Departments
SAMURAI
侍
samurai
The samurai were the warrior class of feudal Japan. They emerged as a distinct and formally defined class around the twelfth century. The samurai carved out their niche in a divided country, and eventually lost their status when Japan was finally unified.
In the 1100s, the Emperor ruled Japan from his court at Heian-kyō (now Kyoto). However, “ruled” may be too strong a word. The Emperor was the theoretical sovereign, but Japan was by no means a unified nation. There were repeated struggles between the country’s feudal warlords for domination. The samurai became the servants of these warlords, much as the knights of medieval Europe were the servants of the Continent’s feudal lords. With no real central government, the samurai were the tools of political power for the feudal aristocracy. For commoners, the samurai sometimes carved out pockets of civil order. At other times, they ransacked and pillaged villages at the behest of their masters.
The Samurai vs. the European Knight
Despite his similarities to the professional European soldier of the Medieval period, it would be a mistake to simply describe the samurai as a Japanese knight. The samurai was in many ways different from the knight of Medieval Europe. Whereas knightly training emphasized martial skills, a samurai had to be a man of culture as well. The samurai studied poetry, calligraphy, and other fine arts in addition to combat techniques.
Another key difference is to be found in the concept of honor. The samurai concept of honor did not include a chivalric duty to defend women and the weak members of society. The idealization of womanhood that was championed in Medieval European literature was unknown to the Japanese samurai. Moreover, there was also no Christian Church in Japan to give the samurai a higher, spiritual cause. Although most samurai were adherents of Zen Buddhism, they lacked the religious sense of mission which their European counterparts possessed.
Samurai Values
The samurai’s core values were loyalty to his liege lord, self-control, and courage in battle. The samurai often carried loyalty to ridiculous extremes. Some committed suicide upon hearing of the death of their liege lord. This practice was officially banned in 1663, but it persisted in military circles for many years. In 1912, long after the samurai had passed into history, Japan’s General Nogi committed suicide upon learning of the death of Emperor Meiji. Several ex-Japanese soldiers from the World War II era committed suicide when Emperor Shōwa died in 1989.
Because they lived so close to death, the samurai had to cultivate a sense of stoicism. This was reinforced by Zen Buddhism and samurai literature. One important text, the Hakagure (“Hidden Among Leaves”) states that the warrior should always be prepared to meet death at the next moment.
Given their importance during the feudal period, the samurai were at the height of the social hierarchy. They were above the law in many regards; under the code of kirisute gomen, a samurai could rightfully kill any member of a lower class who insulted him. As a result, most members of the other social classes treated the samurai with respect and circumspection.