Transcript Samurai - bluewiki

Japanese Samurai
By Heather Valentine Trotta
Japanese Feudalism
• Japan developed a feudal system which had similarities to
the European system.
• The shogun (like the king) ruled the country through the
daimyo (like the nobles), who were the heads of the samurai
(like the knights).
• Peasants farmed the land in exchange for protection by the
samurai, who operated under a code of conduct known as
bushido (like chivalry).
• Again, society was organized under a rigid class system
with no social mobility.
Words and Definitions
•
Shogun
• Shogun is a military rank and historical title for (in most
cases) hereditary military dictator of Japan
Daimyo
• Daimyo is a generic term referring to the
powerful territorial lords in premodern Japan
who ruled most of the country from their
vast, hereditary land holdings.
Samurai
• Samurai is the term for the military
nobility of pre-industrial Japan. or a Higher
rank for a soldier.
Code Of Bushido
• Literally the way of the warrior (Samurai), was a
code of ethics of the warrior that would be analogous
to the code of chivalry of the knights during the
European feudal period.
• Bushido was based on the Japanese national
tradition and religious heritage: largely Shinto
and Buddhism.
Samurai Weapons
• The samurai used various weapons such as:
-the katana
-Clubs
-the Wakizashi
-The Tantō
-The Yumi
-The Yari
-The Teppō
-and fans
Samurai Woman
• Long before the term "samurai" came into usage, Japanese
fighters were skilled with the sword and spear. These
warriors included some women, such as the legendary
Empress Jingu (c. 169-269 A.D.)
• "Female Samurai"
Linguistic purists point out that the term "samurai" is
masculine word; thus, there are no "female samurai.“
• Nonetheless, for thousands of years, certain upper class
Japanese women have learned martial skills and participated
in fighting.
Samurai Hair
•
•
The samurai's hair was an important part of his appearance, and most
texts and house-codes of the samurai make reference to the importance of
its neat appearance. The traditional hairstyle (for the better part of a
thousand years) was the topknot, a fashion by no means exclusive to the
samurai. Nearly everyone, with the exception of Buddhist priests, wore
topknots, making the genesis of this style nearly impossible to guess at
it with authority
The style of shaving part of the frontal part of one's head was
supposedly developed as making helmet wear more comfortable. By the
early Edo Period it had become a simple fashion, and was adopted by
many outside the samurai class. There seems to have been no special
ordnances or something of the sort regarding the wear of one's hair,
though doubtlessly 'house rules' applied.
END
Of Japanese Samurai