic guards of feudal Japan, but their practices and rituals extended beyond wielding katanas and donning impressive armor. Samurai practices were rich and complex, with strict codes, ritual suicide, and a history of influencing culture and politics (“Samurai”). Samurai code was influenced by traditional Japanese culture, Zen Buddhism, and Confucianism. Bushido, or “Way of the Warrior,” was the code of conduct the samurai class were expected to uphold.
Samurai (侍?) were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan. In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi (武士?, [bu.ɕi]) or buke (武家?). According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning "to wait upon" or "accompany persons" in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau. In both countries the terms were nominalized to mean "those who serve in close attendance to the nobility", the pronunciation in Japanese changing to saburai.
Emperor Meiji brought forth a lot of reforms to attempt to modernize Japan. One of the big changes was the abolishment of the social classes. Japan previously had 4 social classes the main one being the samurai class. During the Meiji Restoration, the 4-class social system was abolished, changing Japan’s society in a major way. The abolishment of the four-class social system, especially the samurai class, was one of the most instrumental changes to Japan as a society and as a country (“Perez” 85).
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
Many similarities and differences stood beside the Samurai and the Knights, but was there more similarities than differences between them? Samurai and Knights were both powerful warriors back then. The Samurai had lived in Feudal Japan, and knights had lived in different parts of Europe. They both had different culture ideas, and of course different language, and yet also they both had similarities of them both. These are Social positions, Military training and armor, and Code of Honor.
Samurai warriors were considered unemployed, so they would spend most of their days studying new finding in the botany, chemistry, and engineering. The main goal of Japan to adapt to the rest of the world and start industrializing was to be able to protect themselves from competitors. They did this through the development of industrial technologies, and military strength. Economic Crisis and Solutions (804-805) As a result of the expansion of the economy and industries, there was a lot of turmoil happening in the world.
But also change within the military occurred with the replacement of Samurai authority. Trying to be equal competitors in world power as their Western neighbors. Japan had gotten imperialist ideas from 1853 when the U.S. black ships steamed
Bushido developed from Buddhism in the mid-1200s. Bushido was created to keep samurai calm and restrict unnecessary violence. It was the basic code of conduct for the samurai warriors. First, Bushido was needed to ensure the loyalty of the samurai to their Daimyo. Second, Bushido has been changed to fit the need of the people of Japan over time.