The Way of the Samurai: Characteristics, Weapons, and Code

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The Way of the Samurai
While India has its own Caste System, and France has its social classifications, Japan has a strong societal structure and ranking as well. The Japanese in the old times, adhere so strictly to the division they fall in to (Overmeire 1126). The Nobles hold the highest rank. They are royalties and families of royals. They hold the highest control over the lands as well. After them come the warriors. In today’s world, soldiers are just soldiers, and anyone else who has more wealth than them are above them. However, in Old Japan, it is not about monetary capacity but about the individual’s profession (Baofu 28). Samurais therefore are ranked higher than businessmen, and farmers. Samurais uphold absolute loyalty to their masters, does not fear death, ignore pain and personal relations in order to dedicate their entirety to those whom they serve. Although they are looked up to, things had gotten to a sharp turn for the Samurais after the revolution. As to how important they were to the society, how their familial roles were, and how they were soon devalued by their own country, it would all be discussed here thoroughly.
How the Samurai came to be?
Originally, the term Samurai did not refer to warriors. It meant the 6th ranked out of the 12 ranks of the Imperial bureaucrats under the Taiho Code. The Taiho Code in 702 A.D. were administrative laws and penal codes modeled after the T’ang Dynasty’s legal codes. The so called Samurais in this era were in charge of everyday matters, and were not military men. Included in this reformation however the endeavor of the government to establish an organized army was. In the succeeding period, Samurais were still not widespread. However, there were the use of skilled armies. The 50th emperor of Japan, Emperor Kanmu desired the expansion of his power and ultimately required the help of regional clans to fight against those who are not under his rule. It was the first time someone used the title and referred to himself as Shogun (Kornicki 142). Although he claimed to be a Shogun, this title did not contain the same capacity as the shoguns of the following years. Raids and battles occurred until his power slowly spiraled down and the army got disbanded. While this chaos occurred, many other powerful clans took advantage by rising up the seats in the government. Large taxes were collected from the commoners living in their villages (Hubbard 55). This created a large gap between normal people and those who had themselves hold power.
With shogunates being official, and wealthy clans existing, warriors of the finest quality were needed. This is the Samurai that the world knows now. These warriors were not only highly skilled combatants, but they were educated as well, held high moral standards, and were not mediocrely compensated. These very characteristics of the Samurais had them hold an elite position in the Japanese society. With them being not only brawns but brains as well, they became their own political force in the Imperial Court. Although they are very loyal to the masters they serve, but they were not ordinary for-hire individuals. They were their own significant and influential part of the society (Baofu 28).
The Samurai gained their reputation for being formidable and highly skilled as other strong countries in Asia tried to penetrate Japan. In the late 1200s, there were various attempts by China and Mongolia to invade Japan. Of the 40,000 people that the Yuan Dynasty sent to Japan, only 10,000 Samurai warriors were tasked to terminate the threat. Alongside the strong winds that met the Chinese ships, the Japanese came out the victor. The famous Kublai Khan then resolved the issue by sending diplomats to Japan instead of militants. However, these ambassadors were never welcomed in Japan and were decapitated instead. With the diplomatic intentions failing, Mongolia resolved to another invasion. 140,000 Yuan army lost against the 40,000 Samurai alongside another typhoon (Hubbard 56). The strong winds kami-no-Kaze that aided Japan in its victories made the Japanese think that Japan was indeed divine. From then on, the Samurai went through some changes that made them the stereotypical warrior that we know of today.
Characteristics, Weapons, and Code of the Samurai
The Samurai follows certain ideals and codes of honor. This is called the Bushido. This way of life is largely influenced by Buddhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism. The number one doctrine that the Samurai follows is the loyalty to his master (Gundry 154). The Samurai’s life is completely dedicated to either the emperor or his country. His life is not his to live, but it is to die for whom he serves. To think of his life too much is a disgrace to himself and to his ancestors. Therefore it is widely acceptable and completely normal for Samurai to die due to their profession (Baofu 28). They are not to question the intentions and orders of their master. They have to completely trust and respect their master’s judgments. In order to be a good Samurai, the man has to be evidently good, helpful, respectful, and obedient to his parents as well. Japanese people think that if someone could not even honor his parents, he couldn’t keep up to the high standards a Samurai follows as well. The Samurai is a strong believer of courage and taking risks as well. They believe that a person who has no fears in experiencing pain and death cannot be defeated, and that it is shameful for someone to take risks. This is why Samurai and even the modern day Japanese soldiers always put themselves forward in battles disregarding their own safety and survival. They believe that the only way to die is for their master or their country (Kornicki 143). It is a great and honorable death to die in battle, in defending their master, or in protecting their country.
Besides being a brave and selfless warrior, the Samurai has so many more aspects to himself. They carry on cultures that majorly influenced Japan even until today. They have rituals such as the tea ceremony, which until today is symbolic in creating rapport among people. They have rock gardens, which until today brings a sense of elegance, intellect, and artistry. They do monochrome ink painting, and enjoyed poetry. The Samurai were fluid not only in fighting but were also the finest when it comes to arts and literacy (Overmeire 1129).
While Samurai are popular for the swords they carry, they actually use many other varieties of weapons. They use chain weapons such as the kusarigama and Kusari-fondo. They use iron or wooden-made clubs and truncheons. They use bo, jo, hanbo, and tanbo, which are staff weapons made from hardwoods such as oak. They had yari and naginata which are pole weapons. They have bows called yumi which was made out of wood, rattan, bamboo, and leather. Of course they have their daisho, which means their katana or long swords and their smaller sword.They were not limited to these weapons as they had tanegashima as well which were matchlock guns. Finally, they also equipped the use of cannons around late 1500s onwards (Nitobe 24).
There were several deadly weapons used by Samurai. Katana was the most vital weapon in Samurai, which is a sword, was in the soul of Samurai that was cold and deadly. Katana was forged by heating the metals so that they may roll, pound, a...