Samurai
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Samurai (侍) were the military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early- modern Japan. In Japanese, they are usually referred to as bushi or buke (武家). The samurai (or bushi) were Japanese warriors. They were members of the important military class before Japanese society changed in The word.
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English language, West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family that is closely related…. Slavery, condition in which one human being was owned by another. A slave was considered by law as property,…. Democracy, literally, rule by the people.
This samurai district on the rural Satsuma Peninsula is beautifully maintained with rock walls and hedges. This page was last edited on 1 September , at Born to a minor warlord in Okazaki, Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu began his military training with the Imagawa family. By continuing to browse, you agree to our use of cookies. August Learn how and when to remove this template message. A slave was considered by law as property,…. However, the rule of the state by the military class was not yet over.
View All Media 3 Images. For the next two centuries, Japan was in a near-constant state of conflict between its feuding territorial clans.
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After the particularly divisive Onin War of , the Ashikaga shoguns ceased to be effective, and feudal Japan lacked a strong central authority; local lords and their samurai stepped in to a greater extent to maintain law and order. Despite the political unrest, this period—known as the Muromachi after the district of that name in Kyoto—saw considerable economic expansion in Japan.
It was also a golden age for Japanese art, as the samurai culture came under the growing influence of Zen Buddhism. In addition to such now-famous Japanese art forms as the tea ceremony, rock gardens and flower arranging, theater and painting also flourished during the Muromachi period. This period ushered in a year-long stretch of peace and prosperity in Japan, and for the first time the samurai took on the responsibility of governing through civil means rather than through military force.
This relatively conservative faith, with its emphasis on loyalty and duty, eclipsed Buddhism during the Tokugawa period as the dominant religion of the samurai. It was during this period that the principles of bushido emerged as a general code of conduct for Japanese people in general. Though bushido varied under the influences of Buddhist and Confucian thought, its warrior spirit remained constant, including an emphasis on military skills and fearlessness in the face of an enemy.
In a peaceful Japan, many samurai were forced to become bureaucrats or take up some type of trade, even as they preserved their conception of themselves as fighting men. In , the right to carry swords was restricted only to samurai, which created an even greater separation between them and the farmer-peasant class.
The material well-being of many samurai actually declined during the Tokugawa Shogunate, however. Samurai had traditionally made their living on a fixed stipend from landowners; as these stipends declined, many lower-level samurai were frustrated by their inability to improve their situation. In the midth century, the stability of the Tokugawa regime was undermined by a combination of factors, including peasant unrest due to famine and poverty. The incursion of Western powers into Japan—and especially the arrival in of Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the U. Navy, on a mission to get Japan to open its doors to international trade—proved to be the final straw.
The controversial decision to open the country to Western commerce and investment helped encourage resistance to the shogunate among conservative forces in Japan, including many samurai, who began calling for a restoration of the power of the emperor. Feudalism was officially abolished in ; five years later, the wearing of swords was forbidden to anyone except members of the national armed forces, and all samurai stipends were converted into government bonds, often at significant financial loss.
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Kanazawa 's samurai district is named Nagamachi and preserves several lanes with earthen walls, large entrance gates and a few residences and museums that are open to the public. Hagi 's former castle town preserves several lanes, lined by the white walls and wooden gates of former samurai mansions.
Some of the residences are open to the public. This samurai district on the rural Satsuma Peninsula is beautifully maintained with rock walls and hedges. The gardens of seven former samurai mansions can be viewed by toruists, however, the buildings cannot be entered. The old town of Bitchu-Takahashi at the base of Matsuyama Castle preserves several old buildings, including a few samurai mansions that can be entered by tourists.
Kakunodate Samurai District
Matsue preserves a small samurai district along the moat of the local castle. One of the former samurai mansions is open to the public, while another building served as Lafcadio Hearn's former residence. This residence stands not far from Kumamoto Castle and served as the home of a branch family of the ruling Hosokawa Clan.
It is a beautiful example of a high-ranked samurai mansion. The two-storied Seisonkaku Villa adjacent to Kenrokuen Garden was built by the local lord for his mother towards the end of the feudal era.
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It is one of the most elegant preserved samurai villas in Japan. The Aizu Bukeyashiki is the large former mansion complex of a high ranked local samurai family. Mannequins displayed in typical scenes of daily life make this mansion a particularly good place to get an idea about samurai lifestyle.
This residence on the rural Noto Peninsula served as the home of the Kita family who administered local villages on behalf of the feudal lord. It includes a spacious main residence, a unique entrance gate and a museum. Wednesdays and December 8 to 21 Admission: Located in Kinugawa , Nikko Edomura is the best among Japan's history theme parks.
The park consists of a recreated Edo Period town populated by townspeople, samurai and ninja in period costumes. The park offers a variety of traditional stage performance, comedy and ninja shows, as well as museums, shops and restaurants. No closing days Admission: This history theme park in Ise is set during the Azuchi-Momoyama Period and consists of a castle town at the base of a replica of Azuchi Castle. It features a small ninja museum, trick maze, various shops and restaurants, as well as traditional entertainment and live ninja shows. Noboribetsu Date Jidaimura is another history theme park that features town life during the Edo Period.
It is located in Noboribetsu , Hokkaido. Like the theme parks listed above, it offers several attractions, shows, shops and restaurants amid a town populated by townspeople in period costume, but it is smaller in size than the other two.