The Samurai is the name of a warrior class of people that developed many centuries ago in Japan. We find that the Samurai have been glorified via many movies, comic books and theatre plays in recent years. The history of the Samurai seems to be equally as fascinating for children as well as adults.
In the 12th century, there were two strong clans in Japan, namely Minamoto and Taira. Japan was in sooth suppressed because of the endless conflicts between these group. In those times, a governing system called Shogunate was established and the official title of the ruler was Shogun.
The second powerful position in the Shogunate was Daimyo, which was almost alike the rank of Dukes in Europe. Samurai were the soldiers of Daimyo. Usually each Samurai had a master and if he misses one because of the compelled suicide of his master, he was named Ronin.
The Samurai class had many special rights. Unlike the commoners who were not allowed to carry any weapons with them the Samurai was allowed to carry two swords with them. They even had the right to behead any commoner who happened to offend them.
The Samurai tribe itself was categorized into three classes – the administrators who were known as housemen, soldiers who were permitted to fight on horse back named mounted Samurai and the foot soldiers.
Eventually this Samurai life underwent many changes and now most of their successors are farmers living in castles. Depending upon their ranks, they were authorized for a certain percentage of the rice tax also. Samurai followed some moral doctrines which were mainly founded over the loyalty to the leader who was known as Daimyo. This code of Samurai life is known as Bushido, which means the way of warrior.
Another interesting element of the Samurai class was a convention known as Seppuku. This was a practice of committing suicide and was considered to be a very noble form of death. It was performed within a battle and in a formal ceremony outside of battle. When Japan entered the period of peace the Samurai class shifted from its former position into bureaucracy.
The term Samurai needs no explanation because of the fame they accomplished through different kinds of media and fictions. Their history and life triggers curiosity in anyone outside Japan. Their strange customs and the perfect discipline are hard to swallow for the people around the world.
The Samurai life had a great impact on the Japanese art of those times because of the power and position they possessed in the society. Their life, history and culture had been illustrated in the Japanese art works with all the fascination. These arts catch the attention of everyone including those who are not at all acquainted with the Japanese way of life.
Japanese Samurai artwork is a vital component of the walking the warrior path in Japan. To learn more about ancient Japanese tattoo art please click on the links.
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