Project: The Japanese Samurai
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
- Project Name: The Japanese Samurai
- Field Researcher: The Prophet
- Department: History
- Faculty: Arts
- Start Date: 8th November 2001
- End Date: 8th November 2001
- Assisting Sub-Editor: Konrad
Project Description
In the long history of human conflict, a few breeds of fighter stand out in popular historical perception, for one reason or another. Examples include the European armoured knight, the Roman Legionary and the Japanese samurai. The Japanese samurai have more in common with the knight than with the Legionary, both being part of the aristocratic elite of a feudal hierarchy, with a warrior birthright, where the Legions of Rome were professional soldiers, and both following a much-vaunted ethical code instead of the cold, practical discipline of the Roman military. It is also undeniable that both the knight and the samurai owe a great deal of their reputation to the myths and romances which grew up around them after they had ceased to play an effective role.
This project will attempt to provide an accurate picture of the samurai, and the culture to which they belonged.
Contents:
- A Brief History of Pre-Samurai Japan and the Rise of the Samurai Clans
- The Age of the Samurai
- Samurai Society
- The Way of the Warrior: Bushido and the warrior arts
- The Decline and Legacy of the Samurai